Do you need a digital presence as a solo consultant?
I think you do, but there are at least two other clear options which have a better ROI then the $5-$10K a full blown website will cost you.
The first option is the simplest and least expensive – develop a great LinkedIn profile. It offers you all the critical pieces of a website and more. Your LinkedIn profile summary is your ‘about’ page. References are easily captured and more ‘real’ then any ‘testimony’ page you might create. You can create ‘positions’ for your client engagements which represent great ‘client’ and ’services’ examples. There are all manner of complimentary applications which can make the profile even more useful as a website. For example, you can use SlideShare to post a PowerPoint presentation about your services. You can post a picture. You have your own vanity URL to use on your business card. Mine is www.linkedin.com/in/edcallahansprofile. And all the items I have mentioned are free. You can upgrade for additional services but you can start for free and find it very valuable. Can you think of anything else you need to get started that a website would provide?
The other inexpensive option is a blog. Wordpress offers hosting and tools for free as well. And for a small investment, you can purchase a URL and have a professional WordPress consultant put a site together that most people wouldn’t recognize as merely a WordPress blog. If you read this blogpost at www.edcallahan.info you already know that is what I did. In case you read this post in an RSS reader, the image in this post is a screen shot of my site.
So there you have one man’s opinion. Save your money and don’t build a website unless you need more then one of these options offer you.
For more advice on how to launch your consulting career you might want to visit my my friend Peter Osborne’s website, Consultant Launch Pad.
Venezuelan President Chavez vs Spanish President Zapatero
Tim Walsh blogged on June 5th, 2010 about The (Un)Perfect Game and Stand-Up Guys. You can read the whole post here. It is the story of the terrible call made by major league umpire Jim Joyce and the pitcher whose perfect game he ruined, Armando Galarraga.
Tim correctly points out that there are lots of lessons to be learned here, but chief among them is the need for us all to be able admit our mistakes.
I couldn’t agree more. A basic plea we EOS implementers make to all the owners and leadership teams we collaborate with is to be open & honest.
Constructive conflict among professionals who respect each other assure that all points of view are heard when there is disagreement. This works very well in an organization where there is an ultimate leader who will insure that there is not just politicking but valuable discussion. He or she eventually summarizes what has been said and leads the group to solve the problem once and for all. This includes making the choice when the team cannot do so.
I am not advocating management by committee. Far from it. But unless you have hired a team you don’t trust and respect, many of the best ideas will come from them, not you.
What level of trust and respect exist among all the leaders in your company?
Photo: quapan
When is a baseball franchise like a small business?
When you are the 2000 Minnesota Twins and among the worst teams in baseball. Bruce Schoenfeld describes the transformation of the Twins over the past ten years in a blog post for Entrepreneur Magazine, entitled The Turnaround Artist. You can read the whole post here.
In the article Schoenfeld describes how Twins’ owner, Jim Pohland, the son of billionaire former owner Carl Pohland, applied basic management principles to the remaking of the Twins, who he describes as a small business in contrast to the giants of big business in baseball, like the New York Yankees.
Schoenfeld provides the details behind this list of five management principles:
1. Identify your strengths.
2. Offer a unique experience.
3. Connect with your customers.
4. Remain loyal to your employees.
5. Know when to act like a big business.
Who can argue with any of these as it applies to your business, except perhaps #5?
I am a big fan of #1. As part of helping our clients implement EOS, we help them describe their Three Uniques. We define Three Uniques as that combination of value that taken together is found in no other competitors’ offering. Every competitor may have one or two of these value propositions, but ideally not all three. The three become your USP, or unique selling proposition.
The benefits of doing this exercise are many, but key is that the Three Uniques become a guidepost to you, your leadership team and your employees, particularly your sales team. It provides for a consistent message from marketing and sales. Assuming it is the right one, it also helps you resist straying into perceived greener pastures. If you know what I mean?
Have you documented your Three Uniques?
If not, you might want to read pages 54-58 in Gino Wickman’s Traction – Get A Grip On Your Business. You can buy it here and and you can download the first chapter for free here.
Photo: Cheerful-Givers
