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By Casey Grey
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"There is a principle of Mathematics, but none of error; there is a principle of health, but none of disease; there is a principle of truth, but none of dishonesty; there is a principle of light, but none of darkness, and there is a principle of abundance, but none of poverty."
-- from "The Master Key System" by Charles F. Haanel Principles work. If something is not working for you, perhaps you are not following the principles. The world is full of labels.
Passive House, Energy Star, R-2000, LEED Certified, FSC Certified, CSA Approved and HVI Certified are ones that come up often for me in the construction world. Vegan, Gluten-Free, Vegetarian, Paleo, Raw and Flexitarian are all labels for different types of diets (and I know there's more). Mental disorders are a whole other game. There's a 3" thick book called the DSM-5 that explains all the shit that's "wrong" with us. I'm not a fan of labels but I understand and appreciate the importance they play in our society. As somebody who primarily eats a vegan and gluten-free diet, I appreciate seeing those labels. As somebody who builds healthy and sustainable homes, I see the value in having a third party certify a home and prove that it was built to a certain standard. When labeled with a mental disorder, it can be beneficial in the sense that the person may gain access to additional resources and realize that they are not alone. The issue is that most of us have no idea what the labels mean. If I were to show the general population the Passive House label, chances are they would not know what it meant. If I were to show people at a Green Building Show that same label, most people would likely recognise it but I guarantee you a lot of them would have no idea what was required to get that label. People who do not put a lot of attention into the food they put into their bodies won't necessarily know what vegan is or where gluten comes from or what foods contain what. Personally, I'm still not sure what a paleo diet is... Since I have no education in the mental disorder world, when I hear somebody is labeled with something specific I have to do research if I want to understand what that means (a.k.a. I ask my wife because she does have formal education here). The other important factor to understand is that labels often only account for one aspect. A Passive House does not mean it was built with healthy products (it puts the attention on performance). A LEED Certified house does not mean it is energy efficient (it puts a lot of attention on materials). A Vegan diet does not mean it's healthy (refined sugar and vegetable oil is vegan). A diagnosis of ADHD does not mean the person is not smart or can not focus (most entrepreneurs I know would fall under this category). Don't get caught up in the labels. Although they tell us important information, it's not the whole story. You remember Little Red Riding Hood, right? Do you remember the lesson at the end of the story?
[Sorry if I'm ruining this for anybody who has been living under a rock.] In the version I read to my son tonight, the book ends with this: "As long as I live," said Little Red Riding Hood to her mother, "I shall never again leave the forest path when you have warned me not to do so." Personally I think this is terrible advice. In fact, Little Red Riding Hood only met the Big Bad Wolf because she was on the path in the first place. When she ventured off the path after meeting the Big Bad Wolf, she realized that there was so much more. She noticed the birds, the light dancing through the trees and the pretty flowers on the ground. In life, if you stay on the path most travelled, the chances of running into a Big Bad Wolf are high. It may feel safer because you can see further ahead but so can the wolf. There is less beauty to take in and when you do find something beautiful, chances are there will be a crowd around it and it may even be gone by the time you get there. If you venture off the beaten path, yes, you may run into a Big Bad Wolf but there is also way more beauty to take in. It's your own path you are creating. When you find something, you will be able to take in all of it's beauty without the crowd. It's then up to you to decide whether or not you want to share it with the world. Create your own path in life and you may just end up with some followers. Why do you buy what you buy?
Why do you shop where you shop? We all like to believe that we spend our money in logical ways but the truth is that it's always for emotional reasons. If I want to go somewhere for a coffee, I could go to Tim Hortons or I could walk into 692 Coffee & Bar where the owner says "Hey Casey!" Could I get coffee cheaper at Tim Horton's? Yes, but... It's not about the coffee, it's about the feeling. I feel good when I walk into 692 Coffee & Bar. They know me and they're a new business that I want to support. I feel like I'm part of the community. When people come into Younion, it's not about meditation. It's about the feeling they want. We see them at Younion. Natasha makes sure of this. They are part of something bigger than themselves. We're all in this together. Most importantly, these local businesses are a place where a face to face connection happens. Sure you can connect with people all over the world thanks to technology but there's nothing more powerful than being with somebody in real life. Who are you going to connect with today? Do you have problems right now? Me to... But problems are a sign of life. If you don't have problems, you probably don't have much of a life... Which may be a problem... The only reason that businesses exist is because there are problems to solve. The only reason people make money is because they are solving problems. The only reason people get inspired is because they see a problem that needs to be solved. All that being said, if you do have "problems", what created the problems in the first place? More importantly, what was the mindset that created them? "Problems cannot be solved with the same mindset that created them." What do you do really well?
Perhaps you do it so well that you don't even know that you are doing it. It just comes naturally to you. Figure THAT out and do more of THAT. The universe will reward you for it. This morning I attended a workshop. I was asked to be a part of a group to test out a pricing tool that could be used to figure out the price increase for building to NetZero Energy (a new building certification). Without getting into the nitty-gritty details, it was obvious that a lot of work and resources (and money) were put into creating this tool.
This group of people is attempting to create something for builders to help them get their homes to NetZero. For myself, I do not see this tool being of much use for my business. Even for large builders, I'm not convinced it's going to be useful. What's happening is a bunch of researchers are getting together and putting data together, creating spreadsheets and graphs and getting all exciting about what excites them. But most people who buy houses are not like them... Most people do not buy homes for logical reasons. They buy homes for emotional reasons. In fact, most things we purchase are for emotional reasons. We may trick ourselves into thinking it's logical, but that's a lie. If all I needed was a roof over my head, I would be living somewhere very different. If all I needed was transportation to get from point A to point B, my vehicle would be different. If all I needed was a good, healthy meal, I would never eat at a restaurant. If you are in business, stop thinking about what people "should" do and starting thing about what they "actually" do. There are some things in life that just feel good.
They feel good because I know that it's the right thing to do. They feel good because I know the message and the lesson needs to be out in the world. The latest episode of Lean In with Casey Grey is a feel-good episode. It's a message that needs to be shared and spread across the world. It's a story of people making a difference. Doing what they can within their community to help this world. Doing the right thing is always the right thing to do. As we come up to the one year anniversary of Younion, it's been interesting figuring out how people have come to hear about the studio. It has not been growing as quickly as we hoped but it is definitely growing from month to month.
Over the last 3 months, we have been working on some social media campaigns. When you look at the stats shared by the platforms, they seem to be performing well. The ads get clicks and views and quite a few people fill out the form. Unfortunately, the conversion rate in terms of getting those people to purchase has been low. Last month we had 36 "first timers" walk through the doors. When asked how they heard about Younion, these are how the responses were filled out:
Referrals cost us nothing. Other could be anything. Posters cost us pennies. Internet Searches cost us nothing. The sign costs us nothing once we put it up (and the sign itself was under $200). Facebook and instagram cost us over $2,200... When running a business, it's easy to get lost in the wrong stats. It's easy to get hooked on views and clicks. But those views and clicks are only worth it if they turn into dollars and cents. Even if Facebook and Instagram performed the best, the question would still come down to "is the revenue from these sales covering the costs of advertising?" Tracking is important. But tracking the right thing is more important. If you don't think you are in sales, you are lying to yourself.
Everyday we have to sell. If you influence others to take action, that is selling. It could be getting your kids to eat their broccoli, getting your roommate to clean up after himself, getting a raise at work or, the more obvious, selling a product or service. The not-so-obvious one is how you sell to yourself. What do you do to get yourself to take action? In either case, you are selling yourself every single day. Whether or not you realize it is a different story. If you have something that will truly help somebody, it's your job to do everything you can to get them to take action. If you don't, you are doing them a disservice. Perhaps you just need to change the word "selling" to something else... |
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