Your Business Is Your Past And Future Self

After hearing Max Siegel’s motivational speech at Ron Sukenick’s "At the Top" networking event, I just had to have my autographed copy of Siegel’s book Know What Makes Them Tick.

I loved the whole book, but the chapter called "Balance Your Past Self and Your Future Self" really resonated with me. That’s because, when I’m in the planning stages of a business blog for a Say It For You client, as I meet with the business owner or professional practitioner, what I’m doing is trying to draw out that individual’s "self".

I often begin by questioning the blogging client: "If you had only 8-10 words to describe why you’re passionate about what you do, what you know, and what you sell, what would those words be?"

For business blogs to be truly effective, I believe, they need to be the "voice" of a company or of a professional practice. And, you know, that "voice" can change over time; it tends to become richer and deeper. It doesn’t seem to matter whether I or one of my Say It For You writers is actually composing the blog posts, or whether the entrepreneur’s doing the writing and I’m just playing the role of coach and editor. A blog, of course, is no one-time effort, but something that develops over months and years.  And what I’m finding is this: the very process of creating content to "put out there" in your blog forces you, over and over again, to answer the question of "What-do-I-want-my- business/practice-to-be-as-it-grows-up?"

The thing Siegel stresses in his book is that, while "the secret to reaching success is to see where you want to be, the secret to keeping success… is to stay grounded in where you came from."

I’ve always thought Toys ‘R Us was a genius choice of corporate name, and I guess what I’m trying to express here about business blogs is that your blog ‘r you, but not a static "you".  A successful business blog showcases your past – all that experience and knowhow you’ve acquired – and at the same time hints of your hopes and plans for the future. You might say your blog helps your online readers know what makes you tick!