In this series, I talk about why having quality content matters even in a world that is overly saturated with information, maybe especially in a world that is overly saturated with information. With so much free information, just a Google search away, how do you stand out from your competition? The answer—valuable, original content.
Reason #14: Content is a Low-Risk Testing Ground for Ideas
“Think of your business as an experiment.” This is one of the most important pieces of advice I’ve gotten in the past 2 years of being in business.
The brilliance of this idea has been reinforced as I’m working my way through an equally brilliant book, Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life. It’s all about training yourself to think like a designer.
Here’s the big difference between people who think like designers and the rest of us: “Designers don’t think their way forward. They build their way forward.”
Treating your business like an experiment is building your way forward. When you think of your business as an experiment, it means that you can try things without fear of the f-word—the other f-word—FAILURE. You can’t fail because developing one new product or offering one new service or trying to enter another market or hiring a VA or…is an experiment.
Thinking of your business as an experiment might seem like you’re letting yourself off the hook in some way. But stop to reframe that thought: You’re giving yourself permission and the freedom to be innovative.
Besides, trying a thing that doesn’t work out the way you’d hoped really is not a failure, it’s an opportunity to recalibrate. The most likely reason for something not working out is that you didn’t test it enough to figure out how to make it work. So finding places in your business where you can test out ideas is really crucial.
This is where original content can come in very handy.
If you’re thinking of offering a new product, do a poll on your Facebook page (or better yet, a Facebook LIVE video) to see what your loyal fans and current customers think about your idea.
If you’re thinking of writing a book, start writing it in pieces on your blog. Double-duty content for the win!
If you want to expand your business into a new market, start creating content aimed at that new audience.
Whenever you have a thought about a new direction for your business, it’s smart to start by telling people about your idea. Creating content is one way to tell people. It’s also a great way for you to clarify your idea and test it out in a low-risk way. Like a scientist testing your hypothesis, you’ll discover a lot of valuable information. As you test your idea, you’ll figure out who can support you, who can be your champion, and what you need to achieve your goal.
Once you’re feeling confident about your idea, it’s time to jump in and get busy bringing your idea to life.
It’s not always easy to know which of our ideas will gain traction. Timing and all kinds of other details that we haven’t even considered play a role. But if we get curious and think about building our way forward, we’ll start to look at our work in a different way.
We’ll see feedback, whether critical or positive, as powerful data points that improve our ideas. We’ll see the world through the lens of our biggest ideas. And we’ll be excited to try new things.
If I can help you bring your big idea to life, reach out! I love to geek out, brainstorm, and mastermind about new ideas with other business owners.
