Three weeks into January and it is COLDER than I can ever remember it being here in New York City. Three weeks into 2011 … are things looking the way you want them to for your business this year? Or, are they just the way you remember them from last year … or the year before that? Do you sometimes feel like you made a really bad choice when you decided to become an internet marketing rock star and make a six figure income while working in your PJ's?
You are not alone. I know that most of us feel like that at one point or another … maybe even lots of times … when "things" don't fall into place as quickly as we would like them to. Yes … "things" is a euphemism for "Why am I STILL not making any money doing this?" 😉
Your experience, ability and skills will serve you well for the rest of your life. They will serve you REALLY well when you expand and get "creative" with them!
No one, no situation, nothing … can ever take away the skills, abilities and experiences I have acquired. I like to think of them as assets that I will have for the rest of my life. When I found a way to parlay all of the "stuff" I had learned … as a kid, in college, in Culinary school and spending 20+ years as a professional food and beverage manager, traveling to all sorts of really cool places … simply living my great big, phat life … into creative ways of serving other people, a whole new world opened up for me. When I realized that adding to my collection of "assets" was really investing into my ability to achieve the freedom I want, I made the decision to pay myself first. I learned how to do new things that complemented and broadened my skill set.
Use what you've got. Learn how to monetize those skills, your unique abilities and experiences. Be willing to invest into growing and honing your assets (skills) to stay on the bleeding edge of what is in demand in the marketplace today.
Little did I realize how many skills I would end up developing to successfully maneuver through the twists and turns I encountered on the Culinary Super Highway.
- I learned how to be supremely comfortable speaking in front LARGE groups of people (sometimes on television) – knife in hand, chopping away with the absolute conviction I was NOT going to add a finger to the stock pot.
- I learned how to teach people of all skill levels how to do things so that all of the work got done correctly.
- I learned how to manage people effectively and build large cohesive teams – many of those people did not speak any English at all.
- I learned how to negotiate really well – to get the best pricing and quality available, to get people to come to work on holidays, to get raises for myself and my staff.
- I learned how to use a computer efficiently – that was almost a deal breaker they NEVER told me about in Culinary School!
- I learned design and presentation – for food, products and displays. I learned how to make gift baskets … make drop dead gorgeous flower arrangements.
- I learned how to sell – first myself, my food and products and then corporate services. I had to learn merchandising and marketing.
- I learned how to write mouth watering menus that sold food … lots and lots of food.
- I learned how to speak with clients from every background imaginable – from Upper East Side nannies to Senators to the Sultan of Brunei.
Pretty cool right …??? The quintessential Renaissance Woman … lol
What's the point of sharing all of that with you? I'm willing to bet that you are just like me. You probably have a whole bunch of high value, marketable skills that you don't even know you have. And, if you don' t recognize what your TRUE skills are, how can you possibly take them to the marketplace, serve others and profit?
So, let's take a look at how to identify your unique skills!!
Everyone has lots of experiences both in work and life. For most folks, the thought of sifting through all of it to identify unique skills is really overwhelming. But, it doesn't need to be if the process is kept really simple and fun!
Here are some of the questions that I used to get really clear about my skills and unique value. Get a notebook, a pen and simply write your answers down. No judgments, qualifiers or anything like that allowed 😉 This is for your eyes only.
1. What are the 5 things that I am most proud of in my life?
2. What are my 5 biggest accomplishments?
3. What do I do that makes me really happy?
4. What is so important to me that I would keep on doing it even if I wasn't paid a penny to do so?
5. What do I do that OTHER people tell me that I am really good at? What do THEY ask me for advice about?
6. What am I known for?
7. What do people say about me to other people when they talk about me?
8. When I ___________, I lose track of time because I am so focused.
9. When I ___________, I never get tired. I actually feel totally energized and am ready to do more.
10. What do I want to be remembered for at the end of my life?
I hope that answering those questions has put a BIG smile on your face because you can SEE that you already possess some very unique "assets", which could quite possibly be turned into bankable profits.
The next question to consider is …
"How DO I turn all of that "stuff" into marketable skills or a business that pays me well?" And that will be Part Two of this "Profit Potential" Series which will be published next Tuesday !!
Take a minute to share your thoughts below!
I am very interested in what hearing what YOU have to say!
Remember
… sharing is caring …
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Rose Mis is the author of “Dead Blogs Don’t Lie ~ 7 Secrets To A Wildly Popular High Traffic Blog” and the editor and publisher of The Frugal Networker Newsletter. She is the creator and Executive Chef of the internet's only Award Winning Attraction Marketing Training Kitchen. Rose is one of the top MLM / Network Marketing bloggers in the blogoshpere and is a featured blogger at thatMLMbeat.com. You are invited to stop by the Kitchen anytime you have any questions about blogging, marketing or mindset. Rose is here to help you get the results you are looking for as quickly and cost effectively as possible.
Great article!! I love the questions you posed to help us “Use what you’ve got” to get started.
Thanks so much Joy !! It’s all about going back to the basics and building a strong foundation from there. Have a great weekend !!
Thanks so much Joy !! It’s all about going back to the basics and building a strong foundation from there. Have a great weekend !!
Thanks so much Joy !! It’s all about going back to the basics and building a strong foundation from there. Have a great weekend !!
Thanks so much Joy !! It’s all about going back to the basics and building a strong foundation from there. Have a great weekend !!
Great questions to ask ones self!! Make you really stop and say…Hey I DO have some skills!! Thanks for sharing
Thanks for stopping by Debra !!
It was a shocker for me when I realized exactly how much “stuff” I had learned how to do over all of the years. Stuff that I am really good at … so why not turn those things into marketable skills, serve other people and add some income along the way.
And … if I can do it … so can everyone else !!
Hey Rose!
I noticed this link on Facebook!
Glad I stopped by, really nice post…
Definite FOOD for THOUGHT (now that I type that, no pun intended)
Have a great day and I will look for part two!
Shelly
The GREAT Shelly Allen 🙂 so glad that you stopped by !!
This is one of those posts that comes straight from my heart. Lots of folks don’t realize they are sitting on a goldmine … time to pull back the curtains and help some people start capitalizing on their unique assets.
Part two is almost finished … should be posed on Tuesday 🙂
Would love to hear your feedback!!
Have a fabulous weekend !!
Great post Rose. I have written all of these questions down to answer. Looking forward to part 2
Thanks for stopping by Jaime 🙂 … I am already writing Part 2 … Sandi really opened up my mind to these questions … sometimes it make sense to go back to the basics and really check in with ourselves !!
OK, it’s time for me to finally do this!! I keep negating my experience and skills (in my own head, of course), and it’s more than silly. Thanks for the inspiration to finally sit down and make this list! :o)
RT @Rose_Mis: Are You Short Changing Your Profit Potential? (Part 1) http://bit.ly/g9weWM
Are you monetizing ALL of your skills? If you're not … you are leaving lots of money on the table http://ow.ly/3LMQy
Thanks Rose! I so tend to underestimate what I know— By the way, I heard we’re getting another 20 inches next week!!!
Are You Short Changing Your Profit Potential? (Part 1) – http://su.pr/1AwnVQ
Hi Rose,
thanks for sharing your insights. I fully agree that the knowledge we acquire, the experience we gain and the skills we learn can never be taken away from us. If we do something new we should be grateful for these three things even though the intended success doesn’t fall into place right away. It’s only the ego anyway that doesn’t want to wait.
Take care
Oliver
Hi Rose,
thanks for sharing your insights. I fully agree that the knowledge we acquire, the experience we gain and the skills we learn can never be taken away from us. If we do something new we should be grateful for these three things even though the intended success doesn’t fall into place right away. It’s only the ego anyway that doesn’t want to wait.
Take care
Oliver
Are You Short Changing Your Profit Potential? (Part 1): Three weeks into January and it is COLDER than I can eve… http://bit.ly/faFriU
Rose,
Thanks for the little reality check quiz… You may have just motivated me to start making more time for the one thing that I’ve been neglecting… Up until a few years ago.. (maybe more than a few,) playing, composing, performing music was my end all… I couldn’t imagine my life without it… but life intervened and an injury ended my music career… so I threw myself into my husbands dreams… I love what he does, working with dogs, but when I ask myself those questions, I really realize there’s something missing. I’m going to fire up my amplifier tonight and see if I can recapture some of that passion that’s been missing… it’s time to make time for me.