If you’re not familiar with the phrase “the cobblers children have no shoes,” it’s often used to describe professionals in any industry who are so busy with their client work that they don’t apply their professional skills to their own business.

The designer with no portfolio.

The web developer with no website.

The SEO who doesn’t rank well in Google for their own name or business name.

The copywriter with no blog.

You get the idea…

I’ve fallen prey to that situation before, and I know a significant number of you have too. Many of you are there right now.

If it’s you, I’ve got bad news:

Being so busy with client work that you don’t take care of yourself is no excuse, period.

My business is growing fast, and I’m looking for designers to bring on board. Last week I went through a list of designers provided by a friend whose recommendations I trust because she has worked with all of them at one time or another.

Unfortunately, as I was doing research on the 20 mobile/web designers she gave me, only 4 have a current portfolio online.

That means 16 had no site or portfolio, a very incomplete website, or one so horribly out of date that the work on display is anything but current.

I won’t call a single one of those 16 because if you won’t take care of yourself I have no reason to believe you’ll take care of me or my clients.

And the problems don’t stop there.

You are also competing with people who aren’t using that excuse while missing opportunities to gain new clients, raise your prices, and select the projects you want rather than anything that comes along.

Consider this your Monday morning kick in the ass.

Make no mistake, I’m in this with you, but it’s getting fixed on my end. How about yours?

This is why I started actively writing and stopped using the “I’m too busy” excuse for not doing it. I’m also rebuilding my website using the same processes and recommendations I use with my clients. In the case of vsellis.com, it’s an intensive 3 month process with a planned launch at the end of May (or shortly after Genesis 2.0 comes out).

I’m taking my own medicine, so I emphasize with how hard it is to focus on yourself. But I’m also inviting you to join me by taking the initiative to stop making excuses and dig in.

Don’t over think it, just do it. You know what must be done.

Don’t let your professional online presence scream “404 : Credibility Not Found.”

2013 is well underway, but it’s not too late to make it your best year yet. Put yourself first and it will be.

 

Comments

• Thanks Dave! Good too see you come by again. Always glad if I ... by Scott Ellis
• Scott, Once again great advice, this is one of the many ... by Dave Peters

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Lzzy and Arejay Hale of Halestorm

I’m dedicating this post to Mack Collier who wrote the book on how to Think Like A Rock Star.

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing Halestorm in concert. About half-way through the concert I started thinking about you guys. I guess the business man in me just can’t turn it off, but I don’t mind because it was a nice reminder that no matter what business you’re in, giving it everything you’ve got matters.

We saw Halestorm at the House of Blues in Dallas. It’s a nice venue, but it’s not big. No matter, Halestorm got up and took it to the audience with all the force of a Rock n’ Roll hurricane. I’m pretty sure the drummer Arejay was channeling Animal the entire time which must be exhausting; but he never stopped.

Most of us will never be Rock Stars like Lzzy but I’ve seen Scott Stratten speak a few times and it’s much the same, small room or large, he delivers.

Ever seen Gary V. speak? I think that guy brings the same intensity whether he’s speaking to a room full or a single person.

The point is that whether you’re singing, speaking or meeting with a customer, it’s your job to give each performance everything you have. Your fans and your customers deserve it.

If we’re honest here, it’s easy to tone it down when there’s not a big audience or an audience we think we deserve, but get over yourself. I’ve done it, and odds are you have too, but that isn’t fair to them and it’s not fair to you.

Here’s why…

It only takes one good customer or one true fan to make all the difference in your career. And you never know who that will be or when they will be in your audience. Often, they are the most unlikely of suspects.

Every person that has chosen to give you their time, money or attention deserves your best. Don’t worry about perfection, that’s a sucker’s game, but when you have the stage give us a good show.

And if you need another reason to give every performance your all, here you go: The small ones prepare you for the big ones. The best way to be confident is to know what you’re doing which means practice. And if you don’t want to be scared shitless when you get up in front of the big audience, hone your performance in front of the small one. Smaller audiences are scarier because they’re more personal but they’re also more forgiving.

So the next time you meet with a customer, write a blog post, shoot a video or speak to an audience, remember, you’re on stage, we’re here for YOU . We want a good show, and we want you to rock.

Enjoy the latest from Halestorm:

 

Comments

• Thanks for stopping by Mack! You are very welcome. I'm with on ... by Scott Ellis
• Hey Scott, thanks for the mention, and love the post! In many ... by Mack Collier

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