Posts Tagged ‘Virtual’
Project Update #4: AnthemVirtual.com
Okay, I can succeed with just those two items: A weekly plan and daily plans. I'm balanced because my plans include my body, mind, heart, and spirit. There's one more concept I came up with to help me keep my sanity. As this is a project launch that is essentially a new business launch, there are a lot of LITTLE THINGS that need to get done; and right now I'm the only one responsible for doing them. My motto has become "Get Going NOW, Tweak Along the Way". This means that the website won't be perfect; the process may not be totally smooth at first. That's okay. Keep moving. Otherwise, I'll get lost in the details, fall behind schedule, and find plenty of excuses to stall my progress. I created in my Wave, beneath my two weekly objectives, a TweakBox. In here I put anything and everything that needs to get done, but isn't priority. If I was budgeted for it, many of these tasks would likely be outsourced. This box allows me to, at a glance, see what needs to get tweaked and when I have a moment between peanut-butter sandwiches and playing tag (again, stacking: Family time with exercise), I can get some tweak time in. Now, there's an even more important role this TweakBox plays: It allows me to DUMP my thoughts as they arrive in my head regarding things that need to get done. Now, these thoughts don't cloud my productive time; they don't cheat me out of sleep or strive to raise my levels of anxiety. Writing things down puts you in control of the tasks. Having my TweakBox gives me permission to "do them when I can". After creating the TweakBox, I added a DailyBox, a WeeklyBox, and a ReadingBox. In these, I place the tasks that need to be done every day, or once or twice each week; as well as what books I want to read that apply to my work (right now it's "How Did That Happen?"). Again, I don't have to THINK, instead I FOCUS on the priorities, and I SNEAK in the Box-stuffs when I can. I'm about 5 to 7 days behind where I want to be in my 90-day plan... which feels like three months behind. This is good, only because I use the "pressure" to stick to the tasks before me. Make promises and keep them. It's a pretty simple plan. Kawasaki's book with some tactics from Ferriss, and the foundation of Covey, these help me format those promises in a way that keeps me in control of me, so I can move effectively forward in creating value. If you want a copy of my GoogleWave outline, email me at Dave@SelfEnterpriser.com. I'm happy to send you a copy, but don't want to make this post any longer than it already is. What's next? The value's been created, this week a system is being put in place to ensure consistency in that value; and marketing that value will begin (marketing, meaning making it easy for others to exchange dollars for that value). Tools: Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Tim Ferriss' The 4-Hour Workweek "Have A Nice Dave." :) --Dave C. Photo [...]
How I use Twitter: A Conversation on Skype
Rick Says: When you get time I need help with twitter Dave Charbonneau says: I'm here. Rick Says: I am now but are you still there? Dave Charbonneau says: Hi. Rick Says: How are things Dave Charbonneau says: I'm good. Feel a bit like hurling; but I'm good. How're you?' Rick Says: well Rick Says: so how do I get a lot more followers on twitter Dave Charbonneau says: Um... Dave Charbonneau says: There's a cupla ways. Dave Charbonneau says: First, get a foundation to build upon. What are you using it for. What info are you wanting to get out there. Grab hold of a twitter philosophy. Dave Charbonneau says: I recommend NOT to think of Twitter as an outlet for spreading the word about something; and instead to see it as a conduit for CONNECTING with ppl who have similar interests. Dave Charbonneau says: Everybody hates spam and holds disdain for spammers. Good thing abt spammers = if you provide great value, you look intelligent and get LOYAL followers; these are ppl who share your stuff with others. Dave Charbonneau says: Have you read that Crush It book? Rick Says: NO Rick Says: did Dave Charbonneau says: Okay. That's a great place to gain that philosophy (everything begins w/philosophy). Rick Says: Then I shall read it Dave Charbonneau says: Next, hang on and I'll get you...
Do Your Own Talk Show
As SelfEnterpriser.com is about to launch its new talk show, Up In Your Business! Real People: 7 Questions in 7 Minutes, now seems a great time to suggest a similar approach for anyone who has an itch to gab. Here are the basic of using a talk show to increase exposure and (more importantly) relationships: Start your own talk show. Invite people you think you would enjoy having a conversation with to be a guest on your show. These might be folks who you'd like to do business with (great ice-breaker) or perhaps individuals who exemplify whatever it is you blog about (that's what I look for). Post the conversations at your site. Why do a talk show? Having your own show gets you "out there" talking with people in your industry. What a fantastic way to "network". You're offering a relationship of value from the start. Instead of a lame, "Hey, let's connect on Facebook too", you're offering to give extra exposure to those who accept your invitation. Even if you have just a few people visiting your site each day, it's STILL extra exposure for just a few minutes of a person's time. Next, it gives you something to talk about other than yourself as a method for bringing traffic to your website. It's hard to be the hero of your story when you have to tell everyone else how great you are all the time. Let's face it: Sooner or later (hint: sooner), folks get tired of hearing a person tell them how they're the "answer" to they're prayers. It's simply poor form. But, with your own show, you can shout from your virtual rooftop all day long about the wonderful people you're getting to meet each week. Finally, it establishes YOU as the expert of whatever it is you do. The magic of The Business of Being Yourself is that you have the opportunity to provide value for others in your chosen industry WHILE you're actually in the process of learning more about it (which should read, as long as you're in business). Sounds great, Dave, but VIDEO is king. Don't be so sure. I enjoy video. I'm planning to do a LOT of cool stuff with video, both inside of SelfEnterpriser.com and outside. Yet while everyone is focused on video, it makes it easier to be heard (ha! get it?) to run some audio programs. Even more relevant to our topic, video is more expensive, more difficult to provide quality content, and greatly decreases the amount of individuals you can meet with (audio can be done over the phone with folks all over the world). Tools and other helpful thing-ies: Something that amazes me is the amount of tools and services that are available to you and me that allows us to create and exchange value with others for FREE, or close to it. This includes everything you need to run and publish your own talk show. There are plenty of blogs and articles out there regarding equipment, editing, or whatever. Some stuff I've found helpful: Audacity.comn (recording/editing) About.com (explore how others do [...]
What I HATED about cold-calling:
I was looking for a friend named Clare to see if I could borrow her accent for a MICROtalk TalkShow segment, and in my search I stumbled across @ClareLynch. Now, this Clare may well have an accent, I'm not certain (she appears to hail from London, according to her Twitter account). Although, she might, given the opportunity, contend that I have an accent. That's not, however, what caught my attention. @ClareLynch claimed she wrote a blog entitled goodcopybadcopy, and it just so happens that the spot I am seeking to record is a read of an atrocious email (and by atrocious I mean, hilarious). Oh, the mystics would say that the Law of Attraction is at work here, but c'mon... that stuff is so 2006, am I right? (Wait just a minute... Rhonda Byrne has an accent! Hmm...). Anyhow, as I continue an introduction that is longer than my presentation, I began an email to Mz. Lynch, sending it thru her company website. It occurred to me that I didn't know if this was her company, or if she was an employee, or what the deal was. So, my EADD* mind traveled to a time when I was practicing outside sales (with no pre-visit marketing). So I carried on in what I hoped Clare and whomever else might find entertaining; knowing that I at the least had entertained myself (yet again, at someone else's expense). Once the email was completed and sent, I discovered one of the issues I had with cold-calling. Hated it. No, you don't understand. H-A-T-E-D I-T. Here's a copy of the email: Hi, is Clare there please? Yes, I'll hold. Okay... yes, yes, I understand. No, she wasn't expecting my email. Right, but... Can I just... I'm wondering if... Sure - I'll leave a message. Clare, I wandered across you and your blog, goodcopybadcopy.com and enjoyed what I read. I operate SelfEnterpriser.com, a blog'azine focused on entrepreneurs who create value from their passions; from who they are their core. it appears you have a great time writing about writing and may be a good match as a guest on my talk show: MICROtalk. It may bring a bit of exposure to what you're doing and Guests can re-purpose the 7 minute interview for their own marketing. Interviews are done over the phone so it's convenient (tho, if you're in the Seattle area the week of Christmas? May be a bit of a commute from London). Thanks, Clare. I hope to hear from you soon. --Dave Charbonneau, Guy who does stuff www.SelfEnterpriser.com Yes, so if you could just make sure she gets this. What do you mean she's out of town this week? Could you have told me that before I wrote the message. Alright, yeah. Thanks. You too. You know what I LOVE about being an entrepreneur in our world of social media connections? When I set out to create value with other people, I almost ALWAYS am communicating directly with the decision-maker. Well, and not to mention that if the decision-maker is an a-hole, I don't waist my time. "Have A Nice Dave". [...]
Any Color
The modern micro-enterprise is often marketed virtually, it's personal, and it involves Disruptive Innovation.* Henry Ford's words, "...any color as long as it's black" are often used to describe his stuborn-ness toward change when challenged by his competitors - they were offering more colorful options in their automobiles. However, it's important to keep in mind the benefits of Henry's using black as THE color for the Model T Ford: His "inferior" color offering contributed to a form of Disruptive Innovation; a somewhat inferior product (at least as choice of color was concerned) allowed him to utilize efficiency to rocket upward as a viable competitor in the marketplace. --Dave Charbonneau *Disruptive Innovation refers to the term coined by Prof. Clayton Christensen. Google him.
