3 Things To Think About Right Now...

Hey-

How has the new email platform worked out for everyone?

I’m a fan! It is easier for me to write up my notes and send them out. But what about you?

Let me know. You can email me dave@davewakeman.com or reply to this message.

So I want to keep this quick this morning because it is the summer still and we all need to spend as much time enjoying the sun and the pleasant weather as we can right now.

So I’ve been doing a lot of podcasts for my live entertainment podcast the past few weeks and I had a chance to record a podcast with a really smart woman, Zoe Scaman, that will go live next week.

We talked about business models, strategy, and revenue.

You know, a lot of the stuff that I talk about and write about regularly.

The thing is that she shook my thinking up in the best possible way.

What do I mean?

She looks at things from the vantage point of the east and China, Korea, and Japan. And, she looks at gaming and some newer technologies and how they will bring folks together.

Me, I’m a bit old school in I look for patterns from historical contexts that aren’t being applied in the modern world and point to those.

It isn’t that either one of us is right or wrong. The key for me was that we can both be right, but that I really need to check some of the ways that I’m looking at things so that I can continue to grow and add value.

In thinking that through, I started to ask myself 3 questions that had been resting in the back of my head, but I don’t know if I really articulated them very well.

They may be useful to you as well.

What business do I want to be in?

The pandemic has likely created an environment where we are all thinking about what is important to us.

This is likely family, business, living, whatever.

Since I am mostly focusing on the business side of things this morning…let’s look at the business aspect.

What business do you want to be in?

Last summer, around this time, I asked about a dozen folks: friends, clients, and colleagues to help me with an exercise that I described as a 360 of me and my business.

I learned a lot from the practice and came away with the idea that I wanted to double down on a couple of things:

• Being more strategy focused

• Doing more advisory work

• Focusing on helping folks identify, create, and capture more opportunities because I equate opportunities with choice and freedom.

During the pandemic, those ideas have really started to solidify.

And, I’ve realized that what I thought last summer is where I really wanted to end up anyway and I’m starting to make certain that I institute the things that I need to do to make that vision a reality.

What about you?

What do you want to become? Do? Or focus on?

How are you competing compared to the folks you view as your competition?

Are you doing exactly the same thing as everyone else?

Do you even know?

This is important because I don’t know if I spend nearly enough time thinking about the market I compete in.

Maybe I do.

Maybe I don’t.

At this point, I don’t know for sure one way or the other because a lot of times, it is tough to see how other folks are differentiating themselves in their public-facing marketing.

My question for you is do you know how you are competing compared to the folks that are your competition?

Products?

Services?

Pricing?

Whatever!

What is your competitive advantage?

This is the ultimate question.

I know too many people that compete on price. Meaning they are totally cool being a commodity.

As my lady will tell you, she will quote me often on this but “discounts are for dummies” and “discounts are a sign that you can’t sell, market, and don’t have a very thoughtful strategy.”

Rant over.

Back to my conversations on the podcast lately, I’m going to chat with another friend of mine this week, bestselling business writer, Dorie Clark, about reinvention.

Her philosophy about reinvention revolves around making yourself stand out using your ideas, your point of view, and your unique skills.

Far be it from me to say that Dorie is wrong because she is absolutely right.

How are you expressing that and what does it mean for your business?

You aren’t?

Why not?

And, if you need help, let me know.

Dave

BTW, I’m working with a wonderful woman, Emily White, on a project around getting folks to vote in the US called iVotedconcerts.

Did you know that the United States has the lowest voting percentage of any modern economy? We do and it is important no matter who you support to vote. As my friend, Ken Troupe, said to me last week, “If you don’t vote, you can’t complain.”

So check it out! Find out if you are registered. And, support them if you can. No matter where you are in the world, participation in your electoral process matters and being active in your community is important for your community and for you.