In our latest one2one conversation, Liz asked me:
How important is strategy to your business? How does your strategy get built?
Great question, huh? I can’t wait to see how I answer it.
Often, I’ve heard Liz quote Steve Farber as saying, “Serve the people who love you with the services you love.” Well, that’s what I’ve been doing for more than a decade.
Loving what I do is literally the cornerstone that I’ve built my business upon. I can’t do it any other way. I have to love what I do first. Otherwise, I won’t be very effective in what I do.
What do I mean by love? Well, when I get out of bed in the morning, I’m excited to race down to my in-home office and get to work. It’s like being a kid every day all over again.
Sure there’s days that I’m not excited; days when owning my own business is a grind. What’s important is that the majority of the time, I’m excited to sit down behind my desk, flip on my computer and begin working for my clients. So I do what I do because I love what I do.
The second step is to strive to be the best in the world at what I do – which is help people utilize the web to grow their business. When I say best in the world, I’m not talking about being the best on earth – not even close. Rather, I want to be the best in your world.
In other words I want to do such an amazing job for you that you “fall in love with me“. Not in the literal sense. But that you fall in love with our work together and where it takes you and your business. And that’s what I strive for.
As a strategy, I think both love for your work and the talent to be the best in the world are equally necessary as a business foundation.
For instance, I’m a pretty good plumber, but I don’t love doing it. Likewise, I love basketball, but no one’s lining up to sign me to an NBA contract. Neither, then, are viable businesses for me. One I don’t love and the other I’m not good enough at.
It’s important to know that about yourself. What do you love and what are you really good at? For me, these questions are more than foundational – they’re also strategic:
By loving what I do I’ll work to do my best work for my clients, which will lead to their falling in love with me which, in turn, will lead to them talking about me to their friends and colleagues which will generate more business. And the cycle repeats in ever growing concentric circles.
That’s why blogging, social media, word-of-mouth marketing and relationship business work so well for me. I’ve been doing it for years inside and outside the internet. Perhaps I can help you, too.
What’s your strategy for growing your business? How are you using your blog to execute your strategy?
Now, my question to Liz – and to you, too:
What steps do you feel are important to take in order to move from strategy (plan) into execution (action)?
By the way, you have read Liz’s answer to my last question: what do you feel is an effective strategy to promote a business? Her answer is great.
Oh my!!
I love your passion, man. Informed passion is certainly among the most attractive of all the traits you’ll come across online. There’s an abundance of ignorant passion…but it wears out and blows away quickly. I like it that you know what you can do and love doing it. It’s such a contrast to all the empty claims and promises. Service is a privilege and a joy. And getting paid for it ain’t half bad, either (although, I personally think invoicing SUCKS!) 🙂
Liz,
This is pretty fun – huh? And the quality of answers we’ve come up with has really surprised me. When are we going to run out of content????
Chuck,
Thanks. I definitely hear you on all accounts – even invoicing – which I’m looking to streamline even further than I do now.
Tell me more about what you do.
Aw Dawud,
I feel like we’re two people in training for the high wire, one stretching the other. “Spot me! I’m about to do something dangerous I’ve never tried before!” This is cool. I’m not a physical risk taker, but this has my adrenalin going. Yep.
I’ll spin and reach and I’m sure your hands will catch my wrists before I fall.
You’re singing my song, Dawud! Very nicely put. And, from the horses mouth (I’ve been called worse), here’s what Liz was quoting (from The Radical Leap and The Radical Edge): “Do what you love in the service of people who love what you do.”
There. I’ve now quoted myself.
More about what I do, eh? I assume you’re referring to life in general, rather than to how I serve as the bottleneck in my own invoicing process 😉
– professional voiceover guy (http://professionalvoicetalent.com)
– songwriter and occasional solo pianist (http://healingpiano.com)
– web developer (http://tornbread.com)
I get to exercise my passon for service in all the areas where I work, but it’s been especially true in my web-building activity…where I’m very much focused on trying to do things that haven’t been done (or done WELL) before…as opposed to just chattering about things online and expecting to get paid for it.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with online personal journals, per se. But this whole “I blog for a living thing…”, ehhh, not without providing some real value, you don’t. Or, if you do…you don’t for long.
Liz,
I will always spot you. Just reach and I’ll be there.
Steve,
Excellent – considering you wrote the lyrics. I absolutely love what you’re writing. Don’t you think the beauty is in finding our own melody for your words?
Chuck,
SWEET! I love that your into media and the web. And now I have three websites to look at (which I turned into live links for you).
For me, the verdict is still out on blogging for a living. I blog to create conversation, build relationships and grow my service-based business. I spend no time monetizing my site – though you’ll find a few affiliate links. Mostly, I’m interested in the process because that’s what I help my clients do – utilize social media as a process for growing business.
What’s the latest thing you’ve learned as a web designer?
I’m not opposed to blogging and getting paid. I just think there needs to be a clear vision for uniqueness and value before there can conceivably be a return. And I feel like it’s an incredibly shallow subject to write about “my blogging journey to a million dollars”. It’s fine to share things you learn along the way. But it seems weird to make that the focus of all one’s efforts…twisted somehow. I’m not saying that to be judgmental…just to challenge people to think about something more significant that the $3.50 they made that day from people who clicked on an ad as they left their site. If we were just talking about one site like that, that might be a bit of a novelty…but I swear that I’ve seen 50 sites like that.
Well, I don’t have skills to make pretty designs, etc…so I’ve learned to modify templates…to bring in the touch of a skilled artist. I’ve learned that I don’t know how to code anything very sophisticated…so I’ve learned to hire things out to people who do. But I’ve learned that my ideas are pretty good. So I try to spend time on my strengths and farm out in areas where I’m weaker.
Chuck,
I hear you. I see the same thing in some problogs. I just keep remembering that content will always win – even it it’s in the long-run.
I need to do more farming out myself. I’ve been looking at options lately so I can free up more time to do consulting and coaching.
Dawud,
We agree 100% about the perspective about doing the right thing over the long term.
My issue is more with the definition of content. For example, that would make for a good blog post topic. What IS good content?
My fear, based on what I’ve seen, is that very few people really understand the concept of good content. Now, Darren Rowse…he gets it. John Reese, he gets it. Eric Giguere…he gets it. Rand Fishkin gets it.
But there are hundreds of sheep walking around behind these folks…and I’m afraid that they just don’t get it at all. Some are talented writers…so they might repackage what they’ve heard from the “thought leaders”. But, for the most part…it’s just like watching food thru the various stomachs of a cow…down…then up, then down…then up…then…until the topic has not only been sucked dry of every potential nutrient. Helpful, valuable content has a shelf life. And uniqueness matters. If it’s been said a thousand times before…why does one need to say it again? Where’s the added value now? It just feels like a Tootsie Roll that’s been chewed until the flavor is completely gone and there’s this little husk left and people keep passing it around…chewing it for a few seconds and passing it on to the next person.
As a friend once said on the topic of “Caffeine-Free Diet Mountain Dew”…what’s the point? Caffeine and sugar are why you drink the stupid stuff in the first place!”
On the subject of outsourcing…I intend to do at least one blog post in the new few weeks on my experiences. I just finished up a nice project yesterday with an Indian service provider…I’ve got about 5 more in the works. I’ve gotten screwed over a bunch, and I’ve been pretty happy with some of the results. So I’ll talk about that at some point…in hopes of helping others find places to help hire out content development, in the event that they can’t do it themselves.
Chuck,
I totally agree. Me, personally, I think I get it some of the time and not at others. Yet I keep plugging away, learning as I can.
I’d love to know more about what your outsourcing and to who. Perhaps this is a better conversation for email.
fantastic article.. like thinking behind the logic.. would like to add 1 more thing
“Always make strategy keeping customer in mind – once you understand the problem — strategy is all about solution”
Free Market Research,
Exactly.