Life Say Articles

Gather round, everyone. It’s time to have “The Talk.” You know the one I mean. You’ve started asking lots of questions and I can tell you’re ready for it, so make yourselves comfortable and let’s go over the basics. Because if you’re in business, you need to know about this. It’s crucial to your success. Mastering this technique will put a spring in your step, and bring new life to your ventures. Plus, it’s actually pretty fun. Birds do it, bees do it The birds and the bees do this naturally, and we can, too. It’s called cross-pollination . They fly from one flower to another, or one tree to the next, picking up bits of one plant and carrying it to the other. The plant on the receiving end of this pollination is hardier and able to reproduce with greater variety. It meets environmental challenges more successfully because it’s genetically diverse. In the same way, when you cross-pollinate ideas, you make your business stronger. You’ll be better able to weather the difficulties that every business and brand has to face to survive. Keeping your eyes open to sources for ideas is the first step. Having a system for gathering and using these ideas is important, too. Really great ideas can be found where you least expect them. Get started here First, the obvious sources. Cross-pollinate your business with innovative new ideas by: Reading books, magazines and websites outside your field. Talking to people in different industries. Find out what their challenges are and how they’ve met them. Ask yourself how you can apply their solutions to your own business. Learning from your customers. Design thinking is a concept that is built around staying in close touch with your customers’ needs, and building your products and services around meeting them. Look for love in all the wrong places You can find great new ideas in places you never expected, too. Get inspiration from your fiercest competition. Your competitors are fighting the same battles you are. What are they doing that you can learn from? How have they solved the same challenges you face? What techniques do they use to succeed? What are some problems they don’t solve particularly well, where you could fill in the gap? Learn from your own failures. The School of Hard Knocks can teach you more than anything else. Look back on your projects and learn from what went wrong, so that you can get it right the next time. Keep the innovative ideas flowing Finally, it’s easier to keep the new ideas flowing in to your business if you have a structure in place that allows cross-pollination to happen on a regular basis. Here are some techniques: Create an informal Board of Directors . Gather a group of 3-5 people who are willing to support your efforts. Meet with them in person or by phone at least four times a year. Update them on your goals, the progress you’re making, and your struggles. Let the ideas flow, and take good notes. Join a Mastermind group . Many groups meet monthly, some more often. Some Chamber of Commerce organizations coordinate them, but you can also find virtual Mastermind groups with a quick web search. The group supports each member, so you’ll both offer and receive encouragement and ideas. Join a virtual private community . Sites like Third Tribe are great places to connect with like-minded people and to generate exciting new business ideas. Consider working with a coach . Because business coaches speak to many different clients, they’ll naturally cross pollinate your conversations with ideas they’ve picked up from helping other people. Small business, big ideas We all want a more resilient business, and a lot of Copyblogger readers have very small organizations. Letting ideas flow freely between your small-scale operation and the larger world will build a business that withstands the challenges of the marketplace. How about you? Are you gathering and applying ideas from all over? Buzz down to the comments and cross-pollinate them with some thoughts of your own. About the Author: Pamela Wilson has been in the same Mastermind group since 2004. She cross pollinates her Big Brand System site with ideas to help small businesses use the power of design to grow.

See the original post here:
The Key to Innovative Business Ideas: Cross-Pollination

You try to kick someone under the table and your leg stays as inert as the table’s leg. Your toes are unwiggleable. Your eyebrow won’t arch wryly in disdain. You want to make something happen, but that desire isn’t translating into movement. Your muscles don’t obey the signals from your brain. That’s paralysis. Analysis is pretty much the same thing. You analyze your business all the time. You decide that it would be smart to start an email campaign, or change the direction for your blog posts. You decide whether to run a promotion for your consulting business or launch an information product. You’re thinking about something happening. But you’re not making it happen. When analysis paralysis is beneficial It turns out that sometimes it’s good to be paralyzed. Every night, when you go to sleep and drop deep into that REM state that lets you wake up all refreshed in the morning, you are, medically speaking, paralyzed. This is a good thing. When you get tired, your ability to act is impaired. You’re more likely to get lost, to drive poorly, to call the ex you swore you’d never speak to again. Get paralyzed by sleep for a couple of hours, and suddenly everything improves. When your spouse throws the car keys at you a little too hard because they haven’t forgiven you for calling your ex last night, you catch them effortlessly with catlike reflexes. Analysis can be like this. Sometimes we have too much going on in our businesses. It can help to take a moment to stop everything and hold completely still, moving nothing but our brains, just thinking about the problem. We don’t have to take action yet. We don’t have to move a muscle. We just have to think about what we’ll do when we’re ready to move. Analysis can be a refreshing pause for our brains. It can also be a serious problem. When analysis paralysis Is detrimental The kind of paralysis you experience in REM state every night is good for you. You probably didn’t even know you were paralyzed. (If you weren’t freaking out about it before, don’t start now. Whatever you do, don’t think about the xkcd comic that points out that dreaming means going comatose, hallucinating vividly, and then suffering amnesia. Adding paralysis to that list doesn’t sound so bad now, does it?) It’s okay for your legs (and the rest of you) to be paralyzed for a couple hours a night. If it goes on for more than a day, though, you’re going to start to be pretty concerned about some of the logistics. Analysis can be like this, too. When you’ve taken the time to hold still and analyze your business for a couple of hours — even a full working day — before you take action, that’s perfectly healthy. It has probably improved your ability to move forward confidently and with good judgment. If you find yourself analyzing for weeks or months at a time without moving, it’s time to be concerned. How to cure analysis paralysis To cure real paralysis, you generally need the sort of miracle doctor featured prominently in many a popular medical drama, but not so prominently in real-life hospitals. To cure analysis paralysis, though, you just need to check out the recent Third Tribe seminar featuring Sonia Simone and Chris Garrett , where they talk about how to take action on that product launch you’ve been meaning to do, thinking about, analyzing, and never doing. You’ll learn: The product development technique that kills paralysis, moves you to a fast launch, and creates great value for your customers Why “thinking big” can stop you dead in your tracks, and how to get moving again How to use your own “weaknesses” as strengths that move you forward What to do if you don’t have thick skin (and how it can work to your benefit) How to create products that move your customers farther and faster toward their goals. While you’re listening, you’ll find yourself analyzing how to use these techniques in your business. You may also find yourself lulled into a soporific state of bliss, because Sonia’s voice is extremely soothing. And that’s okay. To make sure you don’t get stuck there, though, there’s a Next Action worksheet to help you move forward. Use it. Make your business stronger through movement. Otherwise, I’d have to explain what “atrophy” means. And no one wants that. About the Author: Taylor Lindstrom is a freelance copywriter and the new Assistant Editor for Copyblogger . This is her first Copyblogger post. P.S. To snag Chris and Sonia’s interview, and instant access to 15 more cutting-edge seminars that will move your business forward (with new seminars added every month), join the Third Tribe today .

See the article here:
The Cure for Analysis Paralysis

Your bottom line is bottoming out. Your customers are looking elsewhere. Your well of new ideas has run dry. What can you do? You could turn to your accountant for money-saving schemes, or hire a lawyer to re-structure your business. You could bring in a salesperson to drum up customers. I’ll bet you wouldn’t think a technique used by designers could help you out of a bad spot. The technique I’ll outline here is the secret to creating products and services your customers will buy. It’s a powerful way to keep your well of ideas overflowing. It’s a three-step process anyone can do. And when it’s done right, you can expect impressive results. The fountain of youth for your business When your well of new ideas runs dry, design thinking will get it bubbling up again. Design thinking is a technique that turns your business challenges on their heads, allowing you to see them from a different angle. It helps you discover new products and service that meet the needs of your market. And when your ideas meet a need, they sell. The secret to creating stuff your customers will buy Tim Brown of IDEO gave a lecture on design thinking at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and explained design thinking with a great analogy. Brown said that most new business ideas come in through one of three doors: The technical door , which is led by research and development thinking. The business door , which is led by standard value-oriented thinking like return on investment. The people door , which is led by design thinking. Design thinking is a human-centered process. If you focus on your customers when you’re developing new ideas, you’ll create products and services catered to them, and dramatically increase your chances of success. Inspiration: Design thinking starts here The first phase of the design thinking process is inspiration , and that comes from your customers. Find out what their struggles are, and discover what their daily lives are like. You can gather inspiration through: Observation: What can you see your customers struggling with? What do they complain about on Twitter and Facebook? What questions do you hear again and again? Interviews: Whether face-to-face or on the phone, speaking directly to your customers and asking for candid information about their challenges is invaluable. Speak to users on either extreme: power users and beginners. Your most valuable observations will come from the far ends of the spectrum. Role Play: Ask a friend to “mystery shop” your business, going through every interaction as a customer would. What’s their first contact like? How do they perceive the process? What would improve their experience? Surveys: Online surveys are easy and fast. Your goal in this phase is to understand the cognitive, emotional, and physical world your customers live in. Gather this information, and use it in the next step. Ideation: Brainstorming gone wild In this phase, Brainstorming Rule Number One applies: no idea is too outlandish to consider. Use a white board, large paper, or a computer file to field ideas. If you’re a solo entrepreneur, gather colleagues for this process. Feed them the initial data you gathered in the inspiration phase, and set them loose. Narrow down your ideas and pick the strongest one by prototyping. I know what you’re thinking: prototyping doesn’t sound like something a small business can afford to do, right? Prototyping your best ideas can be as simple as: Videotaping someone going through the motions of using your idea for a new product or service. Building quick models of physical products using cardboard boxes and tape. Create your product to size and see how it might feel in use. Build a mini-product that gives a taste of the benefits of the full thing. If you’re thinking of creating a membership site, build out a tiny sliver into a teleseminar or a $7 ebook to test the waters. Writing down stories about the journey your customer takes from the moment they realize they have a need, to the moment they discover your new product or service, to their interaction with it, and their post-purchase experience. Prototyping allows you to visualize what your idea would be like in use. It makes it “real,” and will give you strong clues about whether or not an idea is viable. Implementation: Make it so You’ve been inspired by your customers, and you’ve developed a new idea they will love. The last phase of the design thinking process is about implementation . This is where you will nail down your costs, determine your production needs, and figure out how to execute your best idea. As you set up a system to deliver your idea, think back on those customer stories you gathered, and the prototyping exercises you did. Use these experiences to develop a marketing story around your product or service that will tap into your customer’s needs. And of course, always focus your marketing around the benefits your customer will experience after purchasing. A three-part technique that helps businesses soar Gaining inspiration from your customers, developing ideas based on their needs, and making those ideas a reality are the three phases of design thinking that every business can implement. Harnessing this creative force will keep your well of ideas overflowing with products and services that connect with your customers needs, and help your business grow. About the author: Pamela Wilson helps small businesses grow with great design and marketing tips. Learn the basics with her free Design 101 e-course at Big Brand System.

Follow this link:
How to Develop an Endless Source of Ideas that Sell

Check out this free 31-page PDF report called How to Have a Great Life and a Great Business (Especially if You’re Not the “Business” Type). It not only ties together the themes we’ve touched on so far in the Lateral Action Entrepreneur series, but also delivers practical ideas on starting a business that leads to more than just money. Here’s what you’ll discover: Why I quit my cushy law firm job and turned to online publishing. How I failed miserably. How I then succeeded miserably. How I learned my lesson the hard way. The allure of the global microbrand. The rise of the “feeder” business. Why small is beautiful (and powerful). The 37signals approach to market research. Real-life examples of “smartly small” entrepreneurs. Plus, you’ll get an examination of the 6 critical components of smart entrepreneurship: Create (Don’t Compete) Lead (Don’t Manage) Communicate (Don’t be Shy) Automate (Don’t Duplicate) Accelerate (Don’t Stand Still) Succeed (Don’t Stress) The report is available here . You’ll also get full optimized transcripts of our recent seminars with Steven Pressfield and Jason Fried. About the Author : Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and co-founder of Lateral Action . Get more from Brian on Twitter .

Read the original here:
How to Have a Great Life and a Great Business

A young woman discovers in college that she is driven by a burning desire to succeed. She starts a business, struggles, goes through some lean years. Eventually her hard work begins to pay off. She has a good year. Then, a great year. The year after that blows the doors off. She gets everything she’s worked so hard for. The prestigious client list. The Armani wardrobe. The BMW. The gorgeous house in the most expensive part of town. The money pours in, almost effortlessly. More money than she ever dreamed she could have. How do you fill in the end of this story? Most of us end this one with: But the more she succeeded, the less fulfilled she became. She shortchanged all of her personal relationships. The harder she worked, the less happy she became. Finally, she realized that her success was hollow. But by now she was addicted to the high income, and it was too late to turn back. But what if we could write a better ending? Early on, she refused to become a captive of her business. Even in the tough times, she took six weeks of vacation a year, knowing that when she made time for herself, she became an ever-sharper businessperson. As the business became more successful, she traveled the world with her family and friends. She was profoundly grateful never to have had a “normal” job, which would have made it hard to spend serious time with her family. The harder she worked, the happier she became. She launched a foundation to help kids from poor backgrounds create businesses of their own. She became a serious painter. She went back to school and earned a master’s in philosophy. Everything she did to nurture her life seemed to strengthen her business. She was terribly grateful to have caught that initial spark early, and to have acted on it. The first story makes a better made-for-TV movie It feeds our stereotypes. It reinforces our fear of success . It reassures us that we were right never to act on those dreams we had. The second story is a lot more enjoyable to live. Both stories are realistic. If you choose to create a business, large or small, you get to write the story. You decide where you’ll put your focus, what you’ll spend your time and attention on. I’d love to help you write a better story These two stories fascinate me. I’ve known both of these women. I’ve watched them work, watched what they struggle with and what seems to come easily to them. I’ve made an obsessive study of what makes some successful people love their lives, and what makes some utterly miserable. This obsession, like most of my obsessions, ended up as an extended piece of writing, which I’d like to share with you. It’s called The 8 Reasons Rich People Hate Their Lives (PDF) . The report explores some questions that fascinate me: Why taking ethical shortcuts won’t just make you hate yourself, it can also tank your business. Why improving your weaknesses is a loser’s game. How being driven by your ideals can wreck your life, and what to focus on instead. Why some multi-millionaires are still poor, and how you can become wealthy no matter what your income. The reason so many smart and talented people are miserable, and the simple mindset shift that would make them happy again. How to deal with the loneliness that success can bring. Why a wise entrepreneur puts family and friends first. The self-destructive behavior that’s as dangerous as driving drunk, and why it can destroy your business and your life. The report could just as easily be called The 8 Reasons (Some) Rich People Love Their Lives . Because that’s the part that really interests me. How to play the whole game to win — not just the financial part, but the living part as well. If this is a topic that interests you, I hope you’ll check out the report. It’s totally free, you don’t even have to leave your email address. And if you find the report valuable, please share it with people you care about. Rather than writing your business story as a sappy melodrama, let’s write something for you that’s a lot more satisfying, a lot more appealing, and a lot more fun. Download The 8 Reasons Rich People Hate Their Lives. About the Author : Sonia Simone is Senior Editor of Copyblogger and co-founder of Inside the Third Tribe .

Go here to read the rest:
8 Reasons Rich People Hate Their Lives

Popular Searches

• why do people hate entrepreneurship mindset