Continuing our one2one conversation, Liz Strauss asked me (and you):
What's the the part of business, besides relationships, that you look forward to doing more of?
Okay, so here’s how I read your question…”what other part of business, besides building relationships.” I hope this is what you meant, because my entire business is about relationships. From how I market to how I work with my clients, what I see in my business IS relationships.
But I can look through building more and stronger relationships at aspects of my business. So that’s what I’m going to run with.
I’ve been building websites for more than a decade at this point. So it’s mostly what I’m known for. It’s also the easiest way people can describe what I do to their friends, clients and colleagues. So more often than not, I get calls about website design.
What ends up happening, however, is that the people soon find out that I do so much more than most web designers. They learn that I understand business development, marketing, product development, copy editing, etc. And often, they hire me to consult and coach them while we’re working on their website.
So really, I’m really a born teacher. I know that sounds like a vast, presumptuous statement. Yet at every point in my life this fact has been mirrored back to me. In elementary school I used to show my classmates how to do math problems when they didn’t get it. As a baseball player I could spot mistakes in a teammate’s swing and help them feel the correction. Even when I had a private healing practice I would somehow find a way to explain complex spiritual concepts in a way that people just understood.
Even as a web designer, I’ve been very successful at making the technical easy to understand – even a neophyte. This gives clients the power to make their own, informed decisions about their business.
So like you, Liz, I am a teacher. I’m a teacher and I love to solve problems. And this has led me to doing more consulting/coaching/educating-type work. I love it. And it’s opened up a whole new part of my business.
Now people don’t have to need a new website to work with me. They can hire me to help them with any number of projects or aspects of their business: from service and product development to marketing, increasing traffic and building relationships to branding, utilizing a newsletter to just plain problem solving.
And best of all, they can hire me to help them learn how to use social media – blogging, social networking, etc, – more effectively, to grow their business or to increase the visibility of their blog. That I’m doing already with a handful of clients.
So that’s what I want to do more of…coach people to a more rewarding and successful business, consult with people to solve their business problems and educate people on how to do anything they need without being dependent on me. Does that make me a coaching strategist? Maybe.
So Liz (and you, reading this, too), speaking of strategy:
What do you feel is necessary to create an effective strategy to promote a business?
If you got this far, I’d love to hear your answers to either question. Join our one2one conversation in the comment box below.
And if you need some help with your business, let’s talk about it.
I run a seminar biz so naturally, building relationships with clients is key. But apart from doing that, I like to create a platform of learning and networking in topics and areas outside the business arena. It can be topics that geared towards wellness,health,family,parenting,home issues… topics that bring people together to learn and share.
Doris,
That sounds awesome. I’d love to hear more.
Dawud. You’re right on when you say that you were born a teacher! Your ability to teach shines through on this blog and in all of our connections!
Thanks for stepping into what you were born to do!
Ed,
You’re welcome. I have to thank you – and everyone else – though for being a part of all this. I’m here, doing what I do, because of each of you. Thank you.
(and, invite your friends)
Looks like you’ve found your true brand/household name: Dawud Miracle!
Congrats Dawud–finding “your thing” is what makes you a successful entrepreneur and sustainable small business owner! Geez…this conversation with Lars here.
Enjoy keeping the one-on-one on-going 😉
there is nothing really rewarding than passing on your knowledge to others and they from that pass that knowledge to others.
What I look forward to doing more of, is promoting the cause that I have had on the back burner for a very long time. There is so much to learn in Internet business and a steep curve when you are trying to do it all on your own and you are starting from knowing nothing.
But without funds to hire people to do things for you, you have to learn them for yourself. That’s what I’ve been doing as often as I can for the last few years. I think I am finally on the verge of being able to give my cause the start it has been waiting for. I hope it will work, because my goal is to make life better for everyone in this country.