Small Business Support For Those On A Tight Budget
Nobody starts on top. You have to find ways to overcome the one obstacle that every entrepreneur has in the beginning.
The obstacle for many people is getting their business marketed on a tight budget. Being creative can help you get through on a tight budget and by answering some of these creative questions you can learn how to do it.
Questions such as:
1) How could I…
A different question to get started with:
2) Who could assist me with This is a great question. Who could assist me with
Here’s another one:
3) Who might exchange for ?
Here’s another one:
4) Could I do this cheaper? or How would I be able to do this faster? or Could I do it with less effort? or Is there a way to do this for free? That question will really get your creative juices going.
Here’s another one:
5) How could I substitute ‘XYZ’ for ‘ABC’? How could I substitute ‘X’ for ‘Y’? Or whatever you want to do. What could I substitute for ‘XYZ’?
Here’s another one that I love. This really puts you in the shoes of unique and different people.
6) How would solve this problem?
Here is an example: How would my wife solve this problem? How would my mentor, child, neighbor solve this problem? By asking yourself this question you really have to look at things from a different perspective.
These questions amongst others have opened up all kinds of opportunities for me, and they’ve been the oxygen - the lifeblood - of my career and the success that I’m experiencing.
I’ll show you an example of how I used this method of creative questioning to help me.
As soon as I graduated University I decided that I wanted to become a professional speaker instead of working within a corporation. My focus was college and high school students, which I still do talks for on occasion, to teach them the importance of creativity. Creativity had helped me rise from being a University failure in my first year to graduating with straight A’s, and being names Most outstanding Male. The transformation that occurred between my first and fourth year I owe to learning the skill of creative thinking.
Even though I had decided that this is what I wanted to do, I had no idea about becoming a professional speaker, or if I could turn it into a profitable business.
I went to and joined an organization called CAPS, which is The Canadian Association for Professional Speakers.
At one of my first meetings I attended I approached a gentleman there who was doing very well with his speaking career about what I needed to do to get to his level. He replied by saying. “It’s very simple, Stu. I’ll give you three things to do, once you have those finished, come back and I’ll give you some more.”
“The first thing you need to do is surround yourself with people who are in the same industry as yourself. Join CAPS, it will help your business grow.” I said, “Okay.”
To join CAPS the registration was $200, which was a big chunk of my budget. I remember even asking them if I could pay in smaller payments, which I did. Despite the squeeze, I joined the CAPS organization.
Then he said, “Number two, you have to get out to the CAPS National Conference.” And I thought, ‘Man, how in the heck am I going to get out there?’ It was on the complete opposite side of Canada. The seminar itself was relatively expensive. Anything for me, at that point, was expensive. I had no money. I had to pay for my flight and all that nonsense.
This is where I started asking myself some creative questions. I needed to find a solution. I started thinking about what I had, or could do, that someone else might want and need.
What I had at the time was time itself. I wasn’t speaking very often because I had just started my speaking business, so I had some time on my hands.
It was at this moment I asking myself, “How could I use my time to help someone else?” By answering that question I came up with, ‘Help Stu Be Like You,’ a campaign to help me get to the National Conference.
This is how I used my creative thinking. The largest chapter of CAPS in my province consisted of about 75 people. I went to one of their meetings and asked if I could have 30 seconds in front of them.
This was something new to them, no one had asked for that before. I got up in front of everyone and asked them, “When you started off as a speaker, how many of you had no experience?” With no surprise, everybody’s hands went up in the air.
I said, “Great. How many of you have attended the CAPS national conference before?” And about 75% of the room had their hands up in the air.
I continued, “Of those who have been able to attend the conference, how many of you believe it would be beneficial for a new speaker, with no experience to be able to go?” Everyone kept their hands up.
I said, “Great. Because I am somebody with zero speaking experience that you just said needs to get out to that CAPS national conference.”
Then I said, “But here’s the problem. I don’t have any money. But what I do have is time. Here’s the exchange I’m willing to make and hope that you are willing to make as well. I’ve created a campaign called Help Stu Be Like You.” And I handed out these little flyers, black and white. Basically what I did was I printed two 8×6 flyers on an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet to save costs, and I just cut it right down the middle and I gave everybody in the audience one.
I began to explain my campaign. “This is what I am willing to do. Anything that you as speakers don’t like doing, don’t have time to do, or just need an extra pair of hands to do, I will do it. Sales calls, creating sales letters, licking stamps, anything. I will even come to your house and cut your lawn or wipe your baby’s bottom if that’s what you want me to do. All I’m asking in return is a financial contribution of your choice.”
Looking out at everyone I could see some people’s wheels were just turning thinking, “Oh wow. This is amazing. I can get all those little jobs I hate doing for cheap!”
“All of the money I earn through your financial contributions will be used directly towards enabling me to get out to the CAPS national conference. I will do anything you don’t like doing in exchange for a financial contribution.”
As I was finishing up a gentleman in the back of the room stood up. I thought he had a question but instead he said, “Stu, I will take care of your seminar entrance fee.” Half of my costs, just like that, were basically taken care of.
Once that gentleman was finished telling me about what he was willing to contribute another gentleman stood up. He said, “Stu, I will take care of getting you out to the seminar.” Bang, Bang. In a matter of minutes 85% of my expenses were taken care of.
That’s what being creative is about my friends.
That one creative solution got me out to that conference. It turned out to be a big story because all kinds of people heard about it there and I even had an article published in the national publication.
Ideas will come to you when you explore the possibilities of creativity!
Stay posted for more!
