Make It Easy!
Here’s the biggest, most revolutionary business secret that’s so OBVIOUS it’s almost impossible to see: LEARN TO ASK.
1) ASK for input. You wanna know what your customers want? Don’t guess or try to be a mind reader. Just ask them! Obvious, huh? Before you build the widget, write the proposal, or design that seminar, ask your audience what they’re looking for. My best teleclasses came from “tell me what you want to know” emails. What could be easier than answering questions? And nothing makes people happier than giving them what they ask for. ALL the super successful people I know ask before they offer.
2) ASK the experts. Oooooh this has been a tough one for me! One of my earliest phrases as a toddler was “Gana do self.” That philosophy’s okay when you’re learning to tie your shoes, but it’s not so great when you’re building a business. If I hadn’t had coaches and mentors every step of the way, I’d be answering phones and fetching coffee today. If they didn’t fire me first. (I make an AWFUL secretary.) And believe me, I’ve wasted years and maybe a million dollars by not asking questions soon enough, by trying to figure it out all by myself.
3) ASK for help. You know all those gurus who say ‘Do the hard stuff first’– I say don’t do it at all! Give it to someone else. The stuff I do well I do very, very well. Instant money magic and quick life transformation? No sweat. But don’t let me near accounting, scheduling, or mailing. I conisistently make mistakes, no matter how careful I try to be. Hiring someone else is a NECESSITY! That weakest link is going to bring you down. If you’re the weakest link, replace yourself.
4) Work with the best. Getting good help is essential for your survival, whether it’s medical, personal, or professional, and it can be HARD to find! And frankly I’ve hired some scammy creeps who cost me tens of thousands of dollars on bad “help”, so I’m going to open up my rolodex and share my business faves.
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just a few of my faves These are MY experts, who’ve made my life a whole lot easier, and my business a whole lot better. I am such a HUGE FAN of them that I’ve been wanting to share them for a long time: I completed Alex Mandossian’s Teleseminar Secrets class, and was up in San Francisco for the reunion event two weeks ago. He’s the guy who taught me to ASK my audiences what they want: http://tinyurl.com/charmed-TSS
I mentioned I took Ali Brown’s Online Success Blueprint workshop (her last ever, in person) late last year. I even paid for my assistant to attend too. I wish I had taken it earlier! It’s too late to do it live, but she’s offering a home study version:
www.tinyurl.com/charmed-ali Tammy Landau introduced me to my FIRST Joint Venture and my first on line info product. (Do you remember From Employee to Entrepreneur?) Her “Create Your Signature Product” starts Monday. It’s so grotesquely UNDER priced (talk about insulting her relationship with money), that I told her I would kick her bottom if she ever did it again.
http://tinyurl.com/charmed-TammyLandau Did you get my celebrated e-book? It was easy peasy to make. I sent a recording of my best teleclass to Susie Ward, where she transcribed the text for me to edit, then she put it into a lovely e-book format and designed the cover.
http://www.theadminsource.com/ Mari Smith is THE expert on social media (facebook, twitter, linked in, etc) and she is SO NICE! As generous and knowledgeable teacher as you’ll ever find.
http://tinyurl.com/charmed-MariSmith There are so many more, but I’m running out of room. I’ll share more over time.
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Tags: Alex Mandossian, Ali Brown, Mari Smith, Raymond Aaron, Susie Ward, Tammy Landay
March 23rd, 2009 at 3:50 am
Awesome advice, Gana! I remember when I was first in biz and hiring an assistant, someone advised me to surround myself with the best. When hiring, he said he had originally felt intimidated by people who were “better” than he … but he soon realized he *wanted* to hire people who were the absolute best, so they *all* could shine.
Another friend of mine just asked the question of the twitterverse, “If you were an employee working for you, would you fire yourself?” Running our own businesses so often we try to do everything ourselves when in reality, if we’re a bad bookkeeper, we really oughta just fire ourselves, right?
Thanks for the smart tips … it’s *so* good to be reminded of these things. I will now go off and look at what I’m doing … seriously, y’got me thinking here!
March 23rd, 2009 at 6:11 am
I am so honoured that you view me in such a high light. You will love your membership in Monthly Mentor. And, I am glad you also love so many of my friends, like Mari and Alex. You rock.
Raymond Aaron