Flicking The Switch – People Don’t Want To Hear The Truth!
I recently spoke to a group of business owners, entrepreneurs, and something became as obvious as the nose on my face. Now I speak with a lot passion, very matter of factually, and sometimes I’m in your grill, I am as honest as I can be, I’m also extremely transparent. I put myself in front of the truck, willing to be hit by it.
I study the future of business, I spend much of my studying human behavior, and I’ve discovered, people don’t want to hear the truth. I’m generalizing of course, but denial is a powerful thing, if I just look the other way, it’s not there, and it’s not happening.
I’m pretty hard on business owners, and entrepreneurs, mostly because they think of themselves far too much. Again, I’m generalizing, not all of them do, but in general they do, in fact, we all do, it’s the wiring of human behavior.
Flicking the switch is not easy, admitting you don’t know, what you don’t know, takes great humility, and most of us are really bad at being humble. In order to have the fortitude to flick the switch, you will have to come to terms with humility, the humble have more friends, and tend to be more charismatic. You can’t be an authority on everything and build a 1,000 true fans, the fan base has to embrace you and your work to an extreme level. Authority & arrogance don’t attract fans, and they rarely build large communities and followings.
I have never spoken at an event and not offend at least one person, I almost always get under someone’s skin. I even warn everyone before I start, I will offend someone here today, I apologize in advance, but I only know how to speak the truth. The truth is based on my research, studying human behavior, and the natural gravities of human behavior. I don’t like the truth either, but it is what it is.
I am amazed the power fear has over biz owners and entrepreneurs. It’s real for them, typically, the worst thing that will happen to them, usually….you get to start over! You will never fully flick the switch unless you overcome the fear of failing along the way, you will always gravitate to making sure you don’t feel the pain of it. Hence, you get in the way of your business and the learning.
I too have the same problems most of you have, I to get in the way, sometimes I think I know something and learn quickly that I don’t. Sometimes, it’s embarrassing. I am not perfect, I don’t know everything, and frankly, would I want to….well maybe : ) I am figuring things out on the fly sometimes, sometimes I ask you the reader to provide input, I’m always assessing and researching, why? So I can relate the truth as accurately as possible to you, share what I find and what I see coming. I do it because I can’t not do it, it’s what I do, I want to help cure the blindness most business owners & entrepreneurs have, I want to be a resource that helps you win and make the living you would prefer to have. So I challenge you……
Learn to embrace the truth, learn to be willing to admit you don’t know, learn to be humble, and be willing to fail along the way. Flicking the switch is about a journey, not a destination. Are you ready yet?
Related articles
- The Future Of Business – Flick The Switch! (owengreaves.com)
- The Future Of Business – “Everyone” Is Not Your Customer! (owengreaves.com)
The Future Of Business – Flick The Switch!
Listen To This Post As A Podcast:
[powerpress]
If you could flick a switch to instantly change the way you think about business, would you flick it? What would stop you from flicking that switch? Is it fear, or are you admitting that you’re comfortable with how you see business, that you’re just fine with industrial age thinking and processes.
What is it about the shift(s) in consumers that is your biggest struggle? Chances are, the problem isn’t the consumer, it’s you. Imagine flicking that switch, then instantly you would have a different view of your business, and the consumers you’re trying attract. Flicking the switch is not that easy, it means unlearning much of what you know about business in the future. If it was easy, we would all have prosperous businesses and no need for acquiring new clients and customers. Even that doesn’t sound realistic does it?
There is this underlying emotion or thinking with business owners, they start a business thinking there is an end, a final destination, they make a pile of money and then kick back. Nice idea but, really? This thinking comes from the starting we have been taught, we start with the goal of finishing. The truth is, starting a business, building a business, is a journey, a journey filled with challenges to solve along the way, it’s never ending. These journey’s were never meant to go smoothly, they change shape, they shift, and slowly create an identity, hopefully, a trustworthy brand.
So how do you flick the switch? You just decide to. You start by educating yourself on the future of business, you attend seminars and workshops, and you change your networking habits. If you flick the switch, you’ll find you’re more often alone, this group of people are spread all over the world, sometimes hard to find, and most are not in your area.
Flicking the switch also means you will be going against the masses, old practices, you’ll be embracing new ways of building your business, new ways of marketing, and new ways of communicating with your clientele. A complete paradigm shift, are you will to pay the price? I’ve dedicated my life to helping business owners flick the switch, many flick the switch, but rarely have the fortitude to stay the course. Old habits are hard to break, and the comfort zone is more powerful than you think.
Flicking the switch will turn you into an early adopter, see your business in a new exciting way, and you will have a better understanding of the paradigm shift the rest of the world will have to make, do you have the courage?
If you’re a business owner or entrepreneur, I challenge you to journey with me, flick the switch, and journey into the future of business. Attend one of my Future Of Business Workshops, read this blog, and listen to my soon to be coming podcasts, start the educating now. Start teaching others to flick the switch! Go ahead, the switch is on the back of your head : )
Listen To This Post As A Podcast:
[powerpress]
Related articles
- The Future Of Business – Yes!…You’re The Problem (owengreaves.com)
- The Future Of Business – “Everyone” Is Not Your Customer! (owengreaves.com)
- The Future Of Business Seminar – Abbotsford (owengreaves.com)
The Future Of Business Seminar – Abbotsford
Today there are millions of GURUS & EXPERTS out there, they tend to set fear into those who don’t understand what’s going on, and if you don’t do what they say, you’ll be out of business soon.
Firstly, it’s not true. Secondly, they don’t fully understand the impact of what they say.
Most business owners hear these GURUS & EXPERTS and still don’t understand one main thing. Why!
The Future Of Business Seminar, Nov 26th in Abbotsford. For information on this seminar, and how to register, just navigate to the following website, you’ll be fore warned and fully armed for the Future Of Business!
Related articles
- The Future Of Business – “Everyone” Is Not Your Customer! (owengreaves.com)
The Future Of Business – Yes!…You’re The Problem
The more things change, the more they stay the same. We’ve all heard it before, and we’ve all said it, and yet we expect different results. That’s the definition of insanity right? Doing the same things over & over again expecting different results. We know it’s true, we tell people this all the time, and yet we don’t change our habits, worse yet, we don’t change our thinking.
If technology is changing the world, and changing the way we move products & services, why do we practice the same connecting exercises? Why do we still hold on to old ways of thinking? We hold networking events, we hand out business cards, we shake hands, eat lunch and then never really stay connected. Many attend networking events because they truly believe this is the way to build a business. For small tiny businesses and MLM’s, this will be the normal way of building business, the rest of us have to start paying attention to the way business really is, and how it’s changing.
The problem is business, it’s you. Most of us claim we like change, but when the metal meets the meat, we’re not totally honest with ourselves and those around us. It’s easy to spot, you say it, and then 5 years later, nothing changed. You might be thinking, Owen sure is being hard on me, you’d be right. This blog and my work is about you, to help you see business differently, to make you think, and most of all, help you change how you view business, how you think about your business. Clearly, I’m failing on a massive scale, I apologize for that, I’ll keep trying harder to find ways to reach the very depths of your hearts and brains.
If the problem wasn’t you, things would be different, right? The innovators would never innovate the same thing twice, you would never practice the same bad business practices twice, it would all be different. You’ll notice I didn’t say better.
I challenge you to sift through this blog, read much of the content, and then….make notes on how you see your business, I’ll bet it’s different. I’ll bet you find yourself a little uncomfortable, and wanting to stay in the comfort zone you’re in, that would be a mistake in my humble opinion. You should embrace the change, you should be excited about the future of business and how it will be different than the way you were taught. The problem will always be you, you can never point the finger at someone else.
If you keep using old networking practices, you will continue to reap the same results, and you will notice, you will be shaking the same hands at every networking event. Change your scene, move up a level, start networking with people you don’t know….better yet, start networking with people that have money. If you have to network, doesn’t it make sense to be with people with money, people with influence, people who don’t think or do the same thing twice. This alone will scare the daylights out of most of you, but I challenge you to try it, just once. You might feel energized by it.
You don’t have to be the problem, it’s better if you get out of the way, your business will thrive if you step out of it’s path.
The good news is, you have the power, you can get out of your businesses way, you can meet new people, people with money, people who see opportunity. The very people that fired you, are the very people you can make money from. It’s a matter of perspective, it’s changing the way you see and do business. Sounds uncomfortable doesn’t it, it’s not personal, it just feels that way, it’s business, get out of the way and build a business that makes the world a better place. You have the power, you just have to decide to do it.
The more you analyze your fear, the more you discover you are the problem….shed the fear, and stop being the problem.
By the way, I’m no different than you, I have to do the same things, I’m not so special that I don’t have to constantly change, at 55 it get’s harder and harder, but I must change, or my work and business will be forgotten : )
The Future Of Business – “Everyone” Is Not Your Customer!
Far too often business owners state that everyone is their customer, it’s wrong, it’s just not true. Even if it were true, how could you possibly serve them all, and more importantly, what services & products would you know to provide everyone? Plus, what would marketers do if they couldn’t target market your products & services.
Typically, those business owners reveal their greatest weakness when making that claim. Firstly, they clearly do not understand business, secondly, they don’t have a business plan, and thirdly….they lack vision. I couldn’t speak more bluntly now could I, and I just gave you three reasons : )
If there is one thing I preach more than any other fact, business is and has changed, and you must change the way you think about business, and more importantly, how you think and see your business. Somehow we have to get away from thinking in terms of an exchange before payment, incorporate free into your business model, and how to be satisfied with less customers. That’s right….less!
Kevin Kelly wrote an amazing piece on 1,000 true fans, it’s really a tribe model in my head, but his theory is sound, and frankly is the future of business. His description of a fan is a thing of beauty, taken from the article on his blog:
“A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can’t wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.”
Now you might have an idea where I’m going, but I doubt it, I’m hard to follow sometimes. The question to ask yourself is, do you have fans / customers as described by Kevin Kelly? If you do, it won’t be hard to tell, if you don’t, you are probably wondering how to get those fans, and where might they be. If you did a business plan without knowing this description, of your preferred customer (fan), you would still be one degree off true north. Your plan would be flawed, because it would be based on old industrial age thinking, it would be based on what you know, and what you were taught in school. But that’s another topic.
Let’s stick with Kevin’s idea of a 1,000 true fans. In Kelly’s model, every true fan spends $100 per year on you whatever you produce. That means you will generate $100,000, that’s a decent pile of dough isn’t it. So there is your equation, 1,000 true fans x $100 = $100,000!! So what’s the problem?
The problem is not the equation, the problem most of the time is you, you get in the way, you begin to think too much, you still don’t understand the why. My workshops, public speaking engagements, my blog, and my book, is all about why you should change the way you think about your business. Most business owners aren’t paying attention to the why, mostly because they are paying attention to the details of paying the bills, covering payroll, and making sure there is stock. So where will you find the time to see what’s really going on, what’s changing, and how to adopt what’s changing? The stock answer, and I hear it every day, ” I don’t have time”. If that’s true, you probably won’t be in business in the next 5 – 10 years, because the way business and the consumers are changing, you will be forgotten, out of site, and out of mind.
The digital platform we call the Internet, is a game changer for sure. The real game changer has nothing to do with you the business owner, it’s the way people have shifted their buying patterns, from what to how. More importantly, these people formerly known as consumers want more control of your offerings, they want to decide, and they’re already talking about your competition. Why? Because you aren’t thinking like the new consumer, and….you aren’t listening to what they want.
There are over 2.2 billion users on the Internet, and another 3 Billion coming in the next 5 years, I know there are 1,000 true fans for your niche, now do you have time to find your 1,000 true fans? If not, hire someone who can show you how, someone with the vision to see the patterns of a changing consumer(s). You already know someone….wink, wink ; – )
Olivier Blanchard has 5 basic rules on the value of a follower, a fan, and a like, in simple terms, it’s based on the amount of money they spend on your product or service in a given calendar year. The potential of a follower and fan, that is something entirely different, and that equation has yet to be determined in my humble opinion. I think we are very bad at determining the potential value of a follower, a like, or a fan…but know this, it’s not linear, it’s exponential.
If you only need 1,000 true fans, “Everyone”, is not your customer.
Click on this link for the complete story on Kevin Kelly’s idea of 1,000 True Fans
Also read Olivier Blanchard’s work on The 5 basic rules of calculating fan/like/follower value.
