Monday, September 23, 2013

Who Are You Marketing?


 

     Are you marketing your authentic self? Are you in the right spot? Absolutely loving where you are? Let's face it, sometimes work situations are just that, situations. It might be the right spot but the wrong timing, or the right time but the wrong space? And sometimes we can find ourselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you are in a less than perfect setting what do you do? Do you pretend everything is ok? Do you ignore the gnawing at your subconscious that there has to be a better situation? If you are not 100% happy with your work situation you know it, and feel it and your clients can feel it no matter how good you think you are at hiding it. This is such a personal touch business, the energies really do transfer to your clients. This subject hit home for me the past few weeks. I have been at a booth rental salon for the past few years regrouping. It wasn't the perfect solution, but I figured I could make it work and I did. Until now. I had a few run ins with the Owner about others using my equipment and a host of other unacceptable business practices, in my opinion. We both agreed that we were never going to see eye to eye and it was probably time to part ways. While I knew this was for the best and was even in the process of looking for another space it still put me in a bit of a panic. I was kind of coasting along, justifying to myself that things were not that bad, I could tolerate the occasional difference, look the other way from a conflicting business principle. But in the end, my attitude and opinion could no longer be covered with a quick sponge bath and a shot of perfume. It stunk. So the decision to leave was truly a blessing. How do I know? Well there are certain absolutes when looking at staying or leaving. It is a process. Here are a couple of things to ask yourself if you're not sure you are in the right spot.



     Am I fulfilling my goals or someone else's? I just shared a quote this week that said Build your own dreams , or someone else will hire you to build theirs. If you are not marching steadily toward your own goals it might be time to consider a shift.
     Do my business ethics and moral responsibility align where I am? I know get more than 5 women in any business and ask a question and you will get 6 answers, because someone will change theirs at least once. You may not agree on all things but that's ok, Diversity is the spice of life. However, you must align on the really big things. Professionalism, code of conduct, business ethics. If these are out of line you are headed for a challenging relationship, in any area of life.

    Do I see myself growing long term where I am and if so is there anyone I would want to learn from here? So maybe you don't have any desire to own your own business. Maybe you want to be part of an amazing, talented group of professionals that are continuing to challenge themselves on a regular basis to be the best. Make sure there is someone that can mentor you, preferably there, on the team.
 

     Am I compromising anything to stay in my comfort zone here? It's a yes or no question, pretty simple.

     If I didn't have to work would I choose to continue where I am? This is a real eye opener. It will cut through all the fluff of the matter and go right to the core. Do you love where you are enough to stay if you didn't have to. Have you built solid relationships that you can't imagine living without? So the bottom line here is if you aren't loving what you are doing where you are doing it you are failing. Failing to market your true self. Imagine how much greater you can be, how many more awesome things you could achieve if you were aligned with the right people in the right place. Have the courage to ask these tough questions and even more courage to listen. Because that's smart marketing.

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