5 Simple Strategies to Avoid the "Gaper Delay" in Your Business
This article is about how you, a creative entrepreneur, can get caught in traffic that is not beneficial to your business, if you are not careful.
I admit I got the idea for this article while driving on the I-90 heading toward Chicago. It was a mess, cars everywhere, going nowhere fast. It's easy to get side tracked when you're driving if you're not clear about your ultimate destination.
Is your business is suffering because you're too busy seeing what's going on with others in the marketplace that have nothing to do with you? Instead of picking a lane and staying in it and preparing for the journey ahead of you as you endeavor to attract ideal clients, are you changing lanes to get a better look at what they are doing?
Focusing on what others are introducing to the marketplace has the potential to kill your business.
Now, don't get me wrong, knowing what your competitors are offering is important; however, you can't be so focused on what they're doing that you aren't doing anything but watching them. I've seen it happen many times in my business of helping entrepreneurs unleash the Incredible Factor in their businesses. I ask one question, like what does your business do? And they respond with something like this, "you ever heard of X? Well, I'm just like them, I do the same thing," instead of offering their own power statement, one that has them starting a trend as opposed to living in the shadow of their competitor.
When I hear that, quite honestly, I just shake my head, because they've been caught in the "Gapers Delay" syndrome - too busy watching others and not spending enough time building their own brand.
Hopefully, I'm not talking about you. But if I am, no worries, if you really want to avoid the effects of the Gapers Delay syndrome, I recommend that you:
1. Turn on your GPS
Your GPS is your business and marketing plan. You know, that thing you wrote when you started your business (I hope you did anyway) Pull it out, check your destination and let it tell you which turns to take. When you gain a clear vision of the transformation your products and services will provide for others, you will gain perspective and that perspective will lead to prospects. Deciding to start a business without a clear intention of who you are and what you will offer to others in service to solve their problems is one sure fire way to find yourself on the business roadway caught in a traffic jam.
2. Avoid hitchhikers
Oh, those pesky little distractions that appear out of nowhere. Sometimes they're holding a sign; sometimes they are bold enough to stick their hands out. When you remove those hindrances that challenge your ability to be fully authentic about how YOU will serve your ideal clients, you can breathe and with each breath, you allow abundance to flow toward you and your business. It's important to know when you drive your car and when to pull over and let traffic die down. Taking much needed time to retreat, with your team or advisors can make all the difference as you grow your business. Avoiding the bright shiny object syndrome is essential to becoming known for offering quality service to your market
3. Check the rearview mirror only momentarily
More often than not, a mindset shift can easily prevent road rage or an accident. I recommend that you watch what you feed your mind by putting quality information in. Look in your rearview mirror just long enough to assess that the way is clear. Focus instead on the open road ahead of you by creating daily mindset shifts that keep your breakthroughs consistent to the speed at which you desire to drive your car. Remember, your thoughts are equal to your feelings and beliefs which affect your actions and alter your results. If you believe that you are the only solution to your ideal client's problems and work toward ensuring that they know you exist through effective and compelling marketing, you will be rolling down the freeway toward your ultimate destination.
4. Crank up your car radio
While you are driving, to avoid the need to text or look away from the wheel outside of the occasional rearview mirror check, play your theme song loud and proud. In fact, if you don't have a business theme song, get one immediately. It will stop you from focusing on what's happening around you, you'll be so into "rocking" it out for your clients, you'll arrive at your choice destination easily and effortlessly.
5. Create YOUR roadmap
This is your business; no one can do it like you. Your plan of action to grow your business is your roadmap - what to do and when to do it to achieve the results you crave. When you stop focusing on others and focus instead on your plan and do the work it will take to make it a reality, you will realize that who you are and what you were created to be is Incredible - in and of itself and truly no one else can hold a stop light to your brilliance. Focus on ways to achieve your plan through concerted effort daily, remembering that it is the little and not so little things that add up to the unassailable difference in your business.
Bonus: let the wind blow through your hair. When you are driving, really driving toward your destination, clear and focused, you will breeze your way through. You'll be able to relax in full authenticity because who you are is exactly what your ideal clients need to grow to their next level.
©2011 by Darnyelle A. Jervey
Photography by Sergei Popov
©2012 by Darnyelle A. Jervey. All Rights Reserved. Darnyelle A. Jervey, The Incredible Factor Business Mentor and Coach, is the founder of http://www.IncredibleOneEnterprises.com and the Leverage Your Incredible Factor System.
©2012 by Darnyelle A. Jervey. All Rights Reserved. Darnyelle A. Jervey, The Incredible Factor Business Mentor and Coach, is the founder of http://www.IncredibleOneEnterprises.com and the Leverage Your Incredible Factor System.
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