Encouragement Archives - Greatness Magnified

“How can I start my own business?” The Question Every Talented Professional Will Ask at Some Point (Unless You Give Them a Reason Not To)

February 19, 2019 By Sarah McVanel Leave a Comment

Last week I discussed how leaders and business owners who are running amazing organizations don’t need to worry about their best people having side hustles in this new gig economy.

On the flip side, if you are running or working for an organization and it is not a great place to work, I have been giving fair warning to employers, “It is your job to build an employee experience where people want to work. It is important to know that we have a talent shortage and that you are a valued member in short supply.”

And believe me, it’s on people’s minds. One of the top questions I get asked is: “How did you make the move into entrepreneurship?”

It’s a relevant question. About 50% of us are in the gig economy in Canada and this is a trend worldwide. It’s an easy way for professionals to test the waters of entrepreneurship and to discover if it is right for them. You can experience it in low-risk ways, such as being part of a marketing team, or setting up an e-commerce business, or speaking at events in your evenings. There are many shapes and forms to entrepreneurship today, and it doesn’t have to carry a risk for individuals but does allow them to experience if it is a good fit for them.

For businesses, this is a good thing.

If it’s not a good fit, your top talent will stay employed full-time
If they like it but have a big mortgage or risk-averse, you can at least keep them part-time
If they are good at it, they can bring those intrapreneurial skills to work with them
If the workplace isn’t a good fit or unhealthy, folks will leave on their own versus presenteeism setting in

If you’re the employee or leader considering this, how do you set yourself up for success? Here are a few tips. And employers, take note, as this is helping you to better understand the landscape of the gig economy.

1.You Already Have All the Formal Education You Need

One of the biggest barriers I hear from folks is: “I just need X certification/degree and then I’ll be ready.” In 99% of cases, I disagree. What got you hired will get you hired again (by an employer or client in the gig economy). You don’t need anything else. And this includes a business degree (trust me, I don’t have one!) Now, some guidance from a coach or some virtual programs on entrepreneurship might come in handy, but you don’t need to be a bigger expert in your field. You just need to own your expertise. This is where I see the biggest gap (which is why in my virtual program we deal with this early on to squash the fears and actually build the brand around your expertise).

2.You Can Still Have a Great Lifestyle

Some worry about their lifestyle going down the drain by having a side hustle. They assume they’re going to be working even more hours in their business, taking time away from fitness and having no time for their partner or kids. This doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. Have you watched Netflix lately? Cut that out. Do you scroll and scroll through Instagram or Facebook? Do you run errands more than once a week? There’s your found time. Consolidate that time and use it. You may find, by making more efficient use of your time and making better choices, you actually work fewer hours in your job and side gig!

3.You Can Afford It

I often hear folks saying that they will start their business when they can afford it. When they’re retired. When they pay off their house. When their kids go off to post-secondary education. I said this too! If that’s what you want, amazing! However, if it’s a limiting belief that you can’t do it until then, know that you can. It wasn’t until we had a family crisis that pushed my decision to move into entrepreneurship formally, but you know what, I had been working in the gig economy for years, being asked to speak, facilitate retreats, and train. I would take a vacation day (cleared with my boss of course) or do it on a weekend. It didn’t hurt financially, it brought in extra cash (although looking back I way undervalued myself in price…but that’s for another post). I felt wealth in other ways too; I always felt grateful to be able to do work I loved, learned something new, and had perspective how great I had it with my employer. You can afford to do your side hustle now for sure, and, if a lot is on the line like it was for me, the question sometimes becomes, can you afford not to become an entrepreneur?

If you are concerned about feeling disloyal to the organization you work for, remember, you’re not necessarily abandoning your profession. You don’t necessarily have to leave at all! Employers and leaders, if you’re worried your best people will leave, give them the space to learn and grow from these new experiences! In the succession planning world, we used to have to pay to have our employees get stretch assignments; their side hustle may fill that need for them at no cost to you!

Here are some tips to help you along with thinking about building a business on the side. One of the most interesting, and sadly, ironic things that I have seen over the years during team consultations, keynotes or when people are struggling in their job, I remind them that the people who work part-time are usually the most satisfied people in the whole place.

Sometimes this can be a both/and solution, cut back your hours, have a job share, or work part-time. As your business grows, it doesn’t have to be in one world or the other. It’s a very limiting, fixed mindset thinking to believe it’s an either/or.

So now you may be wondering: What are the things that I can be doing to investigate this and to move ahead? Here are a few tips:

1.Listen and read.

Fuel your knowledge by listening to podcasts and/or reading books about entrepreneurship, marketing, and sales, etc. There are specialized podcasts and books out there that are amazing. The value of the content is tremendous. If you have some questions and specific recommendations for podcasts or books, just pop them in the comments below.

2. It’s a side gig! Enjoy it.

As I mentioned before, this can be a side hustle. By seeing it this way, you have very little financial investment and stress attached to that which, allows you just to play, and fun, and experiment with your business idea. Experiment to see what you love and what you don’t. Then if you go full-time, do only what you love by specializing as an expert in what fires you up, delivering the “how” in a way that best fits your preferences and lifestyle. Then subcontract out the rest!

3.Always Find the Win-Win!

Be very intrapreneurial in your organization. Volunteer to do projects (things that you want to learn about and interest you), contribute more than is expected, seek out collaborators that you can learn and grow from. For example, to work for yourself, you’ll need to be able to pitch companies and speak confidently about your products and services; perhaps there’s something you can do with the communications or sales team at your current workplace to learn and get comfortable with this skill set? The more you’re able to practice the skills where you are, the more you’re able to see if you like it or not, but also be able to learn. Your workplace is a learning laboratory. Whether you’re learning it to only invest it into your workplace, or even your own future too, it’s a win-win.

4.Speak up.

If there’s something that you don’t like about your workplace, that you would stay if it weren’t for this thing, then speak up. What concerns me is when people make the leap to entrepreneurship it’s kind of like jumping into a new relationship just because they’re so different from the last person that you dated. If you choose to move into entrepreneurship part or full-time, you want it to be for you, for your passion, to serve a need, as opposed to that scarcity and just trying to escape.

5.Frame the plan.

Consider the context or a framework in which you need to learn, and grow and think about your business. I have a great resource for you – the Genius Greatness Biz Blueprint. Discover from it how you can clarify your professional credibility, education, and experience that will make you stand out and get hired. Identify the customers and industries want to keep or start working with. Identify what could potentially be a marketable business, how to build out product offerings, how to identify clients willing and needing to buy from you, and a few tips around sustainability in business as well. It’s all the things I’ve learned through big investments in coaches, taking programs, being mentored and trial and error over the last four years.

Did you find this valuable? Why don’t you subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don’t miss a single weekly VLOG.

Employees with a Side Hustle: Embrace It So It Benefits You Both

February 13, 2019 By Sarah McVanel Leave a Comment

I recently had a business owner reach out to me concerned about a growing trend; many of his best employees, he had come to learn, have side hustles (i.e., they work for themselves part-time). He needed some advice to prepare for the “brain drain” when they all leave. And, how to hire “smarter” in the future so he doesn’t run into this again with new hires.

He was shocked by my answer. “You’re seeing this as a problem. But what if it isn’t? What if this is a huge opportunity?”

Dead silence on the other end of the phone.

Upon further discussion, he had no reason to believe they were about to leave en mass. He worked hard to build a strong company culture (which is why we work together), so he saw evidence they were still satisfied at work. And, there was no indication their productivity, customer experience or continuous improvement had waned.

Quite the contrary. He was seeing more innovation, engagement and collaboration.

Let’s face it. You’re at risk of losing your best people all the time: to the competition, to retirement, to an around-the-world bucket list trip, to work for themselves. If you run your business out of fear, that scarcity mentality will chip away at your relationship with employees.

You don’t want to find yourself giving opportunities to people that are “safe” because they show less industry and innovation. You don’t want to hold back information from your top performers. You don’t want to pass over people who show interest in one-day working for themselves. Not only are you going to push them down that path faster, but you also won’t get the best from them when they’re there.

Plus, the reality is, it’s the gig economy that continues to grow in Canada with about 50% of Canadians having a side hustle. It’s not new and has been steadily increasing. Seeing your best people as the competition or a problem is no way to run a company.

These folks are motivated. They’re hungry to grow and develop. They’ve got mortgages and responsibilities and reasons to stay so they are motivated to work for you right now. Embrace all the genius and passion they can bring to their career and channel it into compelling, challenging and interesting work rather than let it go to waste.

When we shift from that scarcity mentality to considering how to leverage our best from our side hustlers, keep these three things in mind:

1. Don’t Assume

Dump the assumption your intellectual property (IP), client list or productivity is at risk. Assume you have nothing to worry about. Let go of the emotional energy and mindset attached to negative views of industrious employees, and instead give them a reason to stay. Many people will never go into business for themselves full-time for various reason including they don’t want to! Don’t worry that your best people, your rising stars and your top talent become your competition and continue to nurture the relationship with health and vitality.

2. Don’t Give Them a Reason to Go

If there is no reason to go, because the pay, security, interesting work, flexibility, team collaboration and the overall great place to work is so compelling, they may always keep their gig as a side hustle and that’s how it will stay. I know lots of professionals who dream of starting their own business one day but worry they’ll miss their colleagues, paycheque, and customers too much. Some try going out on their own and them come back as it wasn’t as good as they had it working full-time for their employer. Keep making it a great place to work and value your best people so they see more reasons to stay than to go.

3. Don’t Undervalue Them

Your recognition efforts matter. When people feel valued and appreciated, whether it be by you, their colleagues, or your customers, they are more likely to stay. Entrepreneurship can be a very lonely business, and even if you’ve never worked for yourself, you can imagine it being so. You don’t get confirmation you’re on the right track, let alone recognition, nearly as much as you do at a great place to work. Continue recognizing your people and make sure that they know how meaningful their contributions are. Give them opportunities to grow, develop and do meaningful work. Ensure they know how their work makes a difference in the customer experience, bottom line, and vitality of the business. The more they see how they fit and how the organization would be lost without them, the more likely they are to stay. And if they do go, the more likely they’ll help to find a great replacement for their role through their connections. Unhappy people aren’t recruiters, but ambitious, innovative hustlers have a network of people ready to fill their big shoes.

Are you facing some of these challenges in your workplace with a high flight risk of great people? Is retention a challenge? Are you unsure how to take your organizational culture to the next level where it’s too compelling for folks to leave? Let’s have a virtual coffee and a chat, to further explore solutions and opportunities.

4 Ways to Be THE Amazing Workplace Everyone Buzzes About

February 7, 2019 By Sarah McVanel Leave a Comment

If you Google the words, “talent shortage” you will render about 21,400,000 results.

The International Journal of Human Resources Management has a number of publications they release. One of them is the Canadian HR Reporter, and their lead story in a recent addition is that there’s a talent shortage that is threatening growth. This has been backed up by consulting giants like Deloitte who warn that this talent shortage is here to stay until at least 2030, particular in tech and healthcare. Millions are missing globally from key positions required for growth, care, and advancement.

There are many factors contributing to this shortage, but the answers don’t have to be complicated. Sure, we can talk about globalization, immigration policy and the changing nature of work, however when we’re not getting the basics right, that is just a distraction.

Most organizations do not value their people. So why would they stay?

People need to know they’re valued, which means they need to do meaningful work, be recognized for their contributions, while using their strengths, and with respectful people. People need a sense of belonging, community, and contribution.

To get them back the next day, you (and their team) needs to treat them like they are wanted back.

It is unbelievable to me how many intelligent, motivated and passionate professionals I speak for every year who don’t believe the statement above is true. And yet I bet you do value them. So how do we show it more transparently? Here are four essential ways:

1. Be Consistent

Have systems where you ensure you recognize people on a regular basis so they know they are valued and their contributions matter. If you have a collective group meeting whether it’s stand-up huddles, team meetings, or annual general meetings, consider how to fit recognition in. If it doesn’t fit then your people don’t know how they’re contributing to all the other things that you’re bringing up in those meetings from organizational values to strategic priorities to milestone projects. Where do they fit?

2. Put it in Context

Bring recognition to life through the customer’s perspective. Whether those are internal customers or external, individuals need to know how their talent positively impacts the reason why their role exists. Share stories, testimonials, good news metrics. Connect the dots about how an individual or the team has led to that positive feedback.

3. Be Specific

One of the biggest pieces of feedback I get after a keynote is the importance of recognition being specific. Why? Because when recognition happens it’s often blanket statements to the whole team or generic, “good job” statements. You need to acknowledge specific contributions, strengths, and results individuals and teams are contributing. And leaders, as much as I’m the first to profess, you need a culture of recognition where everyone participates. It matters that it comes from you most of all. Research shows that people leave bosses, not organizations, and in our own analysis, we’ve shown how high recognition scores are correlated with satisfaction with management. In an interview with Tonia Jahshan, owner of multimillion-dollar Canadian company Sipology by Steeped Tea, she shared how she personally writes kudos cards every single week to her staff, consultants and partners. Specific, meaningful little notes. If she can do it, we all can.

4. Systematize and Ritualize

Make it easy and affordable to acknowledge and maintain that sense of community, even if you’re not all in the same space. Use virtual systems like Slack or Yammer. Utilize your intranet to collaborate, share and acknowledge milestones and contributions. Maintain traditions like summer socials that bring people together. And as a side note, retaining great people isn’t always about money. Once you make over $50K in Canada (the research goes) it has less and less impact, and the same goes for preference for types of recognition being a personalized thank-you over gifts.

Remember, only 30% of people are actually engaged and satisfied at work. By having an incredible team and organization, people may choose to leave that organization and go to you. Discover an abundance of free tools and resources. There are many infographics to help spread this message about the importance of leveraging recognition to retain top talent. Recognize your talent today!

“Which Opportunity Should I Take?” 5 Ways to Make a Career Decision that Aligns to Your Greatness

January 31, 2019 By Sarah McVanel Leave a Comment

I received an interesting question through LinkedIn recently from a colleague who was struggling to make a decision about which career direction to take. See if you can relate:

“I have three opportunities and I don’t know which one to pick. I’ve really been paying attention to my greatness and honoring my greatness that you keep telling me to do. But now I’m stuck because I have three big choices, all of which are great, but now I find I can’t make this huge decision! Any advice?”

So you have the full context, here are the three options: (1) pursue his Ph.D., (2) accept a management promotion, or (3) take a headhunter’s offer to switch into a new industry with a growing start-up.

He was excited about all three of these options. All lead to very different but equally exciting future opportunities. When you have so much greatness, and you’re excited about all of them (but cannot do them all), how do you make such an important decision?

It’s a good problem to have, of course, but what he’s getting stuck in is what I see with lots of talented professionals: FOMO – fear of missing out. He’s concerned that if he doesn’t make the “right” choice (thinking there must be a right choice), then long term he may have regrets. He worries it’s all on his shoulders to figure out which option will ensure his career thrives. And, that he makes the choice that allows others important considerations – kids, spouse, lifestyle, location – are ideal too.

So how do you make career decisions when you have so many great options? Here are five tips:

1.Greatness Fit

What truly are your greatness – your talents, passions, and virtues? How does each option feel like a “natural” fit? How does each option uniquely position you for the next step that also fits with your greatness? Which option aligns best with what you’ve been building to in your life and you want to continue along that path? This is the Greatness Fit Test. Most often when I explore this with my clients, they find at least one option falls away as it’s what they “should” do or thought they wanted but really it was for ego, to please others, or they didn’t know themselves as well as they do now.

2.Solution Fit

What problem(s) can you solve in each role? What solutions could you contribute? What do you feel most passionately about addressing? If you didn’t help solve it, how does that sit with you? Are you okay with someone else solving it in their own way or it not getting solved, or are you uniquely called to address it? Again, when we consider how you can serve by fixing a problem with your own take on the solution to that role, company or industry, one of the options tends to be lower on the list.

3.Legacy Fit

If this position and the opportunities it leads to was the last career move you could make, what legacy would it leave? What level of impact and influence will you have? What difference will you make? Is it the type of difference and magnitude that you’re satisfied with? Picture yourself on your retirement day, giving a speech about this very turning point in your career, what would you say? What was most important to you about the legacy you felt compelled to leave, and how did this career change move you one step closer to that legacy? Not every role has the same legacy magnitude; no doubt one of your options will leave less of a legacy or not the type that is most important to you.

4.Articulation Fit

If you were to capture each of the options, which are easiest to articulate? And what generates the greatest energy for you? In other words, write about it – journal, write a blog, create a LinkedIn post, or write a list. If the spoken word is more your thing, record yourself talking, be a guest on a podcast or talk about it with a friend. If you get even more energized articulating the role, what problem you solve, how it’s important, then you know you’re onto something. If you find your energy wains quickly, well, that’s a sign it might not satisfy you as long as the other options.

Bonus Tip: The other benefit of this tip is that you start producing content on your expertise. Carve out a niche for yourself, even if you work for someone else, by positioning yourself as a thought leader. You may start articulating yourself to make your decision, but keep it going so you get more and more known.

5.Live Fit

Can you live by your choices for a day? Whether it’s job shadowing, visiting campus, or a realistic job preview, experience what life might be like in different roles. You may think you know – you’re taking the same position for a different company or you’ve been to grad school before – but there’s nothing like seeing and experience it for yourself at that moment in your life to awaken your whole brain to the experience. Decisions can be very cerebral until we are feeling the reality.

Know someone going through a career or educational decision-making process? Why not share this with them! You can also visit the Cool Stuff Page for some resources!

Still stuck? I invite you to jump into my calendar for a virtual cup of coffee and a chat!

Tall Poppy Syndrome: How to Stand Out When Others Try to Knock You Down

January 22, 2019 By Sarah McVanel Leave a Comment

Tall poppy syndrome has always concerned me, I just never knew there was a term for it when I used to see it in school, at work, and in volunteer roles. Tall Poppies are individuals who stand out, offer great ideas, shine brightly, and want to contribute, however, the effort of standing out, they sometimes get knocked down. This happens enough times – either because of the culture or no one being there to stop it – and tall poppies cower for safety versus shine with the greatness.

You may be thinking, this makes no sense! Why wouldn’t we want everyone to contribute their best!

Or you may be thinking this sounds familiar. “Is she talking about my workplace?” or perhaps, “Has she met my colleagues?”

Prior to starting my own business, I worked most of my career in healthcare where I saw many Tall Poppies knocked down a peg or two. My husband’s a teacher, and he’s experienced this in his career too. These are a collectivist culture where there is an unspoken norm that, as a whole, it is better to go along with the crowd than it is to stand out. In fact, sometimes people are even hesitant to move into management roles because it is such a juxtaposition to how they have been working for so many years that it feels like the risk isn’t worth it.

What is the cost? Great people become disengaged. Good people leave. Toxic behaviours set in and remain unchecked. Continuous improvement flatlines. Productivity reduces. Customers (of whatever shape or form that is in your industry) are not served as well.

How can you shine brightly without being shunned, bullied, or pushed aside and made to feel small because you’re standing tall in your greatness? And how can you innovate, make things better in your workplace, and really find your own version of satisfaction by being able to share your great ideas and demonstrate how much you love your career and your work?

Here are three key things to help fuel your determination:

1.Recognize Your Own Greatness

Whether people want to see it or are able to recognize it all around you, that is important, however, nothing’s more important than you being able to recognize your own greatness. And sometimes that means finding places outside of work where you’re able to shine greatly. What I’ve seen over the years when individuals have suppressed their greatness, is they disengage, not just at work, but in their personal life. They may stop doing things they love, and stop taking care of themselves or even believing that they deserve it. So self-recognition and doing things that add joy to your life is essential.

2. Recognize Other People

If you don’t want to stand out from the rest, it doesn’t have to be public recognition. What we find in collectivist cultures is one-on-one private recognition that people appreciate more. So thank somebody, offer to help, acknowledge something specific that they’ve done and that you appreciate. Acknowledging or recognizing people not only makes them feel good, but it also makes you feel good and allows you to shine and stand out without feeling there is a hidden agenda. When someone hasn’t had their opinions, ideas, talents, and passions valued for quite some time, but you do, it builds loyalty, nurtures their greatness, and increases their engagement; everyone needs to feel what they do and who they are matters.

3. Gossip More

Wait a minute, isn’t gossip bad? Yes, if it is negative, but resource gossip is good. Resource gossip is talking positively about someone when they’re not there. The more you do it, the more you can acknowledge other people and how they stand out and shine to others. Tall Poppy Syndrome doesn’t work when a few people see and honour someone’s greatness; it requires someone to be isolated and on their own. When you and others speak positively about someone, you stand taller with him or her. In other words, you’re able to acknowledge people as standing out and doing a great job without them putting the spotlight on him or herself, embarrassing them if they’re humble (some people find it difficult to receive a compliment particularly if others are present), or making it seem like it is for some personal gain.

I hope you found these strategies to be helpful. Stand out in your greatness and in the group that you work in. Discover the incredible value of collaboration and teamwork and embrace the benefits of that collectivist culture without the downsides of Tall Poppy Syndrome.

Want to stop Tall Poppy Syndrome? Talk about it. Share this post. Make it transparent.

Should I have a VLOG? How to Spread your Greatness Through Video

January 10, 2019 By Sarah McVanel Leave a Comment

In January 2017, I released my first VLOG (video blog) and it was bad! The lighting, the rambling, the sound quality, well, let’s just say I have striven to improve.

As I’ve shared before, perfect is the enemy of progress. So, it’s still up there and rather than take it down, embarrassed and beating myself up, I remember anything new needs work. And, I go back to the original intent: add value every week to my connections to elevate their greatness in work, family, and life. In other words, VLOGing is not about me. So, pushing ego aside, the VLOGs stay…all of them.

You may have the same intention of adding value to those you serve, and want to break into VLOGing but aren’t sure how. I get it. It can feel daunting, that only people who speak for a living or communications professionals can do it. Or maybe you feel the investment in equipment or to learn editing is too great. Or maybe you’re just worried, “what if no one watches?”

What if I shared with you that people don’t necessarily want perfection? They want to listen to people they know, like and trust and are actually not as caught up as you might think on wordcraft, sound, lighting, etc. They just want to learn and be inspired, and you have that in spades (however if you don’t offer it, they can’t receive it!) What if you could find people to help you produce the videos so they don’t take more time and energy? What if the right people watched and you made a huge difference in their lives?

Leaders, what if your employees watched your VLOGs and felt more connected to you? Support departments, what if your internal stakeholders watched your VLOGs and were less confused, more consistent and felt more supported by you? Sales professionals, what if your clients watched your VLOGs before you got on the phone, making those sales an easier conversion?

Do you see how VLOGing is for everyone?

So, if you see VLOGing may be for you (or your team or organization), the next question you may be asking is how? I’ve learned a lot from trial and error as well as learning from experts. Here’s six tips to allow you to serve in a way that is fun, sustainable and credibility-building:

1. Plan your content

What is at the core of what you do? What topics and questions do your clients have related to that? What processes, tips or advice could you provide that would make their work and life easier? What do people ask for repeatedly that would allow you to serve them immediately without filling up your calendar answering the same question repeatedly?

TIP: Keep a list of tips/hacks, frequently asked questions and trending information you could turn into a VLOG.

2. Consider if it’s actually an investment

Sometimes I hear, “I don’t have the money in my business/department to invest in this.” Maybe so, however, have you also considered how VLOGing is also an investment, such as saving you time answering the questions? Is it a way to generate the right pipeline of clients, enhance your organization’s reputation, or build your credibility? Is it a way of saving money in another way if folks have timely access to a library of VLOGs?

TIP: You don’t have to do the production and distribution yourself. Hire a videographer to film and edit and have an assistant share it to the relevant groups. In fact, batch film VLOGs to maximize your time and the professionals you work with.

3. Speak to your audience

Who needs to consume your content? Have a very clear picture in your mind, perhaps even speaking with your target client/audience about what they most want to learn from you. If you’re not clear, wait until you are, but this is the perfect time to get clear as to whether you work for yourself or in an organization, you’re doing yourself a disservice by not being crystal clear who your primary customer is.

TIP: Make a list of the 10 things that keep your target audience up at night, and make those the focus of your first VLOGs.

4. Share Valuable Resources

You are the expert, and whether it’s an internal process, hack you’ve come up with, or a trend recently published in your field of expertise, share the wealth through your VLOGs. The more unique value your audience gets from watching your VLOGs, the more they will come back for more.

TIP: Keep a folder with relevant articles, hacks, and resources you would like to cover in future VLOGs.

5. Use a Template to Plan Content

So that you organize your ideas and create compelling content, use a template to organize your thoughts. In one page, you can map out a brief VLOG (and brief is good if you want to keep busy people’s attention). If you’d like a copy of my template, just email me info@greatnessmagnified.com; I didn’t start from scratch (thanks Martin Latulippe and Dan Martell for sharing yours with me).

TIP: Start with a template then make it your own so it feels fun, authentic and makes sense based on how your audience likes to consume content.

6. Maximize the Investment

When you create and work so hard to produce these videos, make sure that you’re really maximizing them. We have our videos transcribed using Rev.com, so for a dollar a minute, we have them transcribed into a written blog post and LinkedIn post. Or you can modify it to be a newsletter article, all-staff announcement, PR release. Here’s another opportunity to leverage experts (for example, my wonderful virtual assistant, Caroline Davidson uploads all VLOGs to YouTube, tags them, creates the weekly newsletter, publishes a post to LinkedIn, and shares to social media). You don’t have to consider this just to be one 5-minute video, but rather the start of valuable content you can share in a myriad of ways to serve your customers.

TIP: To truly maximize your investment, ensure the end of your VLOG has a call to action, meaning what you want people to do as a result of watching this video. Is it to sign a petition, book an appointment with you, follow you on a particular social media site, book a health exam, cuddle their kids more? When they do something as a result of your VLOG, now you have ROE (return on effort)!

Have you found this helpful? If you have, why not subscribe to my YouTube Channel so I can add more value to your life every week.