Start a Business - Become Indispensable at Work

I just read an article in the paper about keeping your job by making yourself more valuable at work.  And I have to tell you that I fully support the idea.

Before I start in with my perspective of making yourself more valuable, here's a link to the article I read: "How to Be Indispensable at Work" .  It was in The Parade Magazine, the Sunday insert, in our local paper and probably in yours too.

The article was well-written and had some great advice that is applicable to the workplace ... and for business people in general. 

BRAND YOURSELF is the basic solution the author, Martin Lindstrom, is proposing.  Here is a summary of the key methods he identifies; I've paraphrased to make a point

• Define yourself - become clear about who you are
• Single attribute - focus on one thing you want to be known for
• Communicate - make sure others see your image 
• Your Look - it's about image
• Publish or perish - make it last

It struck me that this list was a perfect starter set of ideas - for someone starting a second career as a business owner! 

This is a journey to success for a new business owner more than for someone that wants to keep their job.  Think about it - it's EXACTLY what you need to succeed in your own business!

Define Yourself:

1. Create a brand around YOU
2. Define who you are and what your business focus is going to be
3. Nearly as important is what your business is NOT - focus is critical, NOT Everyone Can be Your Customer
4. Mission - Vision - Values

Core Attribute:

1. The  ONE thing you want to be known for
2. Again, the more focus, the more successful in getting your message/image/brand across to your audience
3. Go Deep and Not Wide  - drill down in one area and become good at it - it's the fastest way to success

Communicate:

1. Constant, Consistent, Communication
2. A Brand without communication is no brand at all - to be effective, the 'brand' must be communicated
3. Start a Blog, Create a Website, Write Articles, Hold Seminars - there are all kinds of ways to communicate
4. Communicating Your Message/Brand = Online Attraction Marketing

Image:

1. Your Look is important and it applies to yourself as well as your business
2. Casual or Professional?  Make it consistent with how you define yourself/business
3. Your Picture - make it personal and use pictures of yourself ... or video marketing
4. Make it easy for people to recognize you - they will relate to you and trust you more simply through familiarity

Publish:

1. OK, I borrowed 'publish or perish' from academia - it is the pressure to publish in order to successfully compete for tenured positions
2. A lasting impression, and more importantly, in print is able to influence a far greater number of people - critical for successful marketing
3. Businesses must create successful marketing in order to fully develop a brand image, the lasting impression, positive and recognizable, in the mind of the customer
4. For most businesses, 'publishing' means 'online marketing' simply because online media is the single most powerful, affordable, method for communicating today
5. Yes, it also means everything from business cards to ebooks that further your brand

These all all very important aspects of building a business.  The original article talked about keeping your job, but I see it differently.  I believe all of these same activities can be used to start a business, or build a business, or start a second career as a business owner!

I don't begrudge anyone a job and it pains me to see so many people that want to work being laid off and forced out of their jobs.  However, the image of the Caped Worker in a Cubicle just really rubbed me the wrong way.

Doing time in a cubicle is one of the reasons I left the office world.  It just struck me one day that being a gopher in a cube farm was not really a long-term benefit to me as much as it was to the owner of the company or cubicle farm, as the case may be.

INVEST IN YOURSELF - START A BUSINESS - That is how to truly become indispensable at work! Think about it a bit.  Use the exact same activities to become indispensable to someone else's business OR use these same activities to create your own business and become indispensable to YOUR business.

For me that is not a hard choice.  Every minute I spend at work is an investment in my own business.  Find out more about how to market your business and brand yourself - once you get started, you'll never turn back.

BRAND YOURSELF - I agree that is the answer.  Start a Business to become truly indispensable at work; you'll never get laid off from your own company!