New opportunities come knocking at your door all the time. Now you probably read that line and said, “Um, No, they don’t,” well, I am sorry to break this to you, but they do. You need to learn to recognize them and learn the best ways to embrace new opportunities when you find them. Many of these opportunities are not as apparent as you would like them.
Recognize the Knock
Opportunity comes knocking all the time, but are you paying attention?
- Did you meet a new person?
- Answer a question in a Facebook Group?
- Help someone with something?
- Answer the same question more than once?
- Know someone who offers a complimentary product?
Likely you answered yes to at least one of these questions. Guess what? That interaction was an opportunity. There are lots of people just waiting to collaborate, but when you are first starting, you need to ASK those contacts to work with you.
**Case in point: One of my favorite coaches Windy Lawson wrote a guest post on this blog about sales and marketing. Why did she do that? Because I asked her to.
Understand How YOU Can Help Them
Whether you are just starting or you’ve been in business for a long time. New opportunities will only really work if you have something to offer that is helpful to the customer. You may have the very best printable or course ever but, unless you can quickly and effectively explain how this will help them, no one is going to care.
Seems harsh but it’s true. Can you explain in two sentences or less how amazing your product is and exactly what the client will get out of it? Practice that pitch.
Take Responsibility
Sitting around and making excuses about why your business isn’t working out, or why you are depressed, or you couldn’t finish the course isn’t going to improve your situation. You must take responsibility for putting in the work to get your goals done. If you are setting other priorities then you may need to really look at your goals and what you want to accomplish. You just might be trying to reach for the wrong thing.
Consider your time management processes as well. Many times we are spending an insane amount of time on something we thought was a priority in our life. Balance was something I had to learn, as well. For a long time, I put my day job over my family. It took a lot of self-reflection and understanding my long term goals to realize I had time to invest in my career later, but my kid was only going to be a child for a short period.
Reassess your long term goals and understand what time commitments you need to invest to meet those goals. Be realistic with what is required. If you have small children and need to dedicate time to running them to their activities but only allot yourself 10 minutes for that, then you are going to have problems.
Think Positive
Changing your internal dialogue is hard, but not impossible. If you constantly find reasons and excuses why you can’t accomplish something; then you won’t get it done. If instead you concentrate on learning from mistakes, being grateful for what you have, and finding something to be happy about you will find you can accomplish anything.
Say Yes
If someone asks you to do something, even if it freaks you out, say YES. At least a few times a year seek out and say yes to things outside your comfort zone. This might be as simple as attending an in person meeting, going to a vendor event to make contacts, or could be as scary as writing a book or publishing new content.
Whatever this is for you, embrace the uncomfortable and find new opportunities that will help you further your business.
Be Open To New Opportunities
New opportunities are all around you. Don’t be afraid to reach out and find the light switch in the dark. Saying Yes to one opportunity can be life-changing. Embrace the uncomfortable and find your success.
Figuring out what tasks are actually priorities will help you manage your time most effectively. This is harder than it sounds. That is why I’ve created a workbook to help you figure this all out. Let’s get your actual business and life priorities straightened out.
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