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Crafting a “New-Paradigm” Business

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Posted by Sherrie Koretke on Aug 18, 2011 in Current Businesses | 22 comments

Crafting a “New-Paradigm” Business

This is a Guest Post by Steve Rice from Karmic Kappuccino.

There is a new paradigm in business. If you are an entrepreneur or small business owner, if you are an “info-preneur” or internet marketer, you can’t afford to miss the shift!

We tend to treat our business like a job. That is the old paradigm.

Early in life we learn to separate our work life from our happiness. We take a job out of necessity, not as an extension of our happiness.

My first job when I turned 16 was a phone agent for a telemarketing company. I didn’t take that job because I was fascinated with the telesales industry. I didn’t take that job because I was driven by a passion for it. I took it because it was what was available.

The sad thing is that I never even thought about what I might want to do. I never considered what my natural skills might be.

What about you?

Have you ever found yourself wishing you could do work that mattered more?

Have you wanted a career that nurtured your spirit but instead found yourself trapped in a job that drained you?

Have you found yourself frustrated between the pull of the desire deep in your spirit and the incessant urgency of doing menial work in order to make a living?

You can have both!

You do not have to settle for what pays the bills in lieu of work that is fulfilling and feeds your soul.

 You need a paradigm shift!

Your business is part of you. Your work—your craft—is an extension of what you do most naturally.

It’s hard for many of us to think this way because we are so used to thinking about business separate from the talents that come to us effortlessly. We think that we can’t make money with what comes naturally for us.

Here’s the key—what comes naturally to you isn’t natural to someone else.

If you connect with a few hundred who do not like to do (or cannot do) what comes naturally to you, you are set.

That sounds easy enough, right?

Not quite.

It is difficult to change one’s entire frame of reference when it comes to business. The biggest challenge for me has been recognizing my innate skills because they are so natural to me. What I do well (and effortlessly), I often neglect to recognize as marketable because they seem so easy.

The second challenge then is positioning what I do best so to provide a service and value to the marketplace.

The Key To Profitability

The key to a profitable, spirit-nurturing business is to identify and recognize your natural skill sets and positioning them in a way that makes money!

The way to do this is to tell your story effectively.

What is your story?

Hint: It’s not about you!

Your story tells why your work matters.

When you tell a story about why your work matters, then you automatically infuse it with enthusiasm because you’re talking about what you are passionate about.

People sense passion and will respond to it. Passion will sell your product/service every time because people buy what they want not what they need.

You will be profitable when you can effectively show people why they should want your work.

What about your craft enriches and enhances the lives of others? Why is it important? Tell that story. Craft that narrative and add to it. A great story draws your market to you. This is the new paradigm:

Your passion + Your Story = Market attraction.

In the old paradigm we told a story of benefits and features in order to convince the market of its need of our service or product.

In the new paradigm, if you show them your passion and tell them a story, the ones who “get” it will be drawn to the story you’re telling. Those who don’t get it, won’t. That’s ok.

The old-paradigm mind is afraid to “lose” potential customers. The new-paradigm realizes that those who are aligned with the passion of the business will be drawn to it if the story is told clearly and consistently enough.

So…what’s your story?

What have you been telling the market?

Have you been boring them with details and statistics or have you been captivating them with tales of passion, courage and strength.

The passionate storyteller wins every time. So what’s your story? Go tell it!

Steve Rice is the editor at KarmicKappuccino: ADailyShotofInspiration. He is also the author of the breakout book AnImperceptibleSpark: FindingtheCouragetoLiveaLifeofJoy. You can follow him on Twitter (@stevenerice)

Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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22 Responses to “Crafting a “New-Paradigm” Business”

  1. Sherrie Koretke says:
    August 18, 2011 at 7:36 AM

    Hi Steve,
    Maybe you could teach us on how to become a passionate storyteller? :)
    Sherrie

  2. Roy A. Ackerman, PhD, EA says:
    August 18, 2011 at 8:58 AM

    Sherrie- you picked a great guest commentator.
    Steven:
    I loved your piece. And, it is a message that needs to go out to every person who considers starting their own enterprise- whether it be a lifestyle business, a home-based part-time gig, or a company with long-standing capabilities.
    I was lucky to have figured out what I loved and didn’t like very early in my life. I was even luckier to have pulled off my goals- with the exception that once that was done, I was like a dog who caught the car. Now, what? So, I inventoried and went from there.
    I have new clients coming in every month with their ideas. Before I even begin determining business structure or plans, I request they perform a skills and likes inventory. Because even if they have loved the concept of building that thing-amaging they brought into my office and selling it to the world, they need to know what they can do, what they don’t want to do, to insure that they CAN sell their thing-amings to every Tom, Dick, and Harry and be a success.
    Your post here will be part of my “presents” to my clients.
    Thanks.
    Roy A. Ackerman, PhD, EA recently posted..Bye, Bye, Viri!My Profile

    • Steve Rice from Karmic Kappuccino says:
      August 18, 2011 at 9:20 AM

      Wow, Roy, that is really high praise. I really respect your POV and have learned so much from your perspective and experience.

      I think you provide a unique alternative perspective from my experience. I have spent much of my life “floundering” looking for that one right thing…in my book I write about my envy of the “I’ve just always known” (what I wanted to do) crowd.

      However, your experience–knowing what you wanted to do and attaining your goals–early in life shows that there are obstacles in this experience too. Once you get “there”–wherever it is…once you “catch the car” then you really have to do just as much soul-searching.

      I’m glad this was insightful and I’m so honored that it will be used to help your clients.
      Steve Rice @ Karmic Kappuccino recently posted..Take a Flying Leap! No, Really…Jump!My Profile

  3. Cathy Miller says:
    August 18, 2011 at 9:10 AM

    Wish I could say the same, Roy. It took me 30 years. :-)

    Great post, Steve – I love your new paradigm formula!
    Cathy Miller recently posted..Business Writing Techniques That Punch Holes in Your SuccessMy Profile

  4. Suerae Stein says:
    August 19, 2011 at 5:18 PM

    I like the new paradigm so much better than the old. I did the same as you… just got a job because it was a job and I needed to support myself. It’s often difficult at a young age to know what your natural talents and passions are and sometimes it takes those mind-numbing jobs to push us to the point of seeking more and looking inward. So in a way, maybe the old paradigm actually helps to feed into the new for some of us? Great post – thank you for sharing! ~ Suerae
    Suerae Stein recently posted..Fab Foto Friday – Chicago!My Profile

  5. Earl Harville says:
    August 20, 2011 at 12:51 AM

    AWESOME!!!! Paradigm shifts- a dear friend has been drilling that into my head for the past year and a half. Steve, thanks for making the direction of the shift more clear to me.

  6. Pam says:
    August 20, 2011 at 11:51 AM

    Great guest post! I get the daily shot of inspiration from Steve to keep me 1n the positive and passionate place. Steve’s post reminds me of the book: “Do what you love and the money will follow” by Marsha Sinetar. Now I feel inclined to dig that book out of the bookshelf and read it again.
    Thanks for inspiring me to work on what I love: writing!
    Pam recently posted..5 Great Writing Exercises to Sharpen Your BrainMy Profile

  7. Stella from Build Email Lists says:
    August 21, 2011 at 2:58 PM

    Steve, you touched on very important points there – passion and story. I have found that without passion, it’d be a struggle to tell a story that resonates with, and captivates, your target audience. And you’re right, people see through your messaging (story) to know whether you’re passionate about what you’re driving. In a lot of cases, reasons for purchase includes finding a passionate product/ service provider.

    You know, I was talked into a certain business that I had zilch passion for and it was such a drag telling people about it or even marketing it. I just could not find the energy to. After a few months I decided to end the pain of sticking it.
    Stella @Build Email Lists recently posted..Top 10 Effective List Building Strategies to Increase Your Subscriber Base This YearMy Profile

    • Steve Rice from Karmic Kappuccino says:
      August 23, 2011 at 5:19 PM

      That’s a great point, Stella! I’ve been in a situation like you mentioned…involved in a business that wasn’t my own and about which I had no real passion. The best decision I made in a long time was to cut that business and invest my energies somewhere else.

      Thanks for your contribution here!
      Steve Rice @ Karmic Kappuccino recently posted..What’s Holding You Back?My Profile

  8. Gustavo | Frugal Science says:
    August 21, 2011 at 5:17 PM

    Hi Steve! Such a great post and it so resonates with what I am looking for in this moment in my life. I read somewhere (I think it was in one of As Ambrige books) a suggestion that is still echoing in my mind, and is something like this: If someone asks you about what are you doing for a living, if you don’t feel excited to answer, then you are loosing your time.
    Gustavo | Frugal Science recently posted..When In Doubt, Meditate.My Profile

    • Steve Rice from Karmic Kappuccino says:
      August 23, 2011 at 5:21 PM

      That is a great insight. I remember reading that too, so perhaps it was one of Ash’s books.

      That said, it is true…if we can’t get excited about what we’re doing, how can we expect others to do so?
      Steve Rice @ Karmic Kappuccino recently posted..What’s Holding You Back?My Profile

  9. Ryan Biddulph says:
    August 21, 2011 at 5:41 PM

    Hi Steve,

    Powerful!

    We live in a Universe of feelings. Thoughts mean nothing without feelings, and passion is one of those strong feelings which people with similar passions respond to immediately.

    People who live their passions literally magnetize themselves to people with similar passions. Hold this passion for any extended period of time, and you become world renowned. Look at the Tony Robbin’s and Paulo Coelho’s of the world in the self help and spiritual side of things. Passionate folks who have millions of raving fans, people who are in love with them, because they feel their passion and are inspired by it.

    Thanks for sharing your powerful post Steve!

    RB
    Ryan Biddulph recently posted..A Quick and Simple Facebook Marketing Tip to Boost BusinessMy Profile

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