Know yourself, know your business

That is what we need to remind ourselves of pretty regularly, especially when the business of business has gotten us down.  It was also a great reminder for me personally, when I ran across a cool, comprehensive marketing idea book online today.

The short free PDF includes all of the core points for a solid marketing plan, and is similar to what I review with clients when I work with them one-on-one. It is a fantastic guide for new entrepreneurs,  and a perfect review opportunity for current businesses and entrepreneurs.  The simple, clear framework makes it easy to identify, review and clarify what our business means to us, where its going and how to get what we want from it.

As I  mentioned in my last post, we all have creativity we express in different ways. To run a successful business based on your creative genius, its important to have some ideas and goals clear in your mind and on paper (or computer). By using a solid framework to map out those ideas, its much easier to stay on track to grow your vision and outreach, rather than flinging random marketing ideas like cow pies  to an audience that may not even be paying attention. Or they pay just  enough attention to deflect your half-assed marketing efforts, which they ultimately view as manure — but I digress.

I highly recommend you take a look at this marketing idea book and see how you can further explore your freakin’ genius. Do it! I dare ya…

I will not work for or support any company that mistreats employees, customers, or the community it serves.

I will fight against unfair changes to my work hours, exploitation of unpaid internships, and unanswered decreases in benefits.

Economic slavery is still slavery and I will not tolerate it. Toxic business will not be my job, my future, or my legacy.

The economy is in shreds, yet the cost of an Education hasn’t diminished – it’s substantially increased. Normally, this would have a reduction effect on the bell-curve of the level of education for a society; that is, bad economies breed more dumb hicks as fewer and fewer people can afford to have access to higher education. Instead, super-thrifty Gen-Y is now starting the Education Revolution – everybody and their friggin’ granny is going to Grad School these days.

The value of an education, that piece of paper you get at the end of two or more years of late night Monster-powered study marathons, used to be that you had better odds of getting a job. That you had more “tangible” experience to connect to an employer’s needs. Well, that sure ain’t true anymore, now is it?

If everyone has a masters degree, then we’re all still sitting at the middle of the bell curve, ain’t we? Pull out your banjos boys and girls, we’ve hit the point in our lives where no matter how much education you have, you’re still a dumb hick. The real value of an education has substantially diminished; yet we’re paying outrageous, skyrocketing prices for the privileged of a piece of paper that says we can toil away for extended periods.

There are only three ways to differentiate yourself from other dumb hicks:

1. Be In Style (Paris Hilton, anyone?) – this is the most fickle but also longest-lasting, unless you eat babies
   
2. Add Value (Lenny, Of Mice and Men) – this is the most subjective and shortest-lasting, unless you can negotiate
   
3. Be ridiculously driven towards your goals – this requires the most energy, but lasts as long as you have the energy and resources
   

You will surely fail if you look at your education as a buffer to the bad economy, as a way to say to employers that you are willing to work hard, or as a way to allay boredom.

Instead, you -must- take full advantage of all four years of undergrad, squeeze the life out of every organization, event, networking possibility – start blogging, make a name for yourself, host your own events, organize massive conferences on your own or with your friends, get known for something like starting up a community-centric marketplace or an energy-saving initiative.

Just do something, damnit!

My friend had a lot more than two choices; but first she has to realize just how awesome she is. Until then, she’ll feel stuck.

I am a dumb hick – the first to admit it; in fact, it makes for great party conversations. As true as that may be, I’ve managed to start my own business, become profitable in 3 months time, pay off all but one of two of my major debts in 6 months, and help organize two of the largest “unconferences” in a city that six months ago, had never heard of one. Not just that, but I’ve also become a public speaker, started up a group that teaches social media to the public for charity, and have started to write my own book.

Oh, and I’m going back for my MBA this summer.

If you could figure out, realistically, how to fix her job, what would those things be?

Make a list, post it here. Then show it to your boss.

Tape the list to the side of the cardboard box you’ll use to take your things home.

For something causing the big-wigs in Washington so much trouble, you would think the millennials would have a stronger voice about it.  But, despite multiple RTs by myself and other millennials, no one was willing to step up to the podium.

Turns out, some people who have more time than I do to rub brain cells together have been thinking the same thing.  Justin Quincy of Minus30Ology wrote me an e-mail the next day:

We are crafting potential legislative wishes for millennial healthcare reform and this seems like a great base to start from. We have created a petition entitled “Minus30″ that takes aim at the “60plus” organization funded by conservative-leaning members, to show that millennials also have a big stake in this debate. We’d really appreciate your support!!!

The petition is located here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/977427388
For more information: http://minus30.ology.com

If you feel strongly enough about our petition, please share it and help it go viral. We’re hoping to really make some sort of splash with the media and Congress.

—

How could I say no to that?  These are millennials who know there’s very little millennial representation in government and want to make themselves heard.  Nevermind the pingpong style politics dominating congress right now, these are changes that will affect old people for the next 20 years and will affect US for the next 70!  Wake up, kids!

Here’s a link to the article where Justin describes the plan.  However you fall on the healthcare debate, you can weigh in.  DO IT.

I want to share with you what I do when I get distracted or depressed:

Minute One – Take a deep breath, a look outside, a quick stretch – and remove yourself from whatever distracting situation you’re in.  It might be Facebook stalking.  It might be a noisy roommate in your dorm room.  Hell, it might even be the work you’re trying to get done.  Just take a break for a minute and breathe.

Minute Two – Try to remember why you’re trying to accomplish this particular task.  Are you getting paid?  Will you get a better grade?  Will it make it easier for you to get something else done down the road?  If you’re not getting any benefit out of doing this thing – why are you doing it?

Minute Three – Create a 10/2 list. In the next 10 minutes, what 2 things do you want to have accomplished?  Do this every time you find yourself getting distracted – if I get myself to focus on just TWO tasks I know I’ll finish them (I suppose you could do a 5/1 list – but I’m too ADD for that).

Minute Four – Know the next step - where you need to go or do after you’ve finished whatever you’re doing now.

Minute Five – Eliminate distractions. Turn off the TV, the iPod, Facebook, LiveJournal, the movie, whatever is dragging your attentions away from the things you should be focusing on.

My system isn’t perfect for everyone – what’s yours?

A lot of millennials are in the same situation she is, I’d like to share my response publicly.

You might not have any work references, but you most certainly have academic references or people who can speak to your character.

You might have a favorite professor (college) or teacher (high school) whose class you excelled in, consistently performed well, and so on.  To this day, my best references come from my favorite marketing professor.  I graduated in 2007.  Think about teammates on sports teams you might have been a part of or classmates who worked with you on projects, anyone who can speak well of you and isn’t directly related to you.

If you are still coming up short – find a mentor, volunteer position, open source project, or something else you can work on for a length of time. Pick something interesting – like habitat for humanity or volunteering at a local Better Business Bureau. Over time you will gain someone who can speak as a reference, whether it’s a volunteer co-worker or the coordinator or even the recipient of the volunteer work.

No Work Experience wasn’t always this scary, but the economy that we’re facing at the moment is rife with peril for new entrants. My advice? Do as much networking as you can – get involved on MeetUp with a professional organization, do an Ignite speech – hell, start up an Ignite group if your town doesn’t have one.

Do anything and everything you can – claw for every inch.  Collaborate, connect, and dream – but most importantly, DO SOMETHING.

A BarCamp is based around the idea that the coffee breaks are much more valuable than the actual sessions… and so the “sessions” consist of self-organized coffee breaks to talk about specific subjects.  There are no highly-paid presenters, there are no hoity-toity sales pitches, and there isn’t a lot of free, but useless, swag.

I’m convinced that the idea of attending people-created BarCamps, TweetUps, going to MeetUp.com and finding local business events, and attending unemployed-centric events is the most effective way to network.  Not only do you get to showcase your skills or share ideas with a highly-energetic and tuned-in audience, but you get to rub elbows with people you never even knew existed!

How do you succeed at a BarCamp?  Well – you take business cards… or set up a free Contxts account so you can share them via SMS text message.  Then, you think about things you are knowledgeable about as they relate to the theme of the conference.  At a WineCamp and know something about vintage port?  Write your idea up on the whiteboard and if people like it, they’ll attend.  Having a creative or funny name for your “discussion” is a big help!

Attend other people’s discussions – listen and pitch in! Ask questions, participate!  Don’t go into a BarCamp with the expectation that it’s all about you – it’s about you SHARING your knowledge with other people. It’s true that what you put in will dictate what you get out of it – the more you share, the more people are going to want to talk to you (as long as you’re not a raving idiot).

Most of all, network! Introduce yourself to anyone and everyone who looks or sounds interesting – write down memorable questions and ask if you can e-mail people later.

You never know, you might just be hobnobbing your way to your next job!

Between starting up my own business and busting out work for clients, I’m swamped!  Most of my time for Psychotic Resumes has been focused on revamping the static content pages.  If you haven’t visited those lately, you might want to take a peek.  Also, I’m working on some creative and inventive content that I think you’ll really like – something beyond just endless blog updates.

In the static sections of the site, I’ve got information on how to write an effective Resume, masterful Cover Letter, do better on your Interviews, and how to put together a Job Search no matter what your situation.

I’ll be getting back to my regular update schedule of M-W-F this week, so… thanks for being patient!