Virtual Impax

I am a Colts fan.  Therefore, it naturally follows that I am NOT a huge Patriots fan.  As a Colts fan, I have held a special place this season for Peyton’s younger brother Eli as well. Therefore, because of Peyton’s little brother’s appearance, Superbowl XLII was not purely an exercise of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”.

For the first time, in a long time… the game was MUCH better than the commercials.   What a game it was.  What made it EVEN BETTER was that it defied the predictions of the “experts”.    On the front page of the sports section in our local Sunday paper were all kinds of articles written with the Patriot’s Superbowl XLII win already penciled in.

I love it when the underdog wins.   I guess that is why I work with small business owners… because the odds really are stacked against them from the start and I LOVE helping them to beat the odds.

However, it takes a LOT of hard work to beat the odds.  That’s probably why I enjoy American style football.  No football game was ever won AT ANY LEVEL without an entire TEAM of  players and coaches working hard… physically AND mentally preparing to win the game.

There isn’t any “just in time” learning going on in football… and there aren’t many generalists playing the game.  Each player has a job to do on the field.   Failure to execute one’s assigned tasks means failure pure and simple.

Imagine if Lawrence Tynes (the kicker for the NY Giants) suddenly decided in the first quarter that he wanted to be a running back.  When the Giants lined up to score their first field goal… imagine the chaos if he had picked up the ball and tried to run for a touchdown.  Sure… it has the potential to be a great “trick” play… but it only has a chance of success if the whole team is in on it!  If Tynes had suddenly decided to engage in “freestyle football” last night, I’m not sure he would have literally survived to see the end of the game!

Lawrence Tynes may have what it takes to play another position, but ever since high school he’s always been a kicker for the team.  His role is tightly defined.  Most of the time, his job is to stand on the side lines and be ready to walk onto the field and put the ball through the goal posts from ANY position on the field. That is his job.  He’s not the fastest, he’s not the strongest…. and it’s possible that he doesn’t even know how to tackle properly.  That doesn’t matter.  He does what he does EXCEEDINGLY well and he can do it under pressure, when it counts.

As the mother of a kicker for his high school football team, I’m sure that Tynes suffered the same “ribbing” my son endures.  Kickers, in general, aren’t considered “real” football players… however, if not for Tynes performance last night… (he scored the first and last points for the Giants) the Patriots would be having a much better morning this morning.

What’s your role in your customers/client’s lives and/or business?  Do you really want nutritional advice from your CPA?  I didn’t think so.  Define your role and it makes everything MUCH easier when it comes to marketing your business.

According to my sources, the weather in the Northern US states is downright awful. Wind chills are bone chilling and snow is falling on top of a layer of ice. Tomorrow, when Phil the groundhog pears out of his burrow, many will be rooting for him NOT to see his shadow!!! Meanwhile, my conversations with those on the frozen tundra tend to begin with an accusatory, “What’s the temperature down there?”

In Port Saint Lucie, Florida on February 1, 2008…. it’s 81 F and it feels like 81. It’s sunny outside my window right now. The sky is blue and there are thin wispy white clouds, which in the Sunshine State officially qualifies as “partly cloudy”.

Now, before you begin cursing my “luck”… you should also be aware that living in Florida has its downsides as well. That snow and ice you Northerner’s are complaining about? That’s killing your insects so they don’t grow big enough to fight back when you step on them.

Let’s skirt over the obvious “them bugs is BIG in Flo-ri-da” and the “we don’t swim or ski in any pond or lake because of the alligators and water snakes” and move directly to the wildlife that I have encountered WITHIN MY NEWLY CONSTRUCTED HOME.

First, there was the bathroom snake incident of 2006… when my daughter stepped on a baby snake on her way to the shower. We’ve only had that happen once… on the other hand there are the jumping spiders, critters don’t spin webs because they feast on prey that is too big to be caught in a web. It takes almost a full large can of insecticide to stop one in it’s tracks. (Screaming in terror just seems to draw them towards you as well!) We’ve had multiple run ins with these 8 legged predatory beasts.

They say you “pay” for the sunshine… and my budget includes a nice hefty “pest control” entry as just one of those many payments. Incredibly high insurance premiums combined with ridiculous property tax bills are also part of the “sunshine payment package”.

Now, for those who are already sick of the snow respond with, “Those are a small prices to pay indeed! It’s WORTH it to not deal with snow and ice!” Meanwhile others respond with, “UGH! I guess snow isn’t as bad as that!”

Life is FULL of trade offs and compromises. It’s not whether the weather is better here than there… it’s a case of “Is is worth the price?” More importantly, it’s a question of “Is this a price you’re willing to pay?”

The same trade offs and compromises are present when one decides to pursue the “self employment” path. Just as some are more than willing to “pay the price” of ample Florida sunshine, some are more than willing to “pay the price” of self employment than others.

The same “trials and tribulations” of running a business will energize one person and while totally draining another.

Which do you value more? Is independence important to you? Do you find being master of your own fate (good OR bad) appealing? Do you RAIL at the thought of doing things someone else’s way simply because they’re the ones who are signing your paychecks? Then perhaps you’re cut out to be a business owner!

On the other hand, if you DESPISE making decisions and hate even more to be held ACCOUNTABLE for that decision (by the universe, your spouse, the bank, your creditors, etc.) then perhaps self employment is not your calling! If you treasure your “off the clock” hours and think of evenings and weekends as “your time”…. then perhaps that’s another reason that self employment may not be a great option for you either.

An essential part of self employment is marketing. If all you want to do is:

• accounting
• arranging flowers
• counseling troubled youth
• etc.

and the thought of doing anything outside of your passion drains you, then think twice about self employment as an option.

At the very least, invest a lot of time before hand building a team of experts to with whom to surround yourself. After all, it takes a village to build a one person business!

Every day, we make decisions. Some decision are big, such as the person we are going to marry.  Others are seemingly small such as what to have for breakfast.

“What!  Donuts in the break room AGAIN!  Well, don’t mind if I do!”

Isn’t it amazing how a series of seemingly small decisions can suddenly add up to a lot!

“Hey!  My sweat pants still fit.  Why can’t I zip up my jeans this morning?”

We make hundreds of decisions every day.  When we don’t need a lot of information to make a decision, it’s usually because the end result isn’t WORTHY of a lot of introspection.  When we make a decision to purchase products and services without needing a lot of information, those are known as “Minor Sales”.

When the end result is more important, and the decision is worth the investment of time on the potential customer’s part… those are known as “Major Sales”.

For example, when the alarm went off this morning, you made a decision. You could either jump out of bed, or you could choose to hit snooze for another few minutes of sweet, sweet slumber. At that moment, your decision whether or not to hit the snooze button is based on the information available to you at the moment. If you set your alarm to go off a full 45 minutes before you absolutely have to be up and moving, you can feel relatively confident that hitting the snooze button once or twice won’t do much harm… until that fateful morning when you’re unexpectedly confronted with an unanticipated delay. From lost keys to an accident on the freeway, there are a thousand unexpected variables that can affect whether hitting the snooze button this morning is a good idea.  However, the REAL key in accurately access whether hitting the snooze button this morning lies more in the potential end result rather than the variables which may affect whether you’re late to work or not.

If your boss has issued the ultimatum “If you’re late one more time, you’re fired!” then the decision to hit the snooze button takes on increased significance.  If yours is a more relaxed work environment, then hitting the snooze button is a relatively minor decision to make.

Most days in most situations, the decision whether or not you hit the snooze button on the alarm isn’t an important one. It’s one of a hundred small decisions you’ll make without too much thought.

However, there are other decisions that deserve greater attention.   The importance of these decisions is a direct result of the impact they will have on our lives.  When it comes to these important decisions, the more we know about the factors and variables that affect the end result, the better our decision making process will be.

This is why potential CUSTOMERS need LOTS of information about certain products but not others.

It’s important to keep in mind that as you’re creating your marketing/advertising messages that your potential CUSTOMERS are faced with decisions of their own. Advertising/marketing/ web sites are all about providing the information potential clients and customers need to make better decisions.

Which is why, I ADORE blogs as the “web site of choice” for most independent service professionals.  Because many times, your potential customers need LOTS of information about you before they decide to do business with you.

• The CPA’s potential clients need to know the he/she really DOES know the tax code and its implications for the their business.
• The Chiropractor’s potential clients need to know that he/she really DOES know the cause of the symptoms of pain and really can provide treatment which relieves the pain.
• TheRealtor’s potential clients need to know that he/she really IS looking out for their best interests.

How will this person’s services help me?

• Will I find myself in the middle of a messy IRS audit if I use this CPA?

• Will I find myself in worse pain than I was before if I allow this guy to crack my back?

• Will I find myself being pressured to buy the “wrong” house if I use this Realtor?

A blog helps you to communicate with people who are your potential customers.  Through your blog posts, you should seek to answer those unasked questions on their mind.

The thing about blog posts is that, done correctly, they provide a window through which potential clients/customers can observe.  That’s why I write about some of the “horror stories” I’ve come across in my practice.  It helps me to point out to my own clients how well they are being taken care of while allowing potential clients to see what it’s like being a part of my “flock”.