It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
ASK THE QUESTION.
We're often afraid of what the answer will be, so we don't ASK THE QUESTION.
I was talking with a young college graduate recently who was sharing his idea about starting a new organization. I asked him a couple of questions, because I could name 3 other organizations that were already doing exactly what he wanted to do. I challenged him to reach out to those organizations and learn from them and identify a need that perhaps they weren't meeting.
He didn't do that. Instead he launched a new organization, which is now struggling to raise funds to operate, and he's having a hard time getting any traction on his growth and messaging.
You can avoid that by asking a couple of simple questions:
Is there a need for my business?
Is someone else already doing what our non-profit wants to do?
What need is my non-profit going to meet?
Is there someone I can come and work with to meet this need?
In a recent entrepreneur training I participated in, the trainers asked this question:
"What is your UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION?" Basically, what sets you apart from the others?
In 1993 we were asked to consider moving to South America to begin a training initiative focused on training and equipping leaders to work with young people. It was a huge challenge, but before we made any decisions, we took a month and traveled to Ecuador to find out if there was a need for what we were thinking about doing. We asked questions, we listened, we visited organizations that were in a similar space to see what they were doing, we explored the opportunity. At the end of our time, we walked away with an overwhelming YES. There was a need for what we were hoping to do. At that time, no one else was focused on the equipping of leaders in youth work, and we were uniquely positioned to launch this organization.
Our "UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION" was to:
Build a New Organization from the ground up in Ecuador
Fund that project
Relocate to Ecuador to lead the project
Build a team around the idea
Create a model within 5 years that could be duplicated.
And that's what we did with Youth World International, and we built a team of people who shared our vision for Latin America.
You might be wondering about that last item above, "create a model". By the time we got to year 5, we had identified other organizations and leaders in other countries that were doing some of the same work we were doing in Ecuador. We developed relationships with them and built a network. When we started, we envisioned offices of Youth World all over Latin America and beyond, and then we learned that there was an army of others that were moving in the same direction we were, so instead of trying to build our brand, we became partners, and we learned from each other, we served each other, we worked together and we had an incredible time doing that.
2 things I want you to take away from this word today:
First, before you launch something new, determine your "Unique Value Proposition". Figure out how you're going to be different, and if there's a genuine need for what it is you are trying to do. Sometimes, there are so many needs or so many customers that we need more people doing similar work, but sometimes we want to compete with others instead of finding a real need and addressing it.
Second, don't be afraid to work together with others. You will come across people that have a similar vision as yours and instead of focusing on your own thing, be willing to have a strategic conversation about collaboration, instead of competition. You might be able to do so much more TOGETHER instead of each of you doing the same thing.
These things are true for businesses as well as non-profits.
Don't be afraid to ask the hard questions.
"Cultivating your value proposition in life is the way to move forward. You are the raw material of your own destiny." Bryant McGill
"That's your task as an entrepreneur or innovator: to find the most solid evidence possible that proves your idea can work." Alex Osterwalder
"If you can't write your message in a sentence, you can't say it in an hour." Dianna Booher
Here's a great note from my friend Chuck:
"I had an idea.
I was successful beyond my wildest dreams.
I planted a garden and an orchard.
The orchard first. We had land and water and planted about 10 fruit trees.
The second year I planted all kinds of vegetables.
In the third year they all got ripe at the same time.
After the fourth year, I began to see the flaw. Everything got ripe at the same time. My life was controlled by the garden and orchard.
Agricultural allegories are useful! Chuck"
Things I'm Reading, Listening To, an Watching This Week:
To go with the theme above, revisit this book: The One Thing. It's a great challenge on focus, distraction and success!
Gina and I have enjoyed watching the first few episodes of Stanley Tucci's "Searching for Italy". He explores food from all over Italy and it will leave your mouth watering and you'll be planning your next trip in that direction! It's showing on CNN Travel.
I used a Body Blade last week at the chiropractors office, while working on an ongoing shoulder issue. This tool was great and I just ordered one to do the exercises at home. The Doctor said something like..."As you get older, this will help you with those muscles that you don't use much". I was a little offended by that, but I'm going to start using those muscles!!!
Fast Company published this article last month on Why You Should Resist The Urge To Multitask During Zoom Meetings. I want to challenge you to read it and apply the things you read! Great tips and reminders for us in the virtual world!
I listened to this album today and it brought back some great memories from a long time ago. Such great music! Breakfast In America, Supertramp.