3 Stages We Go Through as Entrepreneurs and Speakers

There are three stages we go through as entrepreneurs and even as speakers: Experimentation, Intention, and Growth.

Because my business was still new in 2016, I was all about Stage 1 – Experimentation: trying different things to see what worked and what didn’t, what I liked doing and what I didn’t, which kinds of clients got the best results from working with me.

I even experimented with the idea and content for the TEDx talk I did this past October (more on that in an upcoming post).

I believe we all need to go through an experimentation phase in the beginning of something new: whether you’re creating a new business, a new signature talk, or a new offering.

In the Lean Startup world, we call this a Minimum Viable Product (MVP):

1. BUILD = Create something small enough to do quickly, but large enough to offer value.
2. MEASURE = Put it out into the world to get feedback from users/clients.
3. LEARN = Take the information you gathered and iterate on the product to improve it.

The idea is to move through and repeat this process fairly rapidly and regularly, so you don’t get stagnant or bogged down in any one of the steps.

Here are a few ways you can try this:

→ If you’re selling a service (coaching, web/graphic design, marketing, etc.), do 10-12 free or low price single strategy sessions with people in your ideal target market. This is immensely helpful in better understanding what your clients need the most help with related to what you do and how they talk about it in their own words.

→ If you have a new presentation topic, give the talk to a few small groups before you do it on a bigger stage. These could be groups in your local area or you could even host a webinar. The idea is to get comfortable with the material and delivery and see which parts people are most interested in or where they seem confused.

→ Do a beta or pilot launch of your online course or group coaching program with a limited number of people you personally invite, so you can get feedback on which components are most useful before you invest too much time creating content. (I did this with my Stand-Out Speakers group coaching program last October, which will be launching again this spring.)

After a certain point of experimentation, it becomes important and necessary to focus (based on the feedback you’ve gathered), so you can develop traction and mastery.

That’s what I see as Stage 2 – Intention: setting a purposeful and focused action plan guided by what you’ve learned.

For me, that’s intention about the services I offer, the clients I attract to work with me, the projects I create (including a podcast), the speaking engagements I pursue, and the activities I say “yes” to.

→ In your business, this could be choosing one new project (not five) for the next six months or year (a podcast, a video series, a book, a new product offering).

→ In your speaking, this could be deciding to create a TEDx-style “big idea” talk that moves you from a speaker as trainer to a speaker as thought leader.

Then, once you’ve successfully built a scalable, repeatable process and you’ve achieved consistent momentum (i.e. people are coming to you), you’re ready for Stage 3 – Growth.

I won’t (ever) stop experimenting in my business (I’ll have to as I come up with new offerings and projects and presentation ideas), but even my experiments will be done with intention and future growth in mind.

Do you feel like you’re in the Experimentation, Intention, or Growth phase? Come share in my free private Facebook group.

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