What’s your first step this week?
Share below.
Category: planning
Missed opportunities
A couple of weeks ago I shared a story about a woman attending a new networking group, it not being quite what she expected and her leaving. You can read it here.
This week let’s go over the third and last question: Were there any missed opportunities here?
Well, yes, yes there were! Many actually.
Let’s start with perhaps the less obvious missed opportunity. The one by the two women who regularly attend that group.
There was one thing that the person in charge could have done to more immediately make guests feel at ease: make sure the hostess knew they were there!
It’s a small thing, but it might have helped put their visitor a little more at ease.
The other missed opportunity was the conversation they all could have had if she stayed 15 to 30 minutes longer.
She shared about herself, her business, and that she was new to the area.
And she got to know a bit about the other women and their businesses.
But had she stayed longer she might have learned about the other groups in the area that she should check out – the ones where they regularly have a larger number of attendants.
She had already determined that the ladies there weren’t potential clients and from what they shared about their businesses that they weren’t potential referral partners either (this is a plus, because she clearly knows how to identify both!), however, she didn’t share who are great referral partners for her.
They might have been able to point her toward some really great connections and potentially introduced her – if they would have been given the opportunity.
So, there were some missed opportunities on both sides.
What are some of the opportunities that you realized you missed when you thought back on meetings or events? What did you do differently so you didn’t miss those opportunities again? Share in the comments below.
Without leaps of imagination…
Nothing to add this week. Just a great quote I came across and wanted to share.
What does this bring up for you? Share in the comments below.
What do driving directions have to do with your business?
Last week while on retreat with my coach and colleagues, I was thinking about how nice it was to be in that environment.
The coaches have all been where I am and my colleagues have either been where I am or I’ve been where they are.
It made me think of how easy it is to ask someone for basic instructions (those easy steps I was looking for, mentioned here) and then think you can go and implement by yourself.
And I thought about asking for driving directions (my mind works in interesting ways).
You can ask a local for directions downtown – and they can give you directions to get downtown.
Or you can share where downtown you’re going and when you want to get there and the local can tell you what streets to avoid, how to get there, and advise you to park two blocks away at this specific lot because there won’t be street parking at that time of day.
Could you have figured it out on your own? Probably, but it’d take a lot longer to get there and be a lot more frustrating.
Working with a coach, or anyone, is similar.
Have pain in your knee? You can ask a doctor for stronger pain pills, or you can tell him what’s going on.
And he might realize that the problem isn’t your knee at all, it’s your back.
Working with a coach to get your business where you want it to be works the same way.
Yes, you can read online how successful other people have been using this method or that, but they don’t know where you are. So how are they going to know that you’re in Albuquerque and need to go left?
It’s so important to work with someone who understands where you are and can tailor their suggestions to you.
Who are you working with to achieve your goals? Share below!
Preparing for Conferences
Have you ever gone to an large event or conference to improve your business and walked away with a long list of things you’re going to do to improve your business? You’re all excited about it and then you get home and your real life kicks in. You don’t have the vibe of the event anymore and you look at that long list and instead of being excited it’s just more stuff to do – UGH.
Can you relate?
I know I can.
Last year I went to an event and was really concerned about this happening, so I decided to do something that can be difficult for me (you might have heard me mention it before) I took a step back and evaluated.
I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to do everything that was mentioned over the course of three days (and I’d probably drive myself and my loved ones a bit batty if I did). So, I took a look at my business and my goals.
I recognized that I wasn’t an established business with a steady stream of clients. So, I wasn’t ready for anything that built on that (this was super hard for me to admit, even just to myself).
And anything that was more geared to someone building their business (or creating a new one) was going to apply.
And given what I know about myself, I knew I’d walk out with things I wanted to do, things that I wasn’t ready for and wanted to remember, ideas to blog about, things to research or learn more about and probably a few other things.
I also expected a binder with the slides and space for notes – notes that I would probably find almost impossible to find again or even remember.
So, what did I do? I pulled out my colored note cards and some sticky notes. I labeled each color something different and stuck a blank sticky note on the inside of my binder when I got it (read on more info on this).
While I didn’t implement everything I wanted to when I got home – I didn’t feel overwhelmed by a long list full of things that I could do and things I wanted to do but wasn’t ready for.
How do you do this?
- Recognize where you are in your business.
I know this can be difficult. You don’t have to tell anyone else. And it’s really freeing to be able to say to someone thinking about a strategy that you know you’re not ready for “that’s not something I’m focusing on right now” or “that’s not where I am in my business right now.” - Get some note cards or something else to jot brief ideas or tasks on.
I had several different categories:
a. To-do – I jotted the page from the binder next to it
b. Blog ideas
d. Things to journal about later (things I wanted to think more about)
e. Quotes – I collect them and the event had a lot of great onesWhy not just write everything down in one place on a piece of paper? I find it hard to easily find what I’m looking for when everything is together (if it works for you great!). I know I’m sometimes easily sidetracked or discouraged and looking at a page full of each category above can overwhelm me. So, I create tricks like these to support me.
- Bring sticky notes.
I brought regular sticky notes and stuck one on the inside of the binder. Generally, the binders don’t have an index, so when we hit a section I knew I’d want to reference later, I wrote the topic and page number on the sticky.I also placed a sticky note, slightly sticking out, on the pages I wanted to have quick access to. These were things like the schedule and information that I wanted to come back to right away.
Some events will have a spot for your name and phone number on the first page. If the one you’re at doesn’t, write it on a sticky and put it on the first page. This way you can be reunited if it is accidentally misplaced (it happens, someone set theirs down next to the sinks in the bathroom and forgot it).
Most importantly, do what supports you. This might mean spending some time alone during a break or meal time or it might mean inviting someone you’re sitting near to lunch (really, people appreciate this – most people are there alone or like the opportunity to get to know other people).
What do you do at large events or conferences to prevent overwhelm? Share in the comments below.