Librarian of Fortune

Sometimes Yoda was right

One of the most over-used quotes from Star Wars was Yoda's advice to young Luke Skywalker. Luke says he would try to use his jedi powers, and Yoda tells him "Do or do not. There is no try." So, with the same horror I felt when I heard myself saying something with not only Mom's words but her tone of voice, I recently told a coaching client to do, not try.

It appears that Yoda had the brain of an entrepreneur.

Here's how I got from quoting Yoda to offering a different strategic approach to a business.

New entrepreneurs often say to others (and to themselves), "I'm going to give my business a try and see how it goes." This reinforces the belief that it's beyond our control whether our business takes off or stays in start-up.

It's like the analogy of being in the pool or out of the pool. If you're still thinking-about trying-out see-how-it-goes about your business, then you're sitting at the edge of the pool, dangling your toes in the water.For your business to make it, you need to be all the way in the water. Yes, it's cold at first, but then you get energized as you acclimate to a different environment.

So I encouraged my client to re-word her approach. Now, she's running her information business, and she's going to reassess what she wants to do as a profession at the end of a year. This enables her to truly throw herself into her business, with the life preserver of stopping after 12 months if she finds that she doesn't enjoy it or doesn't want to do what's required to get her business going.

 

How to pick a business coach

Yeah, yeah, of course it's self-serving... I just wrote an article for QRCA, titled "Ready, Set, Help!: How to Find a Business Coach". Yes, that's what I do too, and I still think it's a good review of what to look for in a business coach.

Seth Godin to publisher: Buh-bye

Tuesday's Wall Street Journal has an interesting article about Seth Godin's decision that, going forward, he would solely self-publish. He no longer needs a traditional publisher like Penguin Books. Notably, Godin defines "publishing" far more broadly than a traditional publisher; he plans on distributing his content in a number of media -- audiobooks, apps, podcasts, PDFs, print-on-demand, etc. As long as some version of it appears in Amazon.com, it's on the same virtual store shelf as any traditional book.

As for the value of publishers, Godin comments:

Publishers provide a huge resource to authors who don't know who reads their books... What the Internet has done for me, and a lot of others, is enable me to know my readers.

I wonder if we're seeing the beginning of a disintermediation between the content creator and the content user, similar to the old one between library users and high-end digital information.

There's still a role for content aggregators, but perhaps a far different one than in the past. In an environment in which we content creators interact directly with our readers - in multiple settings, no less - any intermediary (publisher / news aggregator) has to show its tangible value to both the originator and the user of the content.

If publishers can't find new ways to create a market for an author's content, and if more successful authors shift to Seth Godin's model, we may get to the point where print publishers are seen as the vanity press and high-quality self-publishing is the new professional standard.

As someone who has had 6 books published by traditional print publishers, I have seen the transformation of a manuscript to an edited, indexed, laid-out publication. It is a sight to behold, and certainly something I couldn't do on my own. And there are other ways that I can distribute content directly to my readers.

Traditional publishers have all the tools needed to create vibrant communities for their content providers authors. Can they, in essence, get out of the way and help their writers make direct connections with their readers? Can they expand their vision of publishing to include the media in which ideas flow most easily, if not freely?

It's always about the customer

The Virtual Presenter blog had a great Q&A on how to entice people into attending a webinar. The same principle applies whenever we're talking to a potential client. 

People don’t need more noise in their lives, and what they pay attention to are things of self-interest. What are you going to help them get?

We have to talk about WHY we're offering a service, not WHAT the service is.

Fighting the Imposter Syndrome

Back by popular demand... my thoughts on the dreaded Imposter Syndrome from 2008:

“Hi. I’m Mary Ellen and I’m faking it.”

No, I’m not going to put that on my conference name badge any time soon, but if I did, I’ll bet I would see a lot of people nodding their heads in sympathy. We are the people who, at one time or another, suffer from what’s been called the Imposter Syndrome. Do you worry that people will finally realize that you’re not the smart, capable expert they once thought you were? Do you think that your success is due to luck or a fluke rather than because you are an astute business owner? Do you obsess about making a mistake and interpret any constructive criticism as further proof of your incompetence? If you’re still in doubt, you can even take the Imposter Syndrome Quiz. (And for those of us who could research anything to death, you can read one of the early papers on the imposter syndrome, “The Impostor Phenomenon Among High Achieving Women” by Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes (1978).

While both men and women experience the imposter syndrome, the groups among women most likely to experience the imposter syndrome are high achievers, those labeled as “gifted” as children, and those who have very specialized skills. From my own experience, it appears that a lot of women info-entrepreneurs fit that profile. In fact, one of the appeals of being our own boss is that we don’t have to worry about co-workers finally discovering that we’re a fake.

So, what do you do, now that you realize that I am indeed on to you and can see that you, too, sometimes experience the imposter syndrome? Barbara Stanny, the author of the book Overcoming Underearning, had some good advice: “Above all, women [and, obviously, men] must be willing to be uncomfortable, to do what they’re scared to do. The number one requirement to go to the next level in your life is the willingness to do what you think you can’t do. And a big part of that is valuing yourself.”

The fact that we have started our businesses is a good indicator that we are willing to be uncomfortable; there’s nothing comfortable about leaving a steady paycheck! Keeping that in mind, here are some tools for dealing with the imposter syndrome:

• Take constructive feedback gently. If someone suggests things you could change, it means he sees you as having higher abilities than what you are currently showing.

• Imagine talking with someone who has your qualifications, skills and abilities. Would you really call her incompetent?

• Learn to appreciate your own accomplishments and successes. The ability to reward yourself rather than waiting for external feedback is a critical skill for any info-entrepreneur.

• Let go of the need to know everything about everything. Our clients hire us because we know how to apply our skills to their need.

• And finally, the best suggestion: Fake it ‘til you make it.

Before you go into a networking event, find someplace quiet and create a narrative in your head that describes your experience, expressed in the past tense, after the fact. “I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this event. I just walked up to several people and asked them about their work. It was a lot easier than I had thought it would be.” Take a deeeeep breath, and then go in there and pretend that narrative is true.

The same technique works for negotiating the parameters of a project with a client, giving a presentation, pitching a proposal or just about any other “performance” in your life. Take a different view of faking it and remind yourself that this is, in fact, a skill. You are creating confidence by your actions, which is a pretty cool thing.

Building Brand YOU

Susanne Markgren, digital services librarian at SUNY, Purchase, has an excellent slide deck on using social media to build your personal / professional brand.

"Creating an Online Portfolio: improve your skills of self promotion"

The presentation includes topics such as what employers look for in job applicants' online profiles and how to build a portfolio (note, not just a Facebook page or LinkedIn profile, but a 3-dimensional profile). If you market yourself or your business online, check this presentation out.

Wanna be an info-entrepreneur?

As I was answering a questionnaire for Kim Dority's LIS Career Options LinkedIn group, I started thinking about how someone can prepare for starting an info business.

I realized that one of the most challenging part of being an info-entrepreneur is having to (or being able to) challenge yourself on a regular basis. Since most people aren't in the habit of moving past their comfort zone, I think the best preparation is to do just that.

Seek out opportunities to stretch yourself. Volunteer to do public speaking, especially if the thought of it scares you. Take on leadership roles within your workplace or your community. Start adding value to everything you do – become familiar with writing executive summaries, creating charts and graphs from statistics, developing slide decks, and so on.

In other words, get accustomed to the feeling of being at the edge of your comfort zone, and yes, it takes practice.

Are you a wonk or a nerd?

My latest Info-Entrepreneur Newsletter invites you to consider whether you are marketing yourself as a detail-oriented nerd or a big-picture (if in mind-numbing detail) nerd.

Can you be an independent info pro part-time?

My latest newsletter for independent info pros like me is out. In it, I look at a question I hear a lot: Can I do this part time until it grows, and then quit my job?

My conclusion is that you can successfully run a business part-time as long as you view your day job as "supplemental income", rather than your business as your "side business". Trying to build and keep a sustainable business going while holding down a full-time job isn't feasible for all but the super-power-networkers.

Thoughts?

What would Sue Rugge do?

From my latest Info-Entrepreneur Tip of the Month:

Quite a while ago, I sat myself down and decided that I wanted to move my business up a level – to work fewer hours and bill more per hour. I realized that I had to see myself differently, in order to have others see me in a new light. So I identified several long-time info-entrepreneurs whom I highly respected and decided that, in all my actions, I would make the choices that those people would make. Sue Rugge, one of the pioneers of the info-entrepreneur business, was one of those models for me, so I began constantly asking myself, What would SuRu do?

I was surprised by how quickly I started making different decisions and seeing myself in a new light. I began thinking bigger than I had before. When I was given an opportunity to describe myself, I started describing myself in terms that emphasized the high-end services I provide. When a prospective client called, I started responding with more confidence - not necessarily because I believed it but because I knew this was how Sue Rugge would have talked with the client. The wonderful thing about this is that it quickly becomes a virtuous cycle; as I started sounding more confident, my clients started sending me larger jobs and expecting me to provide more analysis and other value-added services.

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