• iVideoHero – it’s a perfect example of a gap in a market that is well served with this tutorial product
• 37 Signals – they’re another great example of a company whose products stem from solving problems they faced
• Evernote – a wonderful tool that many of us couldn’t live without, now that we’ve got it
• GoatMilkStuff – not mentioned, but another fine example of a small business that grew out of a frustration/desire. This is directly from their website: “PJ’s adventures into soapmaking originated five years ago out of her desire to not use chemicals on the children’s skin.”
• My resources page has links to a variety of useful items…from premium WordPress themes, to membership site plugins, to sources for pro audio gear. Many of these companies likely began because the owners were frustrated. Maybe they saw no solution. Maybe they didn’t see suitable solutions.
People often go to one extreme or the other when considering today’s question. Sometimes I see people write down a full page of various things they’d like to be known for. If they lived to be 1000 years old they still wouldn’t be able to accomplish half the things on their list…and that’s assuming they had the natural aptitude for each thing.
At the other end of the spectrum are those poor people who struggle to write down a single thing. They can’t think of anything they want to known for. When I encounter these people I drive them immediately to a crisis center for counseling. I fear for their safety.
We likely fall somewhere in the middle. We don’t want to limit ourselves, so our list expands. We don’t want to live unnoticed, so we write down something.
Narrow your focus to business related pursuits and it doesn’t simplify things for most of us. Today’s question is why so many companies fail to properly identify their target market. Everybody can’t be your target, but neither can nobody. You need somebody!
As you consider what you’d like to be known for you must also ask yourself, “By whom?”
• An anonymous company that is not so anonymous. I ran across this company in the summer of 2007. Here in Texas it gets really hot and I was investigating ventilation options for a warehouse when a Google search led me to them. I instantly “got it.”
Take some time and give this question the attention it deserves. You’ll be rewarded with the clarity you need to make progress. Like most of these questions, it won’t be easy. Don’t rush it. Just keep on pushing forward sorting through all the noise in your head. When things quieten down you’ll likely be getting close to your answer.
P.S. Congratulations to the New Jersey Devils and their fans for advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals. It should be a great series!
Nothing I’ve ever done has consumed me like coaching hockey. Nothing even comes close.
When I began I read everything I could get my hands on. I connected with people from any English speaking country who could teach me anything. I was a sponge…driven to learn more so I could help my teams.
I’d long been a student and fan of the game, but I never played. Regularly I’d joke with players that I simply had a hockey Rolodex that would trump anybody they knew. Bulletin boards, forums and every obscure hockey website were regularly visited by me as I made notes and obsessed with things I could pass on to my players.
The roller hockey scene of 20 years ago hit. Warm weather locations like Texas, California and Florida were embracing the sport with grand enthusiasm. I dove headlong into that area of hockey at the time because it was virgin territory and the old head ice hockey guys had a strong prejudice against it. I didn’t.
When USA Hockey in Colorado Springs realized the inline version of the game was an opportunity to expose more young players to a great game – they began to bring order and organization to the sport. The Executive Director at the time recruited me to become a Regional Director, a completely volunteer position that I happily accepted because coaching was that important to me.
Over time I coached countless kids, from 6 year olds to college guys.* And I loved every minute of it, even dealing with obnoxious, idiotic parents. Because I had a bigger purpose. A more important compelling reason. I wanted to impart a little bit of knowledge, a little bit of wisdom and a whole lot of life lessons to the players.
My aim was high. To be memorable by helping them achieve more than they might be able to without my help.
I was fully devoted to them, and to the sport.
Coaching hockey has, for years, been the barometer for me whenever I’m looking at my own passions and trying to answer today’s question. Maybe there’s something in your life that serves you like that. I’d love to report that it has helped me clarify things, but it hasn’t. Some days it only serves to confuse me further. And for a guy like me, confusion comes easily so I don’t need any more help in that department.
Look deeply into your life. Look into your past. Carefully consider today’s question. There are three more coming behind it. My hope is that we can work through these questions and learn more about ourselves. Along the way perhaps we can figure out some ways to earn more money because money is the fuel that helps us maintain our passions, and our causes. We need money to support the causes we care most about.
Question 1: What Do You Care Most About?
* Note: The photo was taken of me coaching the roller team of the University of Texas at Arlington during a college national championship tournament. I coached this UTA team for four years. They were, deservedly, the last team I ever coached.
People need leadership. That doesn’t mean leaders are without their own needs.
Leaders need feedback, information, dialog and instruction. Nobody knows everything. Not even the most accomplished or capable leader.
Fathers have a great deal to learn. Sometimes from their own children.
CEO’s have a great deal to learn. Sometimes from low level, frontline employees (see Undercover Boss).
The compelling reason why I do what I do with these podcasts, videos and blog posts is summed up in a single phrase, “Passing it on.”
It doesn’t mean I’m an expert with nothing left to learn. My ability to teach, to instruct or pass it on is greatly enhanced by my ability to listen and learn. Lifelong learning improves lifelong teaching, and mentoring.
Talk to many highly-accomplished executives, and they will often point out that a key to their success comes from surrounding themselves with good people to consult and bounce ideas off of.
I’d like to crowdsource some information by asking you to leave me a comment here. Here are some of the things I’m hoping you’ll share:
• Do you surround yourself with good people?
• How do you find or determine who “good people” are?
• Do you talk with them regularly, or only when you feel you need their specific expertise?
• What suggestions do you have for the rest of us?
