Creative Life & Business Strategies

I’ve really grown to like Twitter. All you have to do is tell the story of your life in just 144 characters at a time. Well, it’s not really quite like that.

If you’re a regular reader of the Creative Life and Business Blog you’ll know that no one cares about your life, they care most about theirs.

So they really will not care very much about your story if that’s all you ever talk about.

But they DO care about your knowledge, information and people/things you find interesting.

Twitter is a perfect way to share all that you know, create and observe with a very large group of people.

Start by setting up your Twitter account. Use a real picture of yourself and make your brief bio interesting enough for people to want to learn more about you.

Then start using Twitter for just 14 minutes a day.

Be interested in others. When someone ‘Tweets’ and you find that post interesting give them a quick comment on it.

3-minutes to find the post and add your comment.

When you find an interesting Tweet with helpful information “Retweet” (RT) it and share it with the people who follow you.

3-minutes to find a Tweet that is RT-able and 1 minute to RT it.

When you are on the Web and find an article that you think is particularly helpful, share it on Twitter.

2-minutes; 1-minute to make the link a Tiny URL and post the article you enjoyed on Twitter.

Write a blog post that you share with your opt-in list regularly and add it to Twitter.

Assuming you’re marketing a business or promoting a product or service, after writing a blog post, save the  link as a Tiny URL and post it on Twitter.

2-minutes or less. We don’t count writing the blog post because you would do that anyway to promote your business.

Find an interesting person who provided great information and let others know about them. #followfriday is one way to do that.

Do this as you find interesting people. Then take 1-minute to let others know about them

When you run across interesting information that relates to your market make a Tiny URL and share it on Twitter

1-minute or less to post the information link on Twitter.

Twitter is a community of people who are passionate about the things that interest them.

But don’t get lost in the tool. Follow a plan (there are many great plans out there) and spend a consistent amount of time each day to build awareness for the personal brand called YOU.

Take a minute right now and follow me @billgluth on Twitter. I’ll return your follow and look forward to sharing great information with you.

One resource I’ve enjoyed is @GuyKawasaki. Check out his words of wisdom on Twitter at http://tinyurl.com/6fxmj9

Another tool I find helpful is TweetDeck. It’s free so give it a try.

Interestingly, the word vision can be interchangeable with the word passion.

But small business owners often forget to promote the true reason for being in business. They’ve lost touch with their passionate vision.

Passion is defined as an intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction. Vision means unusual discernment or foresight – a person of vision.

Our vision (passion) is that intense driving conviction of unusual foresight that involves people in our story.

It is an authentic story because it comes from our heart. It’s the reason we do what we do. And authentic stories are how we persuade people to use our service or product (ideas) over many other choices.

But for a majority of people in small business, vision is lost somewhere between starting the business and dealing with the day-to-day challenges and opportunities that arise.

Ask Yourself This Question: Why did you go into business in the first place?

Like many people, you probably got started with a vision you felt passionate about.

Somewhere along the line you fell victim to day-to-day, reactive thinking and never returned to your original business vision. It became diluted and never rose from the ashes again.

What Can I Do to Rediscover My Vision?

Remembering the reason you started your business is the first step.

Next, tell people the story of how you got started and why you love what you do. That story should be on your marketing collateral, web site, sales presentations and phone messages.

Passion is that single, illusive thing that attracts clients. Passion helps you stand out from other businesses who are selling rather than telling a “passionate, authentic story about a unique business vision”.

Action Steps to Develop Your Vision

1. Create an Authentic Vision Story. Start by considering the reason you started your business in the first place. Think back, when you first started out, what were you excited about?

2. Write down one sentence that tells the value you provide to others. This is the true reason anyone is in business.

3. Next, write down your competitive advantage. How are you different than the competition?

4. List single sentence statements that tell people your identity. Remember, image is dead. Clients and prospects need a strong authentic identity to understand exactly who you are and what you stand for.

5. Add your niche to this list. What single group of people do you best serve?

6. List the type of client you most enjoy working with. Include both professional and personal qualities. Understand who your ideal client is.

7. Weave the 6 points above into a compelling story. This is your Authentic Vision Story.

8. Memorize that story. Focus on your ideal clients only. Tell every ideal prospect you talk to this week your Authentic Vision Story.

9. The results will surprise you. Your prospects will seem more receptive. Your clients will be more willing to help you spread the word. The reason is your sales and marketing story is authentic and comes from your heart.

Follow these steps and you will definitely find greater satisfaction and more enjoyment in your business.

Is Twitter, Facebook, blogging and other social media activities really worth the time and effort?

If you’re looking for immediate sales lead generation the answer is no.

The best activity to spend your time on if you need business today is personal and direct outreach to a tight niche group of prospects.

You have to think of social media more like a savings account.

You put 10% of what you earn into the account. Over time your savings grow. A little interest accrues and you have a chunk of money down the road.

Social media works the same way.

You add an article or blog post a few times each week. Spend 5 minutes 3 or 4 times a day adding something interesting and compelling on Twitter. You add a friend or two to your Facebook profile each morning.

Over time your content footprint and online reputation grows.

You have more followers on Twitter and more friends on Facebook. They become interested in what you have to say so the pay attention. You get a strong sale lead or referral from your social media activity.

That’s how it works. So the question is, are you willing to save or not?

We’ll know by your content footprint online.

Bonus Idea:

To find your content footprint online just type in “YOUR NAME” (with quotes) in Google and see what comes up. Notice the number of hits for you name in the search results area.

One of the most important skills entrepreneurs, small business owners and solopreneurs can develop is the skill of accomplishing tasks.

While it sounds basic, most people who own small businesses struggle with this constantly.

There are steps you can take to ensure that you actually accomplish important tasks.  If you don’t follow them, little will get done in your business.

Start with intention.

Why do you want to accomplish this task? What is the result you’re hoping for? Is it vital to accomplish or less important?

Your answers to these questions will dictate where on your daily priority list each item will fall.

Vital is at the top of the list. Nothing else gets started until the vital tasks are in progress or completed.

Create the steps.

Now that you know the task, outcome and priority move to creating steps to accomplish it.

What resources do you need?

Do you have those resources readily available or will you have to contract with someone else?

Assemble the resources and people for each task and get them ready to move into action.

Evaluate how the task will be accomplished.

When will you begin the project?

Set an exact date and time and keep that appointment with yourself.

What happens first, second, third, forth, etc?

Who does what and when? Create realistic deadlines for outside vendors and stick with them.

Now all you have to do is stick to the schedule.

If a problem arises that will delay finishing a step, reset the deadline date. Manage the process until it’s done.

Here’s the good news. All it takes is a little self discipline to stick to the schedule you created. All you have to do it keep the appointments you set with yourself.

Here’s the bad news. All it takes is a little self discipline to stick to the schedule you created. All you have to do it keep the appointments you set with yourself.

It may not always be fun but if the task is vital it will get completed by following these simple, yet powerful steps.