Reinventing Yourself in the Business World
By Jimmy Krug –
Musicians, actors, athletes… the list can go on and on. The musician leaves the band and opens a recording studio. The actor evolves into a director or producer. The athlete ends up back in his hometown as a business owner. There comes a time when you’ve gone as far as you’re going to go in your niche, field or endeavor. Whether or not you’ve been a success in the past is an entirely different matter. The only thing that really matters is – what are you doing and where are you going today? It’s what you’re doing today that’s going to determine what your “tomorrow” will be like, right?
When I got out of college, it wasn’t long before I got involved with non-profit organizations. I really enjoyed the work as well as the people I met and the things I learned during this period of time. Something inside me, however, convinced me I wasn’t in my “right place.” Soon, outward circumstances began mirroring my inward intuition.
It was time for a change.
I’ve gone through this process three times during my lifetime. Each time, the reinventing process has become easier and more profitable. The context I’m talking about right now is that of business – although this could certainly be applied to your personal life as well.
Some changes can be drastic. Others, not so much. Each situation and person is different. There are, however, some similarities that you can examine to help determine if “change” is the right move for you at this particular point in time. Sometimes, it’s as simple as saying, “I’ve had enough of this…” and then moving on to another area.
Outward signs:
Industries go through upward and downward trends. If your industry is in one of those downward spirals right now, you can either wait it out… or, jump into a new one that fits your accumulated experience and know-how. I’ve met people in the music industry who wanted to become “rock stars” at certain points in their lives. As it turns out, it never really happened the way they thought it would. My friend Gary played studio keyboards for a once famous band named Toto. Finally, he got his chance to play with the band live on stage at the Hollywood Bowl during one of their comeback tours.
Less than 300 people were in attendance.
He told me it was like playing in a “giant empty cavern.” Shortly afterward, the drummer died and everything fell apart. Instead of “getting back up on the horse,” Gary decided to take a little extra time and examine the road ahead. After doing so, he decided it was time for a change.
He decided the price that comes with fame and fortune in the music industry was too high a price to pay. Today, he runs a successful gourmet catering business in South Florida.
Kenny Rodgers was famous for, among other things, his song – “The Gambler.” The song can be summed up by its famous chorus line which says, “You’ve got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em… know when to walk away… and know when to run.”
Twenty years ago, Shopping Malls were making a fortune. Today, many of them are closing their doors. Sometimes the signs that you’re not where you should be are obvious to everyone BUT you.
This doesn’t mean you should necessarily adopt an “abandon ship” mentality. Sometimes it can be something as simple as changing your focus and occupying a different niche in the same industry.
A few years ago I found myself dismayed by the turn the eBook market had taken. I loved writing and publishing “how-to” type publications. I still do. Since I started back in the mid-90’s, people would write me asking specific questions as to how what I was teaching would apply to their product and their situation. I really enjoyed it. Then, it suddenly hit me that the consultation aspect of what I was doing would be worth good money to the right people. Twelve months ago I started focusing on marketing my eBooks to the business sector and to business owners. Sometimes, I gave them away.
No, let me correct that… I almost always gave them away! I would talk to people about a particular topic and by the end of the conversation, I would tell them, “I wrote a book about the subject. It’s available online.”
Long story short… my Internet consulting business grew and I quadrupled the number of clients I had in about 18-months.
I made the switch because all the outward signs were pointing to an open opportunity. Selling eBooks to the “general public” wasn’t as viable and option for me as it had been several years earlier. I was able to use them, however, to open a variety of doors for me in the business sector. Simple eBooks resulted in thousands of dollars in additional products and services sold to the business sector.
Opportunities are funny things. Most people don’t see them until after the fact because they’re just doing what everyone else is doing. In the real business world, however, things don’t work that way. Having a slot machine mentality will lead to failure more often than not.
Inward Signs:
As an entrepreneur, I’m no stranger to the inward signals telling me – “It’s time to move on.” If you’re an entrepreneur yourself, you know exactly what I’m talking about. On the other hand, if you’re really an entrepreneur, you also know that voice can get you in trouble from time to time. Let’s face it; doing business (any kind of business) is the modus operandi for some people. Their primary motive isn’t to buy a new car or new home. It’s to make money doing something they haven’t tried before. It’s the challenge they enjoy – just as much (if not more) than making the money that follows.
But that’s not the type of “inward signs” I’m talking about. Sometimes, if you’ve been doing something long enough, you just get tired out. You get tired of doing what you’re doing and the results start reflecting it. There are two “prices” an individual pays for being in business. One’s tangible. The other’s intangible. You have to be aware of the intangible costs as much you do the tangible cost of the business you’re in.
A friend’s father recently passed away. He was the foremost expert in his field for the past 20 years or so. I was told, “He always put business first – before everything. And before everyone.” Most people who are in that type of situation or mindset stay there until they’re “shocked out of it” by some type of traumatic event in their lives. If for some reason you can’t put the workday behind you at the end of the day, it’s a good idea to ask yourself why? Have you developed a habit of “thinking business” all the time? Or, is it no longer possible for you to keep doing what you’re doing and have or enjoy a “normal” life?
One requires an adjustment. With the other, you’d probably be better off reinventing yourself and doing something that’s not going to consume everything you’re doing like a forest fire.
I realize you may have a thousand reasons for continuing to do what you’re doing. Ultimately, if you can’t talk yourself out of them, probably no one else can either. But let me tell you from experience, reinventing yourself may be one of the best decisions you’ll ever make.
You can reinvent yourself – starting now
There are certain steps that I’ve used in the path to both locate where I was “at” at any given point in time. From there, it was easier to determine where I wanted to be and what actions I would need to take to get there.
To start, you can use a notebook, journaling software, or at very least – a sheet of paper.
1. Be brutally honest with yourself. Recognize your strengths and weaknesses.
2. Get a “Bird’s Eye” view of your life. Create two columns on a sheet of paper. In one column, write the years of your life in 5 year increments, starting with your birth year on top and going all the way down to the present time. In the right column, write the significant events which brought you to where you are today. In order to know where you’re going, you sometimes have to sit back and realize “where you’ve come from.
3. “Journal” or write all your ideas, concerns, fears, hopes, etc. relative to where you want to be (business-wise) within the next few years.
4. Keep an ongoing journal of some kind, creating new entries (at least once a month) until noticeable progress is forthcoming.
I’ve followed this same basic formula for many different areas of life and have made great progress in doing so. I’ve found it especially effective during the “tough spots.” Those are the times when you’re really not sure what’s coming around the next corner, if you know what I mean!
In days gone by, most people could do the same thing their entire lives. Whether that’s a good thing or not is no longer the question. We’re living in a different time and different era than our parents grew up in. Change is coming. If it hasn’t found you already, it will. It’s just a matter of time. Rather than being a negative, however, it can be looked at as a good thing. It’s all part of the process of life and business. Knowing how and when to reinvent yourself along the way can make the whole process an enjoyable experience.
Related Posts
Tags
Share This
