| Friend,
Yesterday I wrote to you about how to improve your speaking ability, to increase the results you get from your community talks and free classes.
And before that, I wrote to you about becoming an expert in your chosen topic area.
Now, if you follow my advice, you'll be spending between 6 and 12 months preparing to deliver your first community lecture.
And at this point, you're probably thinking, "The hell with that. I'll just run some Facebook ads and call it a day."
Well, run the Facebook ads, for sure--but don't give up on those community talks just yet.
Here's why...
Because now is the best time to start your community speaking engagements... even if you're not yet an expert on crime prevention or child safety or whatever.
Getting Started Now
See, there are certain topics that you are an expert on, right now. At least, you're more expert than 90% of the people you'll be speaking to at a given event.
Also, one of the best ways to learn any new skill is to jump right in with both feet and learn on the job. You're not doing brain surgery here; you're just talking to people and sharing information.
So, my advice is that you spend a few weeks preparing a presentation on your chosen topic. Research it well, and make sure that you are delivering solid advice.
Then, start setting up speaking engagements with local groups... while you're getting an education in your chosen topic area, and while you're learning the ins and outs of public speaking.
Sure, you might not be as good now as you will be in six months or a year. However, you'll still be a heck of a lot better in a month or two by having a few talks under your belt, than you would be without them.
Failing Forward In Business
One thing I see over and over again with the new school owners and aspiring school owners I work with, is that they are afraid to fail.
Well, guess what? Failing is just a part of being in business.
The best advice I can give anyone is to be willing to fall flat on your face. I say this because failure is inevitable. Whether it's with your marketing, or your curriculum, or a pubic speaking engagement, the faster you fail, the faster you are that much closer to your goal.
So, fail fast, and fail forward. Entrepreneurs who are willing to fail fast will always outpace their competitors who play it safe.
Next Week...
Next week I'm going to wrap this series up and talk on some random topics. Stay tuned.
Until next time,
Mike Massie MartialArtsBusinessDaily.com
Quick-start Guide to My Books and Resources: - Looking for a list of books and resources I've written? Click here! - Looking for one-on-one coaching to grow your dojo? Click here...
P.S. - The secret to making failure work for you in business is to fail often but fail small. The experience you gain from failing often with minimal risk will be invaluable to you as you grow your business. Once you've tested concepts and ideas and you know what works, then you can comfortably risk larger amounts of capital on ideas that you've proven through trial and error. But early on in your business, you should try many things while risking as little capital as possible.
| 