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Get A Life And Maximize Your Marketing
As business owners or managers, it is easy to become very
task-oriented. When we own the business and are in the
growth years, it’s easy to fall into the trap of not
allowing ourselves to “waste” precious time and energy on
projects that don’t seem to have an immediate, direct
bottom-line impact. After all, there are only so many hours
in a day and one person can only do so much—right?
Maybe not.
By rediscovering hobbies and activities that you enjoy and
pursuing those passions, you can gain surprising benefits
for your business—and yourself. Do you enjoy creative
writing, painting, playing intramural sports, being part of
a reading circle or a discussion group? Maybe you like to
sing, play an instrument or go on hikes, bike rides or day
trips with a group. Do you remember how good it felt to do
that favorite activity? How relaxed, refreshed and creative
it made you feel? How open to positive energy?
Now tell the truth—how long has it been since you have done
any of the things you love to do?
Here are five reasons to help you give yourself permission
to use your passion to improve your business.
Relive Stress—Stress kills. People who can’t relieve
in a healthy way are more frequently ill and more likely to
die young. Exploring your hobby or passion is a great way
to release and relax. Not only can that help you
miss less work due to illness and live longer to run your
business, but when you are relaxed and less stressed you
will make better decisions, see more creative solutions and
have more positive interactions with employees and
customers.
Unbox Your Creativity—Creativity can’t be compartmentalized.
When you nurture and free your creativity in one part of
your life—with your hobby or passion—that energy spills over
into the other parts of your life. You will see more
opportunities, envision more creative ways to make something
of your opportunities, feel more confident and see new
approaches because you are using and growing your creativity
through your passion.
Gain New Business Skills—In the course of pursuing your
hobby or passion, you often gain new skills that can be
directly applied to your business. For example, as a result
of publishing my fantasy adventure
novel,
The Summoner, I
learned new Internet skills in web site creation,
blogging,
Internet marketing, search engine optimization and
multimedia
creation because I needed those skills to market
my book. I now
use those and other new skills to better
serve my clients. I also
met new people, went to national
conventions, discovered new media
and found new
suppliers—all of which also benefit my marketing
consulting
business. Your teammates, fellow part-time musicians
or
other companion hobbyists also have a “day job”—the
connections
you make with your hobby can lead to referrals,
new clients, new
vendors and new partnerships!
Gain Recognition—When you’re
good at your hobby or passion,
you may win awards, be asked to
serve on boards of directors
or committees, lead organizations,
give speeches or attend
exclusive events. This recognition boosts
your personal and
professional credibility, gains positive public
relations
visibility for you and your business and can lead to
referrals,
win-win partnerships and new business.
Discover a New Business—What
you originally think of as a
hobby or a passion may blossom into
another line of
business, an alternative revenue stream or a whole
new
career. Some of the happiest people have found a way to
make
a “business” out of their “hobby”—and a good living,
too! Bike
lovers open bike shops. People who love
whitewater rafting open
companies that offer tour packages
and excursions. My “hobby” of
writing has not only brought
me new consulting clients as other
authors ask to learn from
my marketing approaches, and has created
an additional,
long-term revenue stream through future books and
royalties.
If you’re a task-oriented business person, you
may feel
guilty by taking time off to pursue a hobby or a passion
that
is not work-related. But that guilt may be robbing you
of your
company’s most valuable asset—your own creativity.
By giving yourself
permission to play, recharge, enjoy a
hobby and indulge a passion,
you may live longer and be in
better health to lead your company,
you will feel less
stressed and enjoy better interpersonal relationships,
and
your heightened creativity will earn back for you the “cost”
of the hours you invested many times over.
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