Um, never mind. I figured it out. ;-)
Member since: Jan 16, 2008
Last activity: 6 days ago
Um, never mind. I figured it out. ;-)
Tshombe, this is showing up as a free event. which is not the case. I entered the fee when setting up the retreat, but it didn't take. The actual fees are shown clearly on the event page. http://www.authenticpromotion.com/authenticwealth.html
Tshombe, that's super. Thank you!
Glad to help, Gaylena.
BTW, I'm doing a free teleclass on this called "Why You Don't Need a Niche to Succeed." It's on July 31 and it is sponsored by a new teleconferencing platform, MaestroConference, that enables unprecendented levels of interaction, including breaking up into small private groups, multiple choice polls, and other goodies I am just beginning to explore.
Please spread the word both to folks interested in the topic and to people who use teleconferencing in their work. http://maestroconference.com/specials?p=Shaboom&w=gordon
Adam, thank you for the invitation. I can't make it this time, and I know you will have a great conversation.
Thanks Marianna. One advantage of trusting your body and heart is, indeed, the ability to hear that voice.
Ahhh!
Great input and questions, guys. Keep it coming!
The Spiritual Path of Self-Employment
Love your rights!
I second the webinars piece.
You are welcome, Cara. Here are several additional articles on defining a niche.
Eric, wonderful post.
Gladwell's books are wonderful syntheses. I think that, by and large, his observations are valid, though when I read the research behind his writing, I often find that the facts are not as straightforward as he seems to claim.
Still, he is a brilliant popularizer, in the best sense of that word. And your post is very helpful.
Love "the chalkboard of the soul." Thanks for commenting.
Love the Rumi quote.
Here's another one:
The Guest House
This being human is a guest house. Every day a new arrival.
A joy, depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they're a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
From the Coleman Barks translation
Thanks, guys.
It was good for me to reread this one. It's easy to fall into the belief that because I have a negative thought I must be defective. And it just ain't so!
Great comments - thank you for taking the time to write.
This morning I was discussing Malcolm Gladwell's new book Outliers with a client. Gladwell talks about what it takes to be truly great at something: lots and lots and lots of practice.
There just isn't time for most of us to be truly great at more than one thing. The more we define what that one thing is, the narrower and more profitable our niche will be.
Hey Kare!
Loved meeting you by phone yesterday. And today I'm (finally) using this article in my ezine.
Thanks again for your inspiration and warmth.
Molly
Well said, Mark. Saying what the client wants to hear can send a project in the wrong direction from the start.
It's more important to be able to do what the client needs you to do.
I love the notion of applying this to social media. Real value is created from collaboration, exchange, interaction.
I am so turned off by the hype about using social media to market. Not that I think it can't work -- and not that it can't be useful. But unless the emphasis is on mutual benefit, social media is degraded to one more source of self-interested noise.
Listening increases the quality of the signal and decreases our vulnerability to noisy distraction...
As I read your comments, I feel a little thrill of excitement - realizing that the desire to bring authenticity to everything we do, including business, is alive and well.
Great story, Rick.
Perhaps that "one thing" is showing up with your eyes and ears open.
:)
Kelly,
I applaud your choice, not only from an ethical perspective, but from a business perspective.
As Karrie pointed out, using your authentic voice in marketing means attracting and converting clients who are a good fit. To abandon your authentic values in the course of delivering the work would undermine that good fit.
The revenue you lose in the short run will come back in the form of referrals and repeat business. In addition, by acting honorably, you save yourself the stress and expense of trying to be what you are not.
Finally, self-employment can be quite an emotional challenge. It's almost impossible to meet that challenge unless we can feel good about our choices.
I'd rather worry about where my next dollar is coming from than not want to look at myself in the mirror.
Thanks for starting such a key conversation.
Dan's post of a few weeks ago shows that he and Lara are keeping teleseminars and webinars in mind. And, for now, he makes a good argument for not integrating them into the Biznik networking structure.
That makes sense to me, given Biznik's local emphasis. Though some folks (me included) will prefer, for a variety of reasons, a virtual gathering over a physical one -- even to network with locals.
All that said, there are plenty of ways to get the word out about virtual events. Please correct me if I am mistaken, but it seems we can offer them in our special promotions posts and/or start a biztalk on a topic and organize a telecon to deepen the conversation.
In other words, we don't need to add to the Biznik to-do list when this network already provides so many ways for us to connect.