Add You - Business

Confessions of an Incurable Entrepreneur
Being in business. What the heck does that mean? Aren’t we all Commerce Crash Dummies on the grand scheme of enterprise utopia?We’re all in business just by the nature of who we are and where we live. No not just Americans but all of us. Even the Dani and the Yanamamo, those “primitive” folks in the rain forest. Every one of us is trading, selling (for something), getting, wanting and consuming! We’ve done it. We’re all cosmic entrepreneurs.So what do we get for being business people? Worry, fun, power, laughs, greed, humility, money, toys, sex, love, hemorrhoids, heart attack

esses.

I learned this from my mentor when I first got into the speaking business.

“Every speech should be replaced by three others,” Shep said.

In other words, if you can book three new speeches for every one speech you give, your calendar will always be filled.

This brings me to the best speech I ever gave in my life.

No standing ovation. No life changing audience testimonials. Not much in product sales. Hell, I didn’t even get paid for the speech! It was a freebie!

But I did book 14 speeches from inquiring audience members within the next four months.

Unbelievable. Yet another job well done! Die Cutting
Die Cutting is a procedure by which a material is cut to an exact design or shape with the help of a die. It is a creative process similar to cookie cutting. It involves the cutting of shapes from plastic sheets using a shaped knife and pressing the edge into one or more layers of sheeting. After completing the cutting, a certain pressure is applied using mechanical or hydraulic presses. Die cutting is sometimes known as dinking or blanking.For cutting a wide range of objects simply and quickly, the machines use steel rule dies. Use of scissors demands more patience and time. Die cut

For up 'n coming bands, maybe it’s playing a sold out show two nights in a row.

For fashion designers, maybe it’s having their dress worn by Jessica Simpson on the red carpet.

As a professional speaker, I’ve often wondered what the mark of a job well done was in my industry:

Receiving standing ovations? Commanding high fees? Selling thousands of dollars in books? Addressing huge audiences?

Maybe. And I admit, all of those things used to sound great to me. But over the years I’ve come to learn that there are many other indicators of success.

Same Time Next Year
At my first NSA convention, someone reminded me, “Your goal is not to get a standing ovation; your goal is to be invited back next year.”

Great example: two days after hosting a breakout session with one of my association clients, the president called me and said, “Scott, I just wanted to tell you how much our members loved your workshop on approachability! In fact, because it was one of the highest rated sessions of the conference, we’d like to invite you back to deliver the keynote at next year’s conference!”

Nice. Not just, “Hey, great speech. Thanks.” But rather, “Wow, that was awesome! Can you come back and do that again next year?”

Positive Feedback
But then there’s the audience (i.e., your fans.) Let’s face it: the mark of a job well done also pertains to the feedback you receive from them. Since they do pay the bills.

I remember getting an email once from a man who was in the audience of one of my personal branding programs. He was a successful entrepreneur, known extremely well throughout the business community. In fact, I was kind of surprised to hear from him.

“Scott,” he wrote, “Your speech changed my life. I am serious. You got me thinking in whole new ways.”

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Are you just serving, or truly impacting/changing/blowing away your clients?

How’s Your Calendar Looking?
Still, aside from customer testimonials and gushing clients, there’s also the mark of a job well donee as a function of your ability to multiply your successes.

In other words, if you can book three new speeches for every one speech you give, your calendar will always be filled.

No standing ovation. No life changing audience testimonials. Not much in product sales. Hell, I didn’t even get paid for the speech! It was a freebie!

But I did book 14 speeches from inquiring audience members within the next four months.

Unbelievable. Yet another job well done! The Job Seeker's Internet: Just a Pile of Fool's Gold?
According to a July 2002 survey conducted during the Pew Internet and American Life Joint Project, over 52 million people have looked for job information online and more than 4 million continue to do so every day.Furthermore, the study showed, some 47% of all the adult Internet users in the United States have gone online looking for positions or job information. Doubtless, those figures are even higher today, so one might readily assume that the Internet offers the exposure to job leads that the great majority of job seekers want. The truth, however, is less reassuring.he years I’ve come to learn that there are many other indicators of success.