Keep Your Mouth Shut
I am pretty sure that you, like me, have more than one skill and more than one way of earning money.
When you run a business and keep moving from city to city or country to country, then you need to create a portable career that not only moves with you but that grows too.
When you are new in town or just starting out with your new business it is natural for you to be keen to make lots of contacts with potential clients and to network like crazy. You know that the more people know you the more likely it is that you will find some business along the way. But when you are a newbie it can be easy to be too keen, desperate even, particularly when you need the money.
So, when people ask you what you do, it is tempting to say what you do, sure, but then add on a few other things you could do. For example, until three years ago, this is how I might describe what I did:
“I write books, I run a publishing company, I specialise in living abroad, I help people to write books and articles and run workshops on writing, blogging and publishing. Oh and I wrote a book on portable careers, called A Career in Your Suitcase so I run workshops on that too…”
By now, they have stopped listening. Naively, I used to think I had cleverly ensured that they knew about everything I did. In truth, I had made myself unreferrable and confusing.
Then I attended a workshop led by Stephanie Ward of Firefly Coaching, a friend of mine. She was talking about the importance of having a niche.
“Take, Jo,” she said. “She has a great niche. Jo helps people to write their books.” She looked over at me and grinned.
From that moment on, I began to describe what I did in just those words” “I help people to write books”. My business took off. I stopped telling people about the other stuff and focused on my core business, the one that truly moves when I do and that gives me passive income too.
It can be hard keeping your mouth shut. It is tough knowing you need to let go of certain aspects of your business in order to thrive in just one area. But, thanks to Stephanie, I now stick to my niche, and three years later with 75 books in print, I am glad I did.
Bio
You can find out more about Jo Parfitt at www.joparfitt.comJoParfittbookpileweb
