Every career and business needs one thing…
A boatload of great people that you can rely on for anything. You can’t be a superwoman at selling, design, social media, writing copy, creating a website, making coffee, giving presentations, riding donkeys through the hills of Mexico (that was just there to make sure you were paying attention) and marketing your superpowers.
You can’t be good at everything.
You can build a network of people who help guide your career along. It’s all about relationships. You need people you can trust. If you don’t, you flop around gasping for stress relief.
Reaching Out
At first I was intimidated by the cool people who are making a difference in people’s lives. One of my favorites is Scott Stratton of UnMarketing. I’m trying to land an interview with him, but haven’t been successful. I’m not giving up.
You can’t not reach out. Yes, double negative whammy. You must be reaching out even when that hand is being slapped away.
You are only going to be as successful as the people you have at your fingertips. Where do you think most new jobs come from – referrals. Over 65% of new hires are recommendations from other people.
Giving Back
John over at Duct Tape Marketing wrote a book about Referral Marketing. That’s why I’m writing this post. I want you to know about the awesome people who are helping me leverage my superpowers. You deserve to have these superheroes help your career and business too.
As I’ve built my products, coaching business, and workshops I’ve found some amazing people that make my life easier and actually enjoyable.
Megan and Marty – Ideaschema (Provocative Designers and Writers)
When I was in a bind and needed a logo form my e-course, Fear to Fuel, on teaching people how to fuel their small businesses toward success, they stepped up. They put together an amazing logo that knocked my socks off.
Tim Brownson – A Daring Adventure (Life Coach)
Every person should hire a coach at some point in their life. I believe this because of all the coaches that have helped me. Tim is at the top of my list because he understands how to help his clients reach his goals. His coaching superpowers are strong.
Ali Luke – Writing Coach
I wanted to take my writing to the next level. I seemed to be stuck. One session with Ali relaxed my writing stress and helped me find solutions that took my writing to a new level.
Sue Chambers – SAGE Editing
Every writer needs an editor. It’s a must. They actually need multiple editors to help with style and grammar. Sue helps me with both. I know my ebooks and manifesto (soon to be out) would be clumsy at best if it wasn’t for Sue’s editing superpower.
My Wife (AKA Nikki)
Nikki helps me with the day to day operations within my business. She helps me with finances and editing. Whenever I’m not sure about a piece I give it to her and she cleans up my mess. Every day I thank my lucky stars she is willing to use her superpowers to help me.
Katie West – The Levity Institute (Life Coach)
Katie was one of the first life coaches that helped me dig deep and figure out what direction to take my life in. She is the person that prodded me until the of having superpowers emerged. I don’t know what I would have done if we never had that session. It was magical and convinced me I needed to be a coach.
Joe Minkiewicz – Beard, Beard, and Beard (Web Designer)
Every creative person needs a web designer. If you have a creative superpower and you aren’t on the web you are missing out on some amazing opportunity. My favorite trait about Joe is his ability to listen to my needs and make my idea a reality.
Dan Geiger – Rome Technology
A friend who believed in me when so very few people did. Dan hosted my website while I was broke. It was a huge help. I know hosting doesn’t cost a lot of money, but I’ll never forget his generosity. It’s why I recommend people need design and web hosting I send them to Dan.
Naomi of IttyBiz and Havi of the Fluent Self
Naomi took me under her wing when no one knew who I was. Havi’s writing and mentorship have also been a huge boost to my career. They introduced me to people who I never had access to. Business is all about relationships and I learned this directly from Naomi and Havi.
Nathan Hangen – Multimedia Entrepreneur
We all need partners in crime. My first real e-product would have never have seen daylight without Nathan. We created Fear to Fuel and e-course that is changing people’s lives. I’m so appreciative of everything Nathan has taught me as I built my business.
Stacey Hoffer Weckstein – Inspiring Social Media
I recently put on a big Twitter Party for Michael Port. It was a huge success. I never would have tried this idea if it wasn’t for Stacey. She explained how a twitter Party worked and I ran with it. I researched every website that had something to say about Twitter Parties. I put on a small Twitter party of my own. I went to every Twitter Party I could find. I wanted to be the best. I went back to Stacey with my questions and now I’m throwing Twitter Parties for people who want to grow their tribe. She taught me so much about how to build a business using Twitter.
Evita – Evolving Beings (Health and Spiritual Advisor)
You’ve heard the quote from Gandhi, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Evita does just that. She is a beautiful teacher. She has helped guide me through my cancer. That’s a gift that I’ll keep applying to my life until the day I die.
Honorable Mention
J.D. Roth – Get Rich Slowly
I’ve submitted guest posts to popular blogs before and never heard back. They didn’t seem to care that I had important things to say. J.D. was the only big blogger that showed me what it took to be a consistent and powerful writer. I remember J.D.’s kindness and try to pay it forward to people who submit guest posts to me.
Your Turn
Who has been a superhero in your life? Please let people know how they can get in contact with the person. I don’t usually allow links, but I’ll be happy to let you put a link in the post to your superhero.
* Follow me on Twitter here. Join over 3,700 people who get happiness tips, productivity tips, and thought provoking quotes each day.
* I was interviewed over at The Bold Life. Tess asked me some challenging questions, so you should check it out.
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Karl - this post is a great example of how to build a network or team and then work on finding ways to help them and promote them - Every business should have this kind of post somewhere on there site and then any time a client or prospect says "know anybody who does . . . " - you can point them to your team page! Love it.
Hi John, I'm honored you stopped by. I love your Duct Tape Marketing blog. It's changed how I grow my business. You have a great idea. People always ask me who I used for this or that. Now I can just send them to the page. And I can always add people to the post as I gain more superheroes on my team.
Hi Karl,
You are so right about needing a network of people to help you succeed. You've been a tremendous help to me in terms of reclaiming some of superpowers and generously letting me write a few guest posts for Work Happy Now.
It's a pleasure to be part of your support network, and I'm looking forward to seeing you get those books out there! Thank you so much for the referral! It's greatly appreciated.
Having a team page, as John suggested, is a great idea. As important as providing referrals, it also busts the myth of "rugged individualism" and gently reminds us that it takes a community to support and nurture not just children but any kind of healthy enterprise.
John's idea about having a team page.
Oops. The kryptonite must have knocked out my superpower in the above comment! I thought I'd taken out that last line!
It's all about the network. I think in today's world, it's our tribes that make us stronger, and it's our contribution to our tribes that strengthens the bonds.
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What a lovely post -- and thanks for the mention! It's really great to see how all these different people have impacted on you & your business.
I have a ton of folks who I'm grateful for (including you!) and this post was a good reminder of how lucky I am to have so many fantastic supporters. 🙂
Thanks!
Hi Karl -- I can definitely relate to the desire for collaboration -- one thing I've noticed fairly recently is that, when I'm thinking about my next move as far as business is concerned, I tend to retreat into the "cave" to come up with ideas, as opposed to reaching out. This phase of my work is going to be all about collaboration -- I've been taking more steps in that direction lately.