Today at Face2Face Spanaway/Parkland the moderator, Dennis Willis, gave Candace Thompson (Wild Child Group Ltd) the floor to do a quickie Mastermind demonstration. When Candace asked for volunteers to raise their hands to be the business to tweak, I threw mine up immediately. The woman is amazing and knows business from the ground up better than anyone I have ever known or read, so I wanted IN at warp speed.

 

She picked me and asked Bill Lee to take notes so I wouldn’t have to. Then she asked me to choose one topic from a list of possible areas to explore. I picked marketing. Then the fun started.

 

Candace: Business to business, business to client, or….
Me: Business to business.

 

Candace: OK. Choose from this list of avenues to explore… (she ran down the list)
Me: Public Speaking, Business Expo, and Teaching Classes. But I don’t know if I can afford a Business Expo. I know they’re pricey.
Candace: There are ways around that. You’re an expert at what you do, so you can use one of them.
Me: OK.

Candace: OK, let’s explore some options… Craigslist, Networking Groups, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, business website, blog
Me: Yes, I’m on all of those.

 

Candace: Phone calls…
Me: Not so much. (Cold calling is one of my few phobias.)
Candace: Chamber of Commerce.
Me: No. (Note to self: Price is a hurdle plus I don’t want my dues going to political causes I don’t support.)
Candace: Copy writing and enhancement examples.
Me: Check! On my new website.
Candace: Blog networks.
Me: Some. Not enough. Usually I get interviewed because of my association with DeForest Kelley, not my line of work. Guess I I can change that easily enough, though.
Candace: Do it. Magazines.
Me: Ditto. Can change that, too.
Candace: Writer’s magazines and blogs.
Me: Great idea!

 

Candace: OK. On to public speaking. Where?
Ideas from attendees: Libraries, churches, conferences, business expos, Chambers of Commerce, networking events, book signings.

 

Candace: OK. On to Teaching classes. Where?
Ideas from attendees: colleges, universities, career days at high schools, Language Arts in grade, middle and high schools, libraries, networking meetings, churches, military bases.

From this exchange of ideas, my marching orders are to research local area groups that are looking for guest speakers, write an introductory letter to them to explain my credentials and availability, and follow up with phone calls.

 

Totally do-able!

 

I can teach 30-second commercials/elevator speeches, how to write a compelling bio, how to write a loyalty-producing core story, how to write a compelling cover letter when seeking employment, how to write a riveting landing page, elements of a great press release, Writing compelling copy for the web, elements of a compelling brochure, blogging 101, journal writing… I have a ton of topics I can teach.

 

A few days ago Candace also told me I could, and should, find a local venue that will hold at least 20 people and develop one-hour classes on some of the topics I listed above. When they’re ready (five of them are ready now), I can announce them in all of my networking meetings and get interested folks preregistered for the class(es) they want.

 

She also said I should consider offering a half-day, four-hour class that combines four of the topics that every business owner and entrepreneur needs to know, and offer it at a discounted rate. So, for example, if a one-hour session is $49, a four hour, 4-topics session should be offered at $169 or $179 so the people who want to learn all four topics can save money and knock the training out in one morning or afternoon session.

 

Now I have a whole roomful of people as accountability partners, so I’d better get cracking!