Thinking of Creativity

One of the best ways to kick-start our creativity, is to ask ourselves questions, which lead us to creatively search for answers and new ideas.

Here are 32 questions, designed to help you think creatively about the development of your business.  Remember to share them with anyone in your network, who you think might find them useful, using the links below!

1. What additional, valuable products or services can I offer to my existing clients or customers (herein called clients)?  This is the fastest way to generate a massively profitable boost to your revenue and profits.
2. Am I fully utilising technology in my business?  Are there processes that I could streamline, which would give me more time to deal personally with my clients and prospective clients?
3. How can I improve the way I deliver my services?
4. Do I take time out, to thank people as often as I should?
5. What new markets could use my products or services?
6. How can I improve the quality of my products or services, so that they are of even more value to existing and prospective clients?
7. Am I associating with the right kind of people, for what I want to achieve?
8. What three things could I do, which would improve the visibility of my business?
9. How can I reach 500% more prospective clients with my marketing message?
10. How can I make my day-to-day work more fun?  This is really important!
11. What’s the best way for me to encourage more people, to recommend me to their contacts?
12. Is my marketing focused enough?
13. How can I improve my time management?
14. Do I take action on the ideas I generate, so they have a chance to make a real difference?
15. Should I be thinking about doing some kind of joint venture with another, high quality company?
16. Am I limiting the development of my business, by not investing in professional help in the areas where I am weakest?  If so, which area do I need to invest in first?
17. How often do I ask my clients for their feedback, regarding the service they receive from me and what additional services they would like me to offer?
18. When was the last time I sat down and studied my marketing goals?  If you have not got any written, measurable, specific marketing goals, stop reading this and write some down right now!
19. Is it possible that my services look too similar to my competitors?  Most service providers look way too alike, so the marketplace uses their fees as a way to judge their value.
20. If my services do look too similar to my competitors, how can I differentiate myself, so that I have something uniquely valuable to bring to the marketplace?
21. Do I get enough leads and enquiries via my website or blog? If not, how can I increase this, so my site becomes a lead generating machine for my business?
22. When was the last time a client sent me a “thank you” note?  If this has not happened for a while, it might suggest that you have not exceeded their expectations lately!
23. Who would make a good endorsed relationship partner for me?
24. Do I attract enough word of mouth referrals?  If not, what is this telling me?
25. How aware am I, of my client’s problems and challenges?  You need to know what’s happening in your client’s world, if you want to be able to really help them.
26. Do I have a shallow a network, spread over a wide area – Or a deeper, more meaningful one?
27. How many other websites or blogs link to my website or blog?  This is important, as inlinks account for the massive majority of your search engine optimization (SEO)
28. Am I working to a marketing strategy or am I simply doing tactical marketing?
29. Just how good is my customer service?  Remember, you don’t compare yourself to what your competitors offer – But to the finest level of service you can possibly offer.
30. Do I still have the same passion for my business that I used to have?  If the answer to this is yes, get passionate again!
31. How many of the people I network with on Twitter, have I actually spoken to or met?
32. Are my online marketing activities producing bankable results, or just a ton of meaningless, social media numbers?  If you have the friends, followers and fans but not the bankable results, you might want to review your strategy.
33. Do I exceed people’s expectations?

Writer's Blog

What happens when you open your laptop and as the cursor is blinking? Your mind goes blank, right! Soon, you’re sure the cursor is mocking you and you slink away from the computer to eat some junkfood, play Nintendo, think evil thoughts about your ability to keep this blog going, and pretty soon, you’ve wasted four hours and the blog post is still not written.

We’ve all been there and we’ll all be there again. I, however, like to “light people up,” especially with regard to blogging, so here are some ideas to blow that writer’s block to smithereens and to get those fingers tapping away on your keyboard.
Make art by thinking about how you feel and how you want your readers to feel

This is a hard one, because most of us have numbed out to how we feel, so how in the heck are we supposed to know how we want other people to feel?

Art is where that edge is. It’s where you take a feeling and you explore it by creating something that takes people somewhere. A painting is like a blog. But too often, I think blogging has taken on this sort of half-robotic feel.

Too many of us recycle what has already been said, harp on someone doing something innovative because it makes us feel uncomfortable, or we hide from our readers and use our blogs to do it! We throw up all these fancy plans, or narcissistic “look at me” posts, when in reality, isn’t the goal of blogging to connect with readers? Isn’t it to share how you actually feel? Do you really feel good today? Do you really feel in control? There are moments we do not. That is where the art comes in.

Tell it like it is. Make art. Build it into the blog.
Make art by stepping away from the blog and actually creating something tactile

Cook something, sew something, paint something, or weld something. We’ve numbed out by sitting behind our computers and forgetting what it means to do anything else. Step away from the computer!

This activity doesn’t require the same blogging brain cells that have frozen up on you, and thus, as you make something awesome, those cells will begin to thaw out and suddenly, you’ll throw down the welding torch and rush to the computer. As they say, if you run a marathon, you’re more likely to also write a book. One thing begets another. But please take care! Don’t try to write a blog post while holding the welding torch.

Make art by dreaming big

This one fires me up. I can dream up huge results from my paltry blogging. Some days I want to be on Britain’s Got Talent because of a blog post, I want to get a proper book deal from the blog, but I never want to meet Richard Branson.

That sounds so huge and unreachable, but then if you put those goals in print somewhere, you are focusing yourself on them. Your brain will try to figure out how to make them happen. Britain’s Got Talent automatically TiVos every time it’s on and you have time to watch it, someone shows you a book that you swear you could have written yourself and the art begins to happen.

Perhaps you’ll hire a PR consultant, or you’ll outline the roughs of a book proposal. Perhaps we’ll one day see your welding-while-juggling (or blogging!) act scaring Nick Cannon half out of his wits! That’s doable! That’s making art!

The blogging of art is more about you than about the blog and that’s where the real magic happens.