Choosing your services + Beckham, Brady & Biz Models

Let’s talk about service & services. Your services.

BIZ TIP: If you can only talk about, think about, are about yourself (aka ‘selfish’) then business is probably not for you. Hey, I get it – you’ve probably had a lot of people want to talk about you for a long time. But, today more than ever, there is an overwhelming need for realness, connection among the most technologically connected generations ever. So to really stand out, you not only have to know yourself but you have to be willing to let others get to know you & you have to want to get to know them!

IN a previous post I talked about how your business must be constructed like a house, with a good foundation of knowing your ‘who’ & what you are good at (your ‘do’).

Your services are simply an extension of your who & your do: the intersection of your skills & experiences + passions & interests. These give you a hint of the services you can provide to others and get paid for it too!

When you combine these elements, you are creating a framework for your business.

Let’s look at some of the areas you should consider in order to begin construction:

• Passion projects: Passion projects can tell you a lot about yourself & others can learn about you as well.
• Pain points: What problems do you enjoy solving & think that if everyone knew what you know or could do something a particular way, the world would be a better place?
• Platform psychology: What subject can you talk about for hours on end that only leaves you more psyched?

We’ve got a special worksheet just for you today to help you identify this intersection & each of these areas.

Why do these areas matter for business?

Because besides a practical & sustainable platform, you must have a scalable platform – one that can adapt & grow in business alongside you. A business that can thrive in spite of changing trends & ‘best practice’ recommendations.

And this kind of platform, one that withstand those crazy economic downturns & Facebook or Google algorithm changes, is one that ignores the changing tides of marketing & focuses on maximizing your strengths & building relationships with others. These are the secrets to ESBA’s successful & scalable foundation.

Bending it like Beckham

Imagine if everyone tried to mimic the marketing brilliance of David Beckham or Michael Jordan. First, those guys broke barriers that are too long to list here in the business world. BUT they also had a TEAM to carry it all out & MONEY to sustain any growth they were interested in pursuing. That’s not common.

The REAL scenario is more like the one a finance broker shared with me recently,

Every week I see [the biggest names in the NFL] in here giving away their money in an effort to find ways to stay relevant and still make an income once they near retirement.

Did you read that? There are GIVING AWAY their money to brands in an effort to stay legit & to keep an income! Whoa!

They’re giving away their hard-earned money to work with a brand when they ARE the brand!

And I don’t mean they’re the brand in a Tom Brady-eat-like-me-and-become-an-infinity-like-championship-winning-way. (PS: I like Tom but I am happy because while the guy is a machine, I’m a Denver Broncos fan. #justsayin)

BUT LET’S TALK TOM FOR A MINUTE…

He’s selling a product in his TB12 program based on his name, his performance & the hope of replicating what he’s achieved through being like him. It’s the assumption that players want to achieve what he’s achieved and that success will come through eating / sleeping / training like he does.

Don’t misunderstand me – he’s a beast & one of the best. But he’s Tom Brady. David Beckham. Bo Jackson. MJ.

These guys are very rare.

What works for them is very different than what might work for others. Thus, it’s a risk.

The same is true in business.

That’s the difference between a small biz owner & an entrepreneur. The biz owner looks at what works for them & repeats it for others.

The entrepreneur can guarantee results no matter the business because it’s the process, not the product, that matters.

I learned this in my first (& still active) business, Global Futbol Training.

What made me stand out as a trainer wasn’t just that I was one of the first (& still one of the only) guys to create a free-standing model of training as a year-round, full-time job.

It wasn’t that I was a college standout.

It wasn’t even that I was a former & still-connected pro.

It was that I could PRODUCE these results in others quickly & consistently.

It was that I could guide them in what to expect next in their path.

Those same principles are what drew others to try & copy the GFT model: starting a business in the worst economic recession in recent history (2007 & 2008), diversifying offers, getting a website, getting paid online & handing out business cards.

Only those weren’t what made GFT a success.

Yes – GFT was the first to have a website in this area, the first to accept online payments, the first to hire & maintain a staff of 20 trainers & more.

But the secret to success wasn’t those things. Those were fruits of my roots: God, support system, drive, self-awareness & relationships.

The secret of success was (you guessed it):

1. Knowing, accepting & using my own personal story to create a replicable (scalable) business model
2. Practical & sustainable services and
3. Good relationships.
4. That’s what ESBA is all about.

Giving you the model that I wished I had 10+ years ago & the support that we all need to accomplish great things.

Biz Model + Relationship = Success.