Have you ever felt like you’ve shown up too late in the game to play?
Ever wish you had jumped on a trend before the masses?
I felt that way when I entered the world of the Internet a few short years ago. I had so much to learn that, by the time I really launched my business online, the rules had changed and it was much harder to get my message seen.
After all, back when I was getting started…
Google had slapped a boatload of people whose businesses were rocking and rolling.
Facebook and Twitter were still trying to get their sea legs as go to platforms for commerce.
It seemed like what once worked didn’t anymore and that the only businesses doing well online had enormous budgets to throw at what amounted to little more than experiments, leaving small business owners like me wondering how I would ever get a foothold in this crazy new world.
There was no doubt a small business could make it online. Gobs and gobs of examples could be found with a quick Google search.
The question was, how to do that when I didn’t know the rules, didn’t know the secret formulas, didn’t have an extra 50G lying around to hire someone to see if the spaghetti would stick to the wall…
But when I took a step back and assessed the situation, I noticed something. The things that set me apart, my teaching skills, my creativity and innovation skills, my storytelling skills, my reputation were exactly what gave me the biggest edge.
It didn’t have as much to do with my ability to run a PPC campaign or create the latest and greatest banner ad as it did with what people knew about me and my track record.
What was helping me to grow my business was what I’d relied on in my past: nurturing existing relationships and building new ones.
What attracted people to me were the skills and gifts I brought to the table, not whether or not I’d gotten my lead spend down to under a dime a piece. I didn’t need to become something I wasn’t or copy the exact same methods the “gurus” were proclaiming were the only way to get things done.
I did need to learn the plays, though. Study the playbook. Get the skills that would position me for success in the new economy. By finding the right people to teach and coach me, I was able to do just that. And boy, has it ever paid off.
Building a business is hard enough without the added stress of feeling like you don’t know anything. It was such a relief to know I wasn’t late to the game after all.
I’d just shown up at the wrong stadium.
