Many times when you're starting out in business, or
changing direction in business, you become overwhelmed with
just where to start, or who you can contact for assistance.
You have many contacts, have belonged to a number of
associations or groups over the years, and have spoken to
numerous groups and associations in your career. The
overwhelm often comes from knowing many people and many
things but not having any centralized method to access all
that information.
What you need to do is to start to inventory your
non-tangible business assets, or your intellectual capital.
While this information isn't an asset that may carry a
firm price, like your real estate or office equipment
investment, the value of this information in connecting you
to a valued business contact or getting you in front of the
group of people who comprise your target market can be
priceless.
What do you need to begin this process? Start by
assembling: --your contact database --all versions of your
resume --proposals for all presentations you've conducted
or of which you've been a part --any sales materials you've
used in your business (brochures, speaker sheets, previous
versions of websites, etc.) --copies of all mentions in the
press and/or press releases you've submitted --copies of
all articles, ebooks, books, white papers, etc. that you
have authored --copies of all audio and video recordings of
yourself
You'll want to determine how to begin tracking this info
for your new intellectual capital database. This may mean
creating a new group/folder in ACT! or Outlook to track
contacts, a new Word document to cut and paste information
info, or a central online repository where you can upload
this information and keep it free and clear of your other
business clutter. Two great online resources for this are
CentralDesktop.com and OfficeZilla.com
Now you need to start paring down the information that you
have and begin to categorize it. To help you, I've come up
with 6 categories of information for you to evaluate. For
all of this intellectual capital, rank their value to you
from 1-3, with 1 being the most value. These are the ones
where you'll concentrate your energy.
1. Contacts. Who do you know and where do they work? Do
you have mailing addresses, email addresses, or both?
Include both friends and family members, former work
colleagues, current and past clients, and casual
acquaintances you have met along the way. In order for
them to make it to your new intellectual capital database,
you have to note the value that they have for you, i.e. do
they work in a company in which you want to get a foothold,
can they connect you with someone of value, or are they
just well-connected overall?
2. Associations/groups. To what groups have you belonged
in the past or are a current member? To what groups do you
have many connections but aren't a member? Include
professional, civic, volunteer, athletic, and religious
groups. Don't overlook any groups to which your child
belongs where you know other parents -- these groups can be
as valuable as professional associations for contacts.
3. Speaking. What talks have you given and could
currently deliver with only a few moment's notice? How
about presentations given to clients, or programs provided
at professional conferences?
4. Writings. What articles or books have you written?
How about ebooks, white papers, or other types of
information products? Any writings in which you are the
copyright holder should be included here. Electronic
versions are the easiest to use, so if you don't have some
of these writings available to you electronically, make it
a priority to get this information converted to an
electronic format.
5. Recordings. Do you have audio or video recordings of
yourself presenting? If not, can you obtain copies?
6. Services. What services have you provided in the past?
What about your current service offerings? Are there ways
to tie sets of services together?
This inventory of your intellectual won't be completed in a
day. Give yourself several weeks to gather the info that
you need, record it as appropriate, and evaluate it. As
you're evaluating business growth or a change in direction,
take stock of patterns that develop in your inventory or
possibilities of opportunities that present themselves.
This inventory may enable you to tap into a new market or
determine how to best spend any initial marketing efforts.
----------------------------------------------------
Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business
Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals
learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their
expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To
claim your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing
Toolkit, visit her site at http://www.OnlineBizU.com . Ask
Donna an Internet Marketing question at
http://www.AskDonnaGunter.com .
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