I’ve Got To Find A Way!**
This is an excerpt from my upcoming book Get To Know Your Backyard Opportunity, a guide that shares my story of interviewing small business owners in Austin, Texas through blogging, and a guide to help anyone anywhere interested in doing a similar project in their own local community. This is chapter 1.
I’ve Got To Find A Way!
The days were lengthening as I thought more and more about leaving. The gig was getting more and more uncomfortable, and though I enjoyed the physical and interactive part of it, it was nearing an end in my head.
At night, I would wake up and think it all over. I prayed, and prayed, asking for directions. “Should I do this?” I asked God.“This,” meant leave. “Father, where is this headed?” I kept seeking. How do I go about this change I want? How do I maneuver all this? Well, I have about 2 months till the end of the year. What can I do with this time?
This went on for a while, and it drained me. There’s got to be a way to get out of this, I thought, and thought. I’ve got to find a way.
I decided to start writing, writing out what I could do. I needed a change, and I have to find a way to create it. To change things, I need to create a different path. Exactly what path I didn’t clearly know. But surely, I don’t want to do it doing something I didn’t like. I want to do something that engaged me, and used my skills.
Walking home one day, I thought of an idea. To start something that could lead to something worthwhile, I have to go out there and create value for other people, I reasoned.
I have to sort of solve a problem for someone. Yet to solve a problem, or create value, I have to use what I have. But what do I have? What do I have that I could give to someone else? And on what grounds do I give it to them?
I thought some more. I have to go out there and do something for someone that they can’t do for themselves, or don’t have the time nor the desire to do, though possibly useful to them, or valuable to them.
Also besides creating value, I wanted to go about it in a way that was comfortable for me and that I enjoyed. I have come to value joy so much after going through the discomfort of working a job I didn’t like. Sure, I have worked jobs I didn’t like in the past, but this one did it for me — I didn’t like it a lot. So having the opportunity to create a new start, I will definitely strive for joy to be a good portion of it.
What do I love and have?
To be clear on this, I got clear on what I didn’t like. I don’t like to do anything that requires me to sit for long hours. This is why I don’t like driving a lot, as it keeps me in a single position for a while. Also, I don’t like work that disconnects me from other people — like data entry and some office jobs. Neither do I l enjoy work that does not challenge me, nor work that takes creative control out of my hands — I have to be able to determine how valuable what I am doing is, and I don’t want to leave it in someone else’s hands.
With that clear, I sat and began writing out the things I love. One, I love meeting and chatting with people. Two, I enjoy walking, moving about for a big portion of the day. Three, I love learning, and learning about business, and from other people. Four, writing is a joy for me. Five, I want to share my experience with others. Six, I like to challenge myself, sort of walk into the unknown from time to time, and test myself. And seven, I want to help others. Good.
Next, I listed a few of the things I know I could do: Interviews, copy-writing, profiling, helping others people find their by-products, and blogging. This was just a few things that I was sure I could do, and some business owners would find this useful, I reasoned, if not at all. Yet, I will like to take my chances out there, and see what happens. With this clarity of sorts, I decided what I would do.
I would combine all of this — what I loved and what I could do — to help small business owners right where I live, in my local community. I would go out there in faith and share with business owners what I can do for them.
Also, since I want this to be focused and definite, with a beginning and an end, I decided to make it a short project. A project that has a stated goal, a plan of sorts, and would start and end on a certain date.
With this plan, I committed the next 30 days to my project. I will take this one month project and make of it what I will, I resolved. I am even willing to go out there and fail at this. That’s fine with me. I believe that’s better than succeeding at something I don’t enjoy. Sometimes, you have to take a dare.
Who exactly can I help?
Now to approach this thing, I have to decide who exactly I will be helping. Surely I want to learn about business. But exactly what kind of small business, and how do I go about it?
I remember doing a similar summer gig for a trucking company, a few summers ago. In this gig, I put up signs for a career fair on bulletin boards and doors of many small business owners throughout Austin. I got to talk to small business owners of automotive shops, coffee shops, barber shops, and others. I remember enjoying that. I could approach it that way by talking to business owners of that kind about what I could do for them.
So here’s what I would do. I would go out there and talk to them. I will make them an offer that is useful to them, and on a win-win basis. But in this case, even if the scales tilt in any way, even if I have to take the shorter end of the stick, I will take the loss. I am willing to lose in the beginning to gain another man’s trust.
And that’s how I started.
Early Adjustment
With the internal prep done, somewhat, I put up the announcement above on my blog to set the table. Keep in mind, I simply went out there to make a difference with the little I knew how to do, and to share my journey by blogging about all of it.
Yet after the first week, out of 5, I realized I needed to change something. Though I was handing out survey sheets and had some owners fill them out as a way of finding out how I could be of help to them, I knew I had to go in a slightly different direction, I had to make a change, a change that sets some sort of foundation for roots to take hold. I need to create relationships.
With this dawn, I decided to sit and listen first, I need to seek first to understand and then to be understood, in the words of the late Steven Covey of ‘7 Habits Of Highly Effective People’ fame. Why? I would prefer that first if someone wanted to help me with something in my business. Let’s chat a bit first.
Notice, here I was, just starting out, with very little experience in some of the things I wanted to do for the owners. Though I was fairly confident that when push came to shove I will deliver, I chose to play the long game, think long term. This is my community, and I don’t want this to be touch and go, or one and done. I want it to last. So let’s get to know them, I told myself.
So out of the short list of things that loved to do and could do, I chose to focus on only four of them — meeting new people (business owners, in this case), learning from them, doing interviews, and writing all about it on my blog. Only those four.
And with this change came a breath of ease to the whole project, my joy increased, and so did my energy for the rest of the project.
I came away with interviews with 10 business owners in different industries — sushi, automotive, Thai food, cafe-style American restaurant, Mexican restaurant, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, cross-fit training, t-shirt printing, and elite athletes fitness.
For personal takeaways, I walked away with lessons about about business, skills in dealing with people, writing/blogging as a strong platform for any project, and communication skills in general. I detail all these in my book below.
Who Is This For?
New Bloggers
A project like this gives you something worthy to write about. Something that’s real and that others could learn from, and could lead to freelance income. In 21 days or less of blogging about your journey and sharing it, you will have created real relationships, strengthened your writing skills, and given yourself a chance to help someone.
New writers/Journalists
Get basic reporting skills, learn to interview people, and document the whole process for your portfolio.
Young Entrepreneurs
Build people, pitching, and public speaking skills as you go out there and present your rationale for whatever you are working on, and invite others to join you while helping them at the same time.
Non-Profit Starters
You get to do something for free, publicize your new non-profit, learn from the experience, build skills, and gather contacts — -most non profits are supported by local business
Idea Testers
You got an idea you want to test out? Go out and talk to people about it and validate your idea. This could lead to a bigger problem-solving opportunity.
Students — High school, College & Recent Graduates
Learn how to start something in your own local community that gives you creative control, builds your skills, and helps you find your voice, while making a difference at the same time.
Folks Looking For Work
It’s okay to look for work, but looking could take long, and why not take a personal initiative to get busy and improve your skills with a short personal interviewing project. In 21 days or less, you will have a better resume, and this could lead to something worthwhile.
One interesting thing: All the folks on this list live in local communities around the country, and the opportunity to engage other professionals in an engaging, exploratory, and educational short term project is right there.
