by Stu McLaren
Sometimes it is difficult to start, no one starts at the top. Almost all of us have to overcome one major obstacle in the beginning.
The obstacle for many people is getting their business marketed on a tight budget. Being creative can help you get through on a tight budget and by answering some of these creative questions you can learn how to do it.
Questions such as:
1) How can I
A different question to get started with:
2) Who could assist me with This is a great question. Who could assist me with
How about:
3) Who would exchange for ?
Or this one:
4) How can I do this cheaper? or How could I do this faster? or How could I do this with less effort? or How could I do this without paying? That’s a great creative question.
Try and answer this question:
5) What can I substitute for ‘X’? Could I substitute ‘XYZ’ for ‘ABC’? Just think about whatever you could, or want to change.
If you answer this question you will really be putting yourself in the mind frame of some of your unique and different customers:
6) How would solve this problem?
Here is an example: How would my wife solve this problem? How would my mentor, child, neighbor solve this problem? By asking yourself this question you really have to look at things from a different perspective.
I can confidently say that these questions, as well as others, have allowed my creativity to grow and have opened all kinds of opportunities up to me. The success of my career can be credited to my creative thinking.
Let me give you a small example about how I used this creative way of questioning.
I decided to become a professional speaker as soon as I was done University. My focus was speaking to college and high school students about the topic of creativity. I focused on creativity because with it I was able to move from a first year failure in University to graduating being named Most Outstanding Male with straight A’s. I changed a lot between how I did things in first year to my last year, and I credit a lot of it to learning something I had become very passionate about, creative thinking.
The problem was I didn’t know the first thing about being a professional speaker or building a profitable speaking business.
The first thing I did was join the local chapter of CAPS, The Canadian Association for Professional Speakers.
At one of my first meetings I attended I approached a gentleman there who was doing very well with his speaking career about what I needed to do to get to his level. He replied by saying. “It’s very simple, Stu. I’ll give you three things to do, once you have those finished, come back and I’ll give you some more.”
He said, “Number one, you need to join CAPS. You need to surround yourself with like-minded people, who are working in your industry and can help you grow.” I said, “Okay.”
So I shelled out the $200 to join the CAPS organization. It was a squeeze for me. In fact, I specifically remember asking if I could put it on payments, which I did. I joined the CAPS organization.
He continued saying, “The second thing you have to do is get to the CAPS National Conference” At this point I thought to myself, ‘How am I going to do that? The conference that year was being held on the other side of Canada. With the seminar being pretty expensive itself, plus traveling costs, it was really expensive. I had no money, so everything at that point was expensive for me
This is where I started asking myself some creative questions. I needed to find a solution. I started thinking about what I had, or could do, that someone else might want and need.
One thing I that I had at that point was time itself. Because I had just started my speaking business I wasn’t speaking very often, so I knew I had some time I could offer.
It was at this moment I asking myself, “How could I use my time to help someone else?” By answering that question I came up with, ‘Help Stu Be Like You,’ a campaign to help me get to the National Conference.
This is how I used that creative idea to my advantage. I went to the largest chapter of CAPS in my province, which consisted of about 75 people and asked for 30 seconds in front of the whole group.
No one had asked for this before. I asked a question that got everyone’s hands in the air. It was, “How many of your, at one point, started off as a speaker with no experience?”
The next question I asked was, “Out of all of you who have your hand up, how many of you have been to the CAPS national conference?” About 75% of the room kept their hands up.
I said, “Of those who still have their hands in the air, how many of you feel that it would be beneficial for somebody with zero experience to get out to that CAPS national conference?” They all had their hands in the air.
My reply was, “Great. Well I am somebody that obviously needs to go to the CAPS national conference because I have zero experience.”
I continued by saying, “But, here is where I run into difficulty. I don’t have any money, just time. Here is the exchange I am willing to make and I hope you are to. ‘Help Stu Be Like You’ is a campaign that I have created.” At this point I handed out a small flyer to everyone in the audience. It basically was a 8×6 black and white flyer that I had printed at home on 8-1/2 x 11 sheets and cut down the middle to save on costs.
I began to explain my campaign. “This is what I am willing to do. Anything that you as speakers don’t like doing, don’t have time to do, or just need an extra pair of hands to do, I will do it. Sales calls, creating sales letters, licking stamps, anything. I will even come to your house and cut your lawn or wipe your baby’s bottom if that’s what you want me to do. All I’m asking in return is a financial contribution of your choice.”
Looking out at everyone I could see some people’s wheels were just turning thinking, “Oh wow. This is amazing. I can get all those little jobs I hate doing for cheap!”
I finished up by saying, “Whatever you don’t like doing I will do, in exchange for an financial contribution of your choice. Everything I make from this campaign will go directly towards getting me out to the CAPS national conference.”
As soon as I finished explaining it, a gentleman at the back of the room stood up, and he said, “Stu, I will pay for your entrance fee to the seminar.” Boom. Just like that. Half of my costs basically taken care of.
Another gentleman stood up right after him and said, “Stu, don’t worry about paying to get out there, I will take care of it.” In a matter of five minutes 85% of my expenses needed to go were taken care of.
That is what being creative can enable you to do.
By asking myself that one creative question, I was able to come up with a creative solution that solved my problem of not being able to get to the national conference. By the time the conference happened all kinds of people had heard about my story and even had a story published about me in the national publication.
By exploring your creativity ideas will come to you when you need them the most!
Until next time!