Tightly wrapped packages sell well

I know your park is special and has everything in it you like to play with. Perhaps it’s got sparkly swings, or a huge football pitch perfect for 5-a-side; it might have a deep treasure-digging sandpit or a roundabout that goes reeeeaaaallllly fast. And I know you think your park is the best, and that everyone should come and play in it. But it’s not always as easy as that, as not everyone sees your park in the same way. Bit like your Thing really…

I ask this question a lot.

I ask myself, I ask my clients, and I ask (in my head!) this on behalf of people I see who are stuck, or afraid, or unsure. The reason I ask this question a lot is that sometimes there isn’t actually a ‘good’ reason to wait. There may well be an excuse (or lots of excuses) but very often, when it really comes down to it, there isn’t actually a real reason.

So what are you waiting for?

There’s always the moment. The moment where you step away from simplicity and add in the kitchen sink. And I know you mean well because you’re coming from a place of service, wanting to do all you can to help–to share everything you know and have learnt. When you ‘see’ what other people don’t see, and you ‘know’ there is another/better/faster/smarter/other way, of COURSE you want to share it.

As I write this, it’s December and so there’s a very obvious seasonal feel to a lot of marketing messages everywhere I look. But it’s not just the Christmas and New Year holidays that can lend themselves nicely (sometimes too nicely!) to promotions and connected offers.

Now here’s the thing with Marketing–for some reason, we’ve been conditioned to expect it to work ‘instantly’. In technical (ish) terms, that’s called ‘Direct Response’… in the olden days, this looked like an ad in a magazine with a ‘reply coupon’ or a postcard you sent off to get details, or an offer you could phone up and buy right away. And yes, of course we still have ‘instant’ marketing today–there are ads online (in Facebook and Google, etc.) that often will ‘sell’ directly as a result of you seeing them. But most people take a while…

If you’re happy to just do your Thing—get paid for it—all is well, but you’re probably not an entrepreneur—just a self-employed, or employed even, Thinger. It’s when you take risks—either the risk of standing out, of doing something differently, of calling yourself a ‘name’, of standing by a process or philosophy that’s yours—then you’re an entrepreneur.