Simply Business Coaching

Have you got any buried treasures in your business?

If like me, you've been in business for a few years, you've probably accumulated a lot of materials - written, audio and even video.  Let me ask you a question.  Are they still working for you, or are they gathering dust in a filing cupboard somewhere?

While searching for inspiration for a bonus to a product I'm 'relaunching' soon, I came across several folders full of notes from workshops I've presented over the past few years, and then it struck me .....

.... like a flash of the blindingly obvious!!

Why don't I use this material to create information products to sell?  Most of the content is already prepared and the topics should be popular because the workshops were.

Back when I originally wrote this material, I simply presented the workshop a few times, then put the folder on a shelf and moved on to the next project.  I've always been so keen to learn lots of 'new stuff' to pass on that I forget not everyone knows the topics that I taught in the past, only the relatively small number of people who attended the workshops.

Stunned, I sat there for a while, berating myself for not seeing the possibilities and taking action months or even years earlier.  But back then I didn't have a lot of the technical tools or online know-how, so perhaps now is the right time after all.

By far the biggest surprise came when I went through all the old folders the other day and found, not just a couple of possible new products, but six!  Definitely a 'duh' moment!  It's going to be a busy summer.

Don't let your 'old treasures' gather dust - get them out and polish them up!

Have you got any 'old treasures'?  Do comment below if this has happened to you!  And if you enjoyed reading this post, please retweet or share ;)

Get Started with simple Audio Recording

To give you some background, it took me quite a while to summon up the courage to record a short audio message to welcome visitors to my website (using a simple microphone connected to my computer and recording straight into Audio Acrobat*) but I was restricted in that it had to be 'one-take' with no way to edit out mistakes and stutters.  However, I'd read about the importance of recording every talk and workshop and decided to give it a go!

One of the best little 'gadgets' I bought for my business a couple of years ago was an Olympus WS-300M Digital Voice Recorder and Music Player*.  I believe this particular model has been superceded by a more up-to-date model which I'm sure is just as good, judging from the reviews.  One critical feature to look out for is that it has a USB connection or you have no way to get the audio from the recorder onto your computer!

I also purchased a Olympus ME-15 Tie Clip Microphone* which helps to filter out other people's voices which were being picked up using just the recorder (it's very powerful for such a tiny piece of kit!).

Last year, I added a Olympus TP-7 Telephone Pickup Hands-Free Cable* which is brilliant for recording both sides of a telephone call (with full permission of course) and have used this both for interviews and client calls, where the client prefers an audio to written notes.  One end fits neatly into my ear (not too uncomfortable for an hour or so) and the other plugs into the mic socket on the recorder.

To edit the recordings, I use the free to download Audacity software.  As the uploaded audio file is in .wma format, first it has to be converted to MP3 (using another free bit of software - it's really easy to do and only takes a couple of minutes) before I can start the edit process.

Once I'm satisfied with the recording, I upload it to my Audio Acrobat* account, create some playback buttons and then place the finished audio on the relevant website page.

The recorder, microphone and telephone pickup came to just over £100.  My account with Audio Acrobat is currently $19.95 (around £14) a month.  It really is a very inexpensive way to create audio for the website and adds an extra dimension to my online products.

(* Disclosure:  These are affiliate links which means I get paid a small amount if you buy a product as a result of clicking through on them.)

But I already knew that!

Was the comment from a business owner I'd been speaking with about developing her online presence. Judging by the tone of voice, she wasn't too happy to find out that I didn't have a magic formula to transform her business without any extra work on her part.

The trouble is, there's a big gap between knowing what needs doing and actually doing it!  And it got me thinking. 

I've been guilty myself, in the past, of having a lot of 'shelf help' - buying lots of how-to books, training programmes, and attending many seminars.  All in the vain hope that I would stumble across the missing part to build my business effortlessly.

One of the problems is the sales copy accompanying events and product launches.  They all promise the earth - and then deliver ..... you guessed it ..... stuff I already know about!

So I've made 2 promises to myself.  The first that I will not buy any more products or download any new information, without first checking my groaning bookshelves (real and virtual) to see if I haven't already got an equivalent.  The second promise is that I will systematically work my way through each of the programmes in my possession instead of leaving them to gather dust.

Once I've taken action and done the work, it will be interesting to see how much further forward I am in my own business.  I think that business owner's comment may have done me a big favour!

What about you?  Do you keep finding 'new information' you already knew about?

Gold from Dan Kennedy

I've been a fan of Dan Kennedy for quite a few years and have several of his excellent books - they're amongst the most well-thumbed and dog-eared on my shelf because I keep referring to the words of wisdom.

If you have or are thinking of producing, information products to sell, watch this video interview with Dan and Yanik Silver and listen out for the gold nuggets!