Month: March 2016

Would you describe the work you do in your business as meaningless? Or meaningful? All this month we have been discussing the value of divining The Big Idea to serve as the gravitational force for your entrepreneurial journey. Think back to your grade school science lessons. Gravity kept the Apollo Mission on course. Gravity got them to the moon. Then, that same gravity flung them safely back to earth. The primary purpose of The Big Idea works much like that. It is the constraint required to stay on course and the momentum needed to reach the goal.

But there is a secondary purpose to The Big Idea, which is every bit as important as the first, and that is the purpose of purpose itself. We spend most of our waking hours as adults working. Should it not be meaningful? Most entrepreneurs are willing to work very hard. But we desire more than hard work. We want to know at the end of a busy day that we made a difference–that the people we serve are in a better place than they were before–even if we are not brain surgeons or working to solve some grave problem in the human condition. The human heart longs for purpose.

The possibility for human fulfillment is just one of many reasons I love small business. Many people in cubicle-land have jobs that seem vapid and pointless. They are clock watchers, planning their escape at 5:00pm. They often have very specialized jobs that are only one part of a much larger process, and often far removed from the end user. They may work all day long in one place–in logistics, or on a production line, with no direct reward for their labor other than a paycheck. But in contrast, in a small business, the entrepreneur gets to be a part of the entire process from beginning to end. When the masterpiece is complete, you place it into the hands of a delighted customer, and the direct and immediate reward for your labor is standing right in front of you, with a big smile on their face. The satisfaction of a job well done can be intoxicating. 

But I do not want you to get confused. Last week, you may remember me saying that I am just naïve enough to believe that every person was born for a particular purpose. But what I do not want you to imagine is that one moment you will be walking down the street, and the next moment, the clouds part, bright beams of glory shine down upon your head, and choirs of angels fill the sky, and a loud voice thunders something specific like, “You shall make films that change people’s lives.”

Nope. It does not happen like that.

It does not happen in an instant. It does not happen overnight. It does not happen after tests to determine your career path. It could take many years to find your sweet spot. Some people go through many iterations and evolutions and revolutions before they land on The Specific Big Idea. Prior to such landing, it is only Big Idea-ish.

But you still can find The Big Idea. And you will–if you are brave enough to continue pursuing it.

Here are three ways to pursue:

Follow your curiosity where it leads. Continue to educate yourself about things that matter to you, things that interest you, and things that bring deep meaning to your life. Continual learning will prepare you for opportunities.

Take those opportunities as the doors open. In order for doors to open, you must be looking for them, and you must knock on them. You cannot expect anyone to know that you are standing out there. You must be brave enough to say what you want. 

Seek the place where you can be the biggest help to others. What resources do you have at your disposal? Where can you use them? What task is lying right in front of you?

No matter what we do for a living, it is only a matter of time before the industry is disrupted. In the current marketplace, niches are as fleeting. Opportunities exist, but one must be ready. Seeking The Big Idea will prepare you for opportunities that are not yet on the horizon. It will help you nix every meaningless task that is not serving your goal. Seeking The Big Idea will bring order to your business. The more clear it becomes, the more the stars will align. Your business will make sense. It will help you identify your gifts. When our work makes use of our greatest gifts, we are preventing the greatest waste of all: the waste of humanity.

You have something you can do to make the world a better place, for you, and for others. Someone, somewhere, is waiting, and will miss out if you do not share it. Seek The Big Idea, because gift is a terrible thing to waste.

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Why do we at etc!graphics inc, a graphic design company, care about your business strategies?  Because no matter how beautiful we make your visuals, your graphics will never make more sense than the clarity of your own vision. The clearer your target, the more lucid your marketing will be, and the better connection your visual graphics will make with your target customer. We want to help you become the best you can be. Join us all this month as we share ways to help your small business sustain and grow in a crowded marketplace. Etc!Graphics is devoted to helping you, the small business owner, think like a marketer. 

Very few career paths require the same amount of courage as launching a new business. Risking everything and setting out for a brave new world requires plenty of the right stuff. A laser-sharp trajectory, concentration, and focus are the essential trappings of a successful mission.

And one Big Idea. As outlined last week, The Big Idea is the gravity that keeps your entire voyage on course. It is just the jet fuel you need to help your business reach new heights. No other fuel comes close to packing the same punch.

The Big Idea is not focused on sales. It is beside the point that massive sales are more likely to occur from The Big Idea than from any other business model. That is not the goal. The goal of The Big Idea is to align your activities with Purpose. Making a living is the afterburner. Purpose comes before Profits in this dictionary.

But what if you do not have a Big Idea? How do you go about finding it? You may think me naïve, but I still believe that every person exists on earth for a particular purpose. I believe we have to work to discover this purpose while we are here so that we might make use of our gift, and then give it away. Horace Mann said that we should be ashamed to die until we have won some victory for mankind. We are not here for ourselves. We exist to give back and to leave the world better than we found it. Sounds like something your Mom always said to do, when you visited a place of great importance, doesn’t it?

Anyone can begin to unearth The Big Idea by asking the right questions. We will start by doing a quick sketch. Start by drawing three overlapping circles, like this:

The first circle represents things that fill my heart and soul. What can our business do well? What kind of work am I doing when I feel most alive? What do I care about? What activities cause me to lose track of time? If you asked your best friend to identify your strengths, what would they say? Your Big Idea must fill your heart and soul like a cup of cold water after a long workout, or your Big Idea will turn into Massive Monotony. But this is only looking on the inside of your business. Which is why we need to look outside.

The second circle represents the Wants and needs of your customers.Calibrate your internal desires with the outer reality. Just because we have a passion for something does not mean everyone loves it, or wants to pay me to do it for them. Passion is only part of the story. How long has it been since you have taken the time to ask your customers what they are passionate about? About what they really want? Take them out for coffee. This coffee break is not about pitching. It is about listening. Experience their world from their perspective. What is it like to be there? What do they believe about the world? Walk a mile or two in their moccasins. Think long and hard about how you can make the world better for your customers.  Concentrate on those desires that your business is most suited to fill. But this information is still limited. It does not tell me whether someone else is already doing what we want to do, only better and faster.  And this is why we need to take a look at the third circle.

The third circle represents where my business is completely Unique in the marketplace. This circle calibrates our trajectory with our environment. Is it hostile? Friendly? Where are the meteorites? A very common error of newbie entrepreneurs is to assume rather than prove assumptions. It is human to believe that because an idea is new to us, it is new to everyone. I heard a story of a man who lived long, long ago, who invented a wonderful device for getting about. It had wheels and handles and a seat and pedals. You could get on the thing and pedal it around. One day he pedaled it into town, only to find other people were already pedaling around on similar things, and they called these things bicycles. He discovered his invention was already common knowledge. You may believe your methods are different from everyone else. Only by investigation will you discover who has already made landing where you are still seeking to go. Your uniqueness must go beyond the expected quality. What can you say that your competitors cannot say?

Think these discoveries are easy? Not on your life. But do you see that tiny shared spot in between the circles? The value of that spot is inestimable.

This “overlapping magisteria” represents your sweet spot. It is the space where your business can serve the best, and are most likely to earn the most. It is a place where you can accomplish the most with what you have on hand. It is the place where you can serve your customer in a way that your competitors are unable to serve. When you have found a spot to fly where there are fewer competitors, and when you have spent the time to make your product unique, you will have made your whole journey a bit easier, way more exciting, and more profitable.

This little sweet spot will begin to shine a light on the stuff you were born to do.

Many people live to work and work to live. Life was meant to be so much more. Wouldn’t you like to win some victory for mankind in your business? Spend the time and effort to locate your own sweet spot. It will be like adding astrophysics to your trajectory and help you boldly go where no man has ever gone before.

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Why do we at etc!graphics inc, a graphic design company, care about your business strategies?  Because no matter how beautiful we make your visuals, your graphics will never make more sense than the clarity of your own vision. The clearer your target, the more lucid your marketing will be, and the better connection your visual graphics will make with your target customer. We want to help you become the best you can be. Join us all this month as we share ways to help your small business sustain and grow in a crowded marketplace. Etc!Graphics is devoted to helping you, the small business owner, think like a marketer.

What’sthe big idea? The question is both a challenge and one that demands an answer.

Want to know the fastest way from zero to awesome in your business? The journey begins, not with reading every new management book, not with passion and devotion to your work, and not with hiring all the right people, though those things are all great in themselves. Awesome begins with the power of an idea. Ideas have the power to connect people, and change the world.

So what’s the big idea in your company? Your Big Idea tells the story of how you will make the world a better place. If your company does not have a strong, guiding-light idea such as this, where could you find one?

Brainstorming your Big Idea requires piercing insight into your customer’s world. It requires deep empathy for the problems they face on a daily basis. It requires a deep understanding of the things they need and want most. The better you can identify and understand these needs and wants, the better you will serve them, and the more your customer will see you as the hero rushing in to bop, wham, and otherwise smash the problem into oblivion, while they stand there and watch, mouth agape. 

Successful businesses know that every effort the company makes must serve The Big Idea.

Once a small business is on a roll, it is all too easy, even for the most successful businesses, to get distracted and focus on anything but The Big Idea. That is where marketing comes in:

Too many ideas plague the true entrepreneur. Sometimes these extraneous ideas have good potential. Even if closely related to The Big Idea, they are rabbit trails nonetheless.  It can become a big shiny distraction, making it hard to get back to work on The Big Idea. It is marketing’s job to cage the rabbit, and hold that extraneous idea till later, when you have time to let it out to hop around a bit. 

Investors get distracted with getting the product to market and meeting the ROI within the defined time frame. It always takes longer and costs more. They must get the cash flowing, and sooner is more acceptable than later. So they push everyone along, sometimes at the expense of The Big Idea. We are not talking about achieving perfection here. We are talking about creating a product with the Occam’s razor principle, as simple as possible, yet no simpler, to meet the customer’s needs and give them something to talk about. It is marketing’s job to ensure the product meets the objectives of The Big Idea.

R&D loves to solve problems. They can get distracted solving problems. They may not stop to ask if solving the problem serves the Big Idea or not. Solving the problem may become the disease of perfectionism. After production spins into high gear, there are more problems still, and management jumps in, distracted by putting out fires. While everyone is so busy zigging, no one notices that the customer has zagged. It is marketing’s job to harness all efforts in service of The Big Idea, and keep their eye on solving the customer’s problems.

It is Marketing’s job to redeem all the distractions. That is just one reason I believe marketing is your most important system. Marketing ensures the product is optimally created for its intended purpose: to serve The Big Idea. When all the efforts serve The Big Idea, all departments work together for good. The Big Idea connects people, both inside and outside the company.

Do you need more of this connection? It may not seem that you are doing important work when you are just sitting there, staring out the window, and brainstorming about how you might insert your product into your customer’s daydream. But it is your most important work. The Big Idea will help you bring your product into context with your customer’s world.

You will connect with your customer to the degree that you understand them. You will connect with your customer to the degree that you empathize with their experience. You will connect with your customer to the degree that you have entered into their world. The Big Idea should rock their world, and it will turn yours to awesome.

Join us all this month for What’s The Big Idea? We will challenge you to pull your entire company into orbit around your own Big Idea.

PS- Take a minute to enjoy the visual of this week’s post. Guaranteed to make you smile.

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Why do we at etc!graphics inc, a graphic design company, care about your business strategies?  Because no matter how beautiful we make your visuals, your graphics will never make more sense than the clarity of your own vision. The clearer your target, the more lucid your marketing will be, and the better connection your visual graphics will make with your target customer. We want to help you become the best you can be. Join us all this month as we share ways to help your small business sustain and grow in a crowded marketplace. Etc!Graphics is devoted to helping you, the small business owner, think like a marketer. 

All we entrepreneurs really want is to be geniuses. That is all. Most any kind of work can be done artistically, no matter what one does for a living. So that is what we want to do. Instead of the boring grind, we want to create real art in our work—the surprising, original, fabulous, life-changing kind of art. It is a lot of pressure to put on ourselves. But hey, we have talent. At least, that is what our Mom said. If we could just get past the accounting, the insurance paperwork, the hiring, the vendor issues, and that boring grind long enough to do what we started this business to do in the first place? We would enjoy this journey so much more than we do now.

It is all too common a story.  

But now that you have been at this for a while, are you having fun yet? How is your business going? Is it going as you originally planned? I would be so surprised if you said yes. If you did say yes, it would mean that you are a rare bird indeed, because most plans do not fall out as planned.

Most entrepreneurs are surprised at the sheer amount of dedication, devotion, and determination required to run a business. They are still surprised even if they did a great deal of work on a good business plan and defused half of the problems up front. It is the rule, instead of the exception, that the five-year milestone looks quite different from the original intent.

But then again, maybe it does go as planned. When we are fearless to connect the dots, take new opportunities, and work through the rough spots, we become different people. Are you the same person that you were when you started? I am not. You cannot avoid this becoming. Small business makes you become–and makes you become more than you ever dreamed you could be.  

The small business journey grows people.

Here are just a few things small business teaches us:

You cannot pour from an empty cup. If you are burning the candle at both ends and in the middle to keep your business going, you will flame out. You will not be inspired to create anything. You will have no brainpower to work. You will run out of creativity, gas, and health. Small business teaches us that you cannot fool yourself forever. You will lose your superhero cape. You will fizzle, crash, and burn. To pour yourself into your business, you must find time to fill yourself up again so that you have something to pour out.

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Ever had one of those days when it feels like you are going to die? You did not die. How do I know? Because here you are, reading this post. What did the terrible, no good, horrible, very bad day teach you? It taught you that this problem could happen. You will not be surprised by it again. (Right?) You can learn how to develop systems to keep this problem from derailing your train.

Knowing what you do not want is as important as knowing what you want. We all end up doing work we do not like to do. We all end up serving clients that we would rather not serve. From what we do not like, we learn diplomacy, delegation, better marketing strategies, and that it is quite ok to say no. All of these things are essential business skills. We will not die if we do not accept every sale. We learn that in order to say yes, you must be able to say no.  

When the same problems repeat themselves, and I am the common denominator, the problem is me. We have to be somewhat confident to open the doors of a new enterprise. So confident, that entrepreneurs are rarely aware that we have a few bad habits, and have holes in our skillset. If we lack a expertise in a certain area, business owners are usually the last to know. But if we pay attention to the clues, and the signals, and the feedback, we can learn to recognize what we do not know.

You can become more than you ever thought you could be. Granted you did not sign up to be a leader, a human resource manager, a chief operating officer, an accountant, or a teacher. You probably started business because you wanted to do what you love to do. You wanted to use your gift. But small business gifts you back–with the opportunity to grow into so much more.  

These are just a few of the major life lessons I have learned from my own small business. If I were to share them all, I could write a book. Many of these lessons were learned in the school of hard knocks. It is an expensive school, but the best school ever. As with marriage, or parenting, we have no clue what we are getting into when we start our businesses. We learn as we go, and learn as we grow.

Your business does not have to be perfect to be wonderful. Even when it is not wonderful, it can help us to grow into all that God planned for us to be. The valuable things we learn become a right of passage, blowing wind into our sails. (And sales.) The lessons become a wonder in themselves.

Embrace your own journey. Learn to love it, and your small business will enable you and help you to find your inner genius.

What are some things that you have learned from your small business? Please share them below. 

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Why do we at etc!graphics inc, a graphic design company, care about your business strategies?  Because no matter how beautiful we make your visuals, your graphics will never make more sense than the clarity of your own vision. The clearer your target, the more lucid your marketing will be, and the better connection your visual graphics will make with your target customer. We want to help you become the best you can be. Join us all this month as we share ways to help your small business sustain and grow in a crowded marketplace. Etc!Graphics is devoted to helping you, the small business owner, think like a marketer.