As I read the stories of other small business owners, lightning struck in a good way. These people all did one thing in common to find success far beyond what they originally envisioned. It is the combination of two success strategies that made the enormous difference.
Community service and collaboration are the two success ingredients.
In the past, I advised separately to incorporate both of these strategies into your business plan. But the power of combining the two did not occur to me until now.
Each of the entrepreneurs referred to above initially faced incredible obstacles, including either losing or walking away from everything they knew. But they held their original vision of what they wanted and firmly believed it would come to be. Beyond that, they allowed others to assist them to get back on their feet.
Most of us work alone and feel guilty accepting help. This needs to be changed. The new philosophy should become one of collaboration.
Work together
Are you involved with a continual community service project where others benefit from your expertise? Consider how your project would benefit by bringing on board those you know, like and trust. What would your grandest project look like? When you bring like-minded people together, the ideas multiply and advance to where your project lands on a much higher plane.
The most difficult part of this philosophy is asking others to pitch in. It sometimes seems easier just to do the project by ourselves and not ask for help. So priorities once again are required. Should you desire to create a much larger vision for how you serve others, the collaboration will do this. When it works well, the friendships that come of it usually last a lifetime. The benefit you provide others as well as the rewards become far greater than originally envisioned.
Side benefits may come your way too. You may develop new ideas for further products and services; recognition of your name and brand will increase dramatically, and more people will be motivated to become your client.
Let me illustrate my experience. I have always taught job seekers how to interview best as a community service project. Many benefited, but it was a solo endeavor. Being it was just myself, there were limitations on how grand the project could be. On a somewhat larger scale, a friend and I created a Business Resource and Job Fair in our town to become known. Because it was community driven, we were given much free publicity and attracted over 200 people to our event.
Upon seeing the outpouring of gratitude, it led me to writing my second book, HIRED! The book attracted the right attention itself. Carlos Gil runs the LinkedIn group, JobsDirectUSA.com Finding me in the group and becoming acquainted, he invited me to be a featured speaker for his online conference to be held last quarter this year. It is a nationwide collaborative effort to help get Americans back to work.
The combined effort of associations, groups and individuals will bring an event far grander than anything I could do on my own. Our effort is being called AmericaHires360.
Working on a grander level with others will enable you to enjoy far greater visibility and many a Smooth Sale!
Author:
Elinor Stutz, CEO of Smooth Sale, LLC authored the International Best-Selling book, “Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results” and “HIRED! How to Use Sales Techniques to Sell Yourself On Interviews”. She provides team sales training, private coaching and business retreats to grow you business. She is available upon request for consultation.
