You’re Probably Taking THIS Shoestring Step Already Without Knowing It…

In today’s post, practical instruction on Shoestring Step Number TWO: Find Out Some W’s. The ‘dubyas’ stands for What, When, hoW, Why, Where, and MOST importantly… Who. In building a bizness from scratch, it’s most important to learn all you can about your target market. Today we’ll be talking about how to do this research quickly and in a fun way.

So I’ve gotten several requests on my offer to mentor folks on the Shoestring101 Steps. Interesting… of the requests I’ve gotten from men (and a couple of teenage boys, probably due to my fourteen year old son ‘guest-posting’), all of them have been more about getting to the money-making part.

But the LADIES! Every single woman that sent me a mentoring request has had no questions about, “How much can I make? How much should I save to get started? What makes the most money the fastest?”

Nope. All the ladies’ requests have centered around WHAT they wanted to do, HOW they wanted to serve, rather than the bottom line. The ladies seem to be more interested in this idea of using what interests YOU… taking YOUR passion… and turning it into a money-making venture.

That’s more what I’m about too. Shoot, I know piles of ways to make money. For me, it’s staying interested that’s the challenge. So since the ladies are asking the right kinds of questions for the right reasons…

Ladies first.

SO here’s one of the first requests, from a lovely gal named Amber. She writes:

Amber,

Sounds like you may be ready to Get OFF Your ASS and start doing something. So we’re on to Step Two already. Well you’re going to love your first assignment!

For the next week, I want you to do what you probably do already: search the internet, go to meetings, look up workshops, connect with other people that love costuming!

Only NOW you’re doing this with a purpose. I want you to do this with two very specfific things in mind:

1) Find Out Some W’s… and the MOST important W is Who. Start making lists of others that are in your field of interest. When you think of medieval armor, who are the top authorities? Who do you always see wearing loads of this style of jewelry? Find out Who the suppliers, consumers, and real fanatics are and BEGIN MAKING LISTS of them, complete with as much contact info as you can gather while not looking like a stalker 😉

When and Where can these folks be found? Not just the usual places like the Ren fair; I want you to use Meetup.com (not a dating service… Meetup is dedicated to connecting people of like interests) Twitter, Google, Facebook, etc. to find out about real live events, paid and unpaid, Where you might find others in your field.

Also, very important: find out What problems these folks face. “You just can’t find this material anywhere anymore” … “I don’t know how to make this period piece look authentic”… “I love swordfighting but I always get caught with the flipper-dipper move…”

🙂

Find out What the desires, fears, frustrations, and delights of your niche are. Then endeavor to discover solutions to the problems.

2) This is important. Go out of your way to be HELPful… while you are gathering intel, learning names, faces, and exchanging phone numbers and email… give people useful tips about jewelry and costume making. You want them to begin thinking of you as an authority, but let it be their idea. Don’t try to tell folks, “Well I am the smartest woman on the planet when it comes to…” No, folks will do that on their own when you share what you know with the folks that wanna know.

Deliberately try and connect people with each other, for example a leather armor maker with a guy that wants armor now. Don’t look to make a profit at first, try to get a commish or anything. Just be cool. Be interesting, fun, helpful. Soon you will become very influential because you always know and share the coolest things. Be the kind of person that people begin to think of when they think about the Renaissance Festival: “Man I hope we run into Amber and her hubby there!”

Remember to be very purposeful with this. Learn the W’s, and while learning them be helpful and cool to people. Speak and hang out with other folks that are passionate about this stuff and let your enthusiasm for it speak for itself. Remember to give and get contact info and keep it all in one place.

Don’t say “I’m starting a business and I want to sell you my stuff and make a living. Give me your phone number so I can call you and let you know what I have for sale.” Duh. BUT..! Try a script like th following:

“Hey, my husband and I are always happy to meet other folks that dig this stuff as much as we do. We’re always finding out about How to Make Chainmail workshops and stuff like that. Want me to let you know when the next one is?”

Now, logically, this is going to lead the person’s thinking to, “Wow Amber is so cool to offer to tell me about that stuff. How will I make sure she can let me know about the next thus-and-such workshop?” You’re not asking for a phone number or email. They will come up with that end of the deal on their own.

Got it? Tough stuff. Hang out with folks that love what you love, connect with ’em and be helpful. Now go forth and do what you’re already doing, but do it on purpose. Find Out Some W’s and put ’em in one place. Learn What are the probs and the solutions. Learn Who the movers, shakers, producers, consumers are.

Have fun with this, and write me again in one week with your intel.

Keep Stepping,

Kurt

Why I told Amber What I did:

Amber is on the right track already; she has identified her niche, it’s something she has a great passion for, she has a partner that’s likely to be supportive, and she’s gotten to the end of her rope with her freakin’ job! Amber has all the ingredients that suggest to me that she’s ready to take Step ONE: Get OFF Your ASS.

So Step TWO: Find Out Some W’s follows perfectly. Amber is already probably hanging out with other Renaissance Festival types. She’s likely to be found on the membership roster of the Society for Creative Anachronism. She’s probably got a pseudonym like “Lady Zelga of Forn” and she more than likely knows how to carve a roast pig and play a dulcimer.

😉

Here’s an excerpt from a news item about folks in this particular sub-strata of society:

The SCA attempts to recreate medieval history as accurately as possible. Bard music, archery, weapons, traditional viking tents, carpentry, shoe making, and even period cooking are featured in any of their frequent meetings.

“Medieval recipes are all about the presentation, like putting an apple in a roasted pig’s mouth,” said “Jordain” (most people in the SCA go by pseudonyms).

“It’s an escape from reality, and it’s just a fun way to go camping, to come to this time period and leave the modern world behind,” he said. But while the SCA may just feel like a great big costume party, some people actually make a living off of their old-fashioned creations and skills.

(above excerpt curated from Willamette Live: http://www.willamettelive.com/2010/news/sca-in-salem/ )

Hmmm… ‘some people actually make a living off of their odl-fashioned creations and skills’. Amber is already PART of the niche she wants to serve. So doing what she’s already doing, but with a PURPOSE is how she’s going to learn to make this interest of hers into a bizness.

Okay Steppers, I’ll tell you about two others in my mentoring program in another post, coming up soon. Til then,

Keep Stepping!

Kurt