I just learned an important lesson about the value of looking at what you have from different angles.  On the physical plane, it involved the interchange of three pieces of furniture.  In my business, it applies to ideas I already have and how I might reposition them.

Do you already have what you need?

I wanted a microwave cart.  It would free up counter space and make my kitchen a lot more efficient.  I looked on line and I looked in stores.  I kept focusing on the fact that I wanted a microwave cart. 

One day I looked more consciously at what I already had.  Within minutes, I had the solution.  It involved rearranging three pieces of furniture. A baker’s rack that held the television became the microwave stand.  The bookcase that had been in the kitchen moved to the living room to hold the plants that had been on the third table involved in this swap. Then I moved that plant table to hold the television.  And presto I had a new look and a new level of efficiency. I was very proud of myself.  I had solved my problem without spending any money.  And I had my “new” microwave cart.

What do you have in place in your home or in your business or even in your life that you simply need to move to a new location or put to a different use?

Move one thing and see what it opens up.

What do you need next?  Where does it fit?  What is its new function?

Let’s say your next step is that you want to learn to give a telecourse.  That’s the function – for you to learn how to create, market and present a compelling telecourse.  What do you already teach/coach/know that can be turned into a short course that will add value to your community while it allows you the opportunity to learn how to create a compelling teleclass?  Keep it simple.  Start with a one or two session course.  Schedule it.  Write the landing page. Create it. Make your Power Points. Create your handouts.  Set up your shopping cart. If you keep it small, you’ll learn the steps without being overwhelmed by the process. Keep your initial objective in mind. You want to learn to create, promote and teach a powerful telecourse.

What do you need to reposition?

As I moved my three pieces of furniture, I had a lot of put-abouts and books to rearrange. When you make a new choice take that opportunity to rethink and reposition everything you keep. Do you need to present an idea in a different format?  If you give a telecourse, do you have time to write another ebook?  What blog posts need to become videos or ebooks or part of a course? 

Do you need to take a big idea and chunk it down into smaller pieces?  Do you need to figure out something by writing a blog post about it?  Do you need to reposition one product for different markets?  What tweak can you make in what you already have going on that will create something new?

Give an idea a different function 

Just as my baker’s rack went from holding my television to providing a new home for my microwave, you can make some important changes simply by changing the function of an idea or product. You can write an ebook as an opt in offer then expand it into a series of ebooks.  You can write a telecourse and then expand to an advanced course on the same topic. One of my teleclasses expanded into an eight-book ebook series.  You can take information you teach and turn it into coaching handouts.  You can write articles and make videos that teach a specific step.  Look around.  How can you fill a current need simply by moving something from here to there?

© 2012 Cara Lumen