Resources: Influences from The Art of Non Conformity book and blog.
I’ve spent the last month or so in an inquiry about identifying my ideal customer, how to solve their pains and how to change my approach to be more relevant to them…to grow, sell, provide value, earn money. You may have too. Another step in the dance, but along with it another revelation.
There’s a big difference between deciding what your target market is and really being with them. It took me long enough just to settle myself into something as niche (and not even that much so) as online entrepreneurs and discover I still don’t have enough information to be a “must have” in their life in terms of services and products. You have to really dig in when you’re at the bottom, sometimes repeat the same lesson over and over to figure out what’s next.
Developing your business requires a long stage of wonder, and a lot of trial and error.
A lot of the people out there with a following, the people you’re reading HAVE A FOLLOWING, they can just poll their followers, create a stir with their existing platform, team up with a similarly leveled individuals, write small yet powerful reflective posts and guess what, more people will find interest in them, buy their suggested wares and use them, share them, ect. They’ve already been through the first few passes of wonder, trial and error, they are no stranger to execution.
The wonder part looks like e-mails asking questions of your current audience, your entrepreneurial peers, running surveys, hiring those more experienced to chime in, what feel like fruitless and countless internet searches, design tweaks working on yourself to find focus, asking yourself if you can do (insert questionable service) all day every day, coming back to the drawing board. E-mails and configurations. Thinking, well I may as well try “this”. About a million web service sign ups. A few big wins, a few soft launches or entries into something here or there and I’m sure much more.
The time limit is different for everyone too, some might do this for a month and take flight, others, years. Others don’t get up, because it’s tricky doing your own thing. I don’t blame them.
The more you dig in though, the more you feel you were walking around indoors with sunglasses on and you can now take them off.
The muddied water of knowing you have something to provide but not knowing the best way to provide it is such a mind job.
Well, guess what, it is all of those things, but frustratingly enough, it’s also non of those things. It’s the fight, the dance, the struggle and what you learn through it. You’re mix of revelations won’t be like the other guys. Your experiences will allow you to grab the next rung of the ladder. Business is like life.
So What to Do
I can’t perfectly describe it, but there comes an understanding that you’ve probably had several times before on what to do next. It becomes clear. When you’ve had enough of these (not saying I have), you eventually hit a stage where it’s easier to choose your next successful action. I’m sure it has a specific number of sales, or followers, or hours of training and usage of particular services, but that’s not the point. It’s working through it, continuing to improve. Hard work.
I’m going to describe the actions I’ve taken to get this business as the project continues, what business hurdles I overcame and how, but first I wanted to wax and wane on the fact that it’s not my solutions that will “do it” for you, but it’s your perseverance to keep figuring this thing out that will really define success.