Think Market!
Griselda spent hours polishing up her resume. No detail was too small: type face, layout and spacing. She weighed each word, counted each comma. She sent out 200 resumes and received no responses.
Reginald spent even more hours designing the most perfect website for his new business. Working with a highly recommended web designer, he chose colors, graphics, and layout. He agonized over products to offer his clients. After the site was launched, nobody came -- and visitors flew away, like bumblebees from a flower, taking free honey and moving on.
Griselda and Reginald are intelligent, motivated people. They turned their intelligence and motivation to designing a perfect product -- not conducting research on what the market wants.
Why? Testing the market is difficult -- sometimes impossible. Ideally, you will find at least six people who resemble those in your target market. I encourage clients to choose people who can offer you candid opinions. When you keep hearing, "This is wonderful," you haven't found the right resources.
Some newbie entrepreneurs hold focus groups or idea parties, complete with refreshments. That's a great idea if you can pull it off. Communication is contagious. When one person begins to be critical, the rest will follow.
Career-changers need to network (there's the n-word again!) to identify experienced managers who can help them evaluate their job campaign. You need to convey the message, "I'm one of you! I belong in your industry."
o Here are some questions to get started:
o Who are your ideal clients -- or employers, if you're changing jobs?
o How do they make decisions? Impulsively? Over time? After consultation with others?
o What information will influence the buying decision?
o Imagine that your ideal client (or employer) has just hired you and is absolutely delighted with your services. How will she or he describe you to a colleague?
o What are the hot buttons to use -- and to avoid?
How to Get Started:
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About The Author
Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., is an author, speaker and career/business consultant, helping midlife professionals take their First step to a Second Career. http://www.cathygoodwin.com.
"Ten secrets of mastering a major life change" mailto:subscribe@cathygoodwin.com
Contact: cathy@cathygoodwin.com 505-534-4294
MORE RESOURCES:
 guardian.co.uk | Steven Tyler Is Just Writing A Book! No Drugs (Allegedly) PerezHilton.com (blog) A spokesman for Steven Tyler has said that the Aerosmith frontman is just taking a quick break due to a shoulder injury and he is working on his ... TYLER IS WRITING HIS MEMOIRS |
 Hindu | 'Writing is a solo pursuit' Hindu I really believe what happens in the writing experience happens in the reading experience. If there is velocity in the writing, then there will be the same ... |
 Contactmusic.com | Cruz's record label wants him to stop writing hits Ireland Online He said: “I kept writing them and the record company kept shouting at me because I kept giving all the songs away. “I'm not really precious like that. ... Taio Cruz: Breaking charts as well as hearts |
 Times Online | What's This Mania? Twilight's New Moon Radar Redux: Baltimore Arts and Culture (blog) Listen, I study Creative Writing in school. I love literature. I value writing and even more so, I value good writing, unique writing, writing which ... New Moon star Kellan Lutz on gummi bears and running from fans A Fan's 10 Favorite Things About 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' Reflecting on the 'Twilight' Backlash |
 Film School Rejects (blog) | 'Underworld 4' on the Way With 'Shield' Scribe Writing Moviefone According to the Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision blog, the task of writing the fourth film falls upon John Hlavin, best known as a writer and story editor ... Underworld 4 being scripted by John Hlavin |
Dacre Stoker: Writing a sequel to a beloved classic National Post There are many mysteries surrounding Bram Stoker's writing of Dracula. These include: what resources he used or knew of, how much he actually knew about the ... |
'Precious' Screenwriter Talks Passion For Writing CDInsight Geoffrey Fletcher, screenwriter of "Precious," talked of passions for film writing before coming out with the hit drama. Fletcher said he took up film at ... |
Parting Shot: Writing In Alexander for Biletnikoff Award Kansas City Star By Mike dearmond - Posted on 20 November 2009 Danario Alexander is not a finalist for the award given annual to college football's best receiver. ... |
Analysis: Darwin vs. Genesis, a literary smackdown Toronto Star Genesis, it has to be said, is tough to beat as a piece of writing. It contains both the best of the wilderness, emerging over several generations from the ... |
 New York Daily News | Martha Stewart pans Rachael Ray's cooking - and cooking writing New York Daily News Stewart told ABC News' Cynthia mcfadden that Ray's approach to cooking - and cookbook writing - is "not good enough for me." In her first TV interview since ... |
2nd Installment on Autobiography
ESSAY 2Andre Malraux once said that what interested him in any person was "the human condition." Malraux was interested not so much in people's personality but, rather, in their "particular relationship with the world.
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Griselda spent hours polishing up her resume. No detail was too small: type face, layout and spacing.
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