I want to convince you of this: NOW is the time to put yourself out there.
If YOU don’t do it, someone else will.
I’m not suggesting there isn’t enough business to go around.
Whatever the niche, there’s room for you – if you rise above & do what it takes.
You believe that, or you wouldn’t be in business.
So why are you procrastinating?
Why are you holding back?
Why aren’t you putting yourself out there for more people to know?
No more delaying. Now is the time.
The First Reason Now Is the Time: There Are Only So Many Kingpins.
If you watch gangster movies – you’ve heard the phrase Kingpin. A kingpin is a leader, someone who influences others.
There’s plenty of business to go around, but there are only so many amazing opportunities to go around and Kingpins connect you to these opportunities.
These Kingpins are people you connect with who will connect you to new circles of people they influence.
A small Kingpin might introduce you to a few dozen other people in their niche, telling them about you; saying positive things about you and ultimately sending you business.
There are some Kingpins whose circle of influence reaches out into the hundreds, and there are some Kingpins out there whose circle of influence reaches out into the thousands.
I would hate for you to miss an opportunity to connect with a Kingpin.
I have made connections with people who in turn introduced me to their communities in ways that changed my life, and gave me instant, amplified reach.
It’s not that I’m amazing or that I can do something so much better than someone else – it isn’t. It’s just that I put myself out there. I was the right person at the right time.
If it hadn’t been me, it would have been someone else!
Imagine right now that there’s a Kingpin who needs something done, and you can do it.
You’ve put yourself out there. You’re producing and repurposing content. You’re promoting yourself. You’re taking an extra step each day into new territory, and you bump up against one of these Kingpins, and you’re available because you’ve made yourself available. You fulfill their needs. They like what you do and next thing you know, they’re promoting you to their circle of influence.
If you don’t do it –someone else will.
Someone else will have that date with destiny. They will run into a Kingpin, meet the need, and enjoy the widened reach that comes with that relationship.
That should rock your world.
What if that opportunity is right there, and I’m not the one who went for it?
I don’t like missed opportunities. I’ve seen it. I’ve experienced it from both sides – from the point of view of someone who was in the right place at the right time who gained benefit from a relationship with a Kingpin, and I’ve been that person who didn’t take action and watched it happen for someone else with fewer skills and experience then I.
It’s not about being awesome and being perfect: It’s about being there.
Some of you are immediately resisting this idea.
You’re thinking, “Oh c’mon Kelly. I’m so new to all of this. I’m not going to be of use to a Kingpin.”
Yes, you’re new, and maybe you have the greatest impact on other people who are also kind of new.
Let me point this out: Of those people you’re serving, you don’t know who among them is going to be the Kingpin of tomorrow.
The first person I JV’d with was Alice Seba. I was new to online business and she was too. We both came online in 2002, and in 2003, we had enough of a relationship that we forged a partnership. That relationship turned out to be key for me because she ended up becoming really well known in our niche.
There are others I’ve met along the way and forged relationships that turned into partnerships and JVs. Nicole Dean comes to mind and more recently, Melissa Ingold. Today they’re Kingpins with a big circles of influence – but they were newcomers once.
I benefit from those associations not because I met them when they were big, but because I met them when they were small.
Put yourself out there. Craft Relationships. Be ready for the next amazing opportunity.
The Second Reason Now Is the Time: The Lifetime Value of a Customer.
What are your financial goals for the year? The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll reach them. That’s just common sense.
There is someone out there right now who needs what you have to offer – they’re actively seeking out the right person – maybe they need a VA, and you’re a VA. They need a writer, and you’re a writer. They need a coach, and you’re a coach.
The sooner you connect to a client, the better.
Well, let’s put numbers to it.
You’re a relatively new VA, and you’re charging $25 a month on a 10-hour retainer. That’s $250 a month. It’s $3000 over the course of a year. Do you really want to leave that money on the table because you weren’t willing to go for it?
You’re business coach like me, and you charge $500 a month for coaching, that’s almost $6000 in a year from one new client.
Let’s not forget that our income isn’t just coming from our hourly rates. There are all of those delicious additional streams of income from information marketing and affiliate programs.
The sooner you develop and promote products, the sooner you can profit from them.
The sooner you identify and promote good affiliate products, the sooner you can see that income stream growing.
There is NO good excuse to procrastinate on these things and every day you let slip by is a impacting your future financial success.
Do you want to be closer to your financial goals? If you want to get there sooner, if you want to finish out the year with higher numbers, then start sooner.
Don’t procrastinate. Don’t think: There’ll be a better time later.
Six years ago, my niece had given birth to quadruplets, and my son and I were doing the night shift with the babies. We were sleeping during the day, which left me about four hours a day for my business.
A gentleman contacted me about building a site for him, and my first thought was to turn him away. It’s was not convenient, my time was at such a premium. As I listen, I realize he has big plans. He wants to launch 300 sites in the coming year, and I decide to go ahead and take some action with him right then.
It meant working a little harder than I would have liked to at that moment, but I had a feeling I’d regret turning him away.
In the course of next year, I earned more than $15,000 from that client. The number more than doubled over the next few years.
The lifetime value of that customer was very much worth making myself available sooner rather than later. If it hadn’t been me, it would have been someone else who got that client.
The Third Reason Now Is the Time: The Law of Inertia.
There is an interesting thing that happens with newcomers in the business world.
Somebody new appears and immediately rocks it. They’re blogging, podcasting, and releasing products before you know it. They become a rock star in a short period of time because they’re willing to go for it.
Others come along and they play a careful game of ‘when I’m more ready’. They get caught up in an addiction to learning and don’t put enough of it into action.
It’s the Law of Inertia: An object at rest tends to stay at rest.
The person who doesn’t take action tends to stay where they are.
The person who takes action tends to go places.
I’ve got a thought for you that might be the ‘shove’ you need to get moving.
People around you are starting to think that you’re full of crap.
How many of you have said, “This is it – I’m finally going to do it!”
And a few months later said, “This is it – I’m finally going to do it!”
You may believe it every time you say it, but WE (the action takers) are coming to understand you’re full of crap. You’re all talk and no action.
Yep, as much as we’d prefer otherwise, people form opinions about us based on what we DO, not just what we SAY we’re going to do. Once people form a negative opinion, it’s difficult to overcome – but not impossible.
Just don’t be that person anymore!
Take action and for crying out loud, follow it up with more action!
I know, it’s easier said than done – but I’m here to tell you YOU CAN finally take real action.
If you’re dead serious about it and you’re willing to make yourself accountable to others in a tangible way, I believe you can do it.
If you ARE dead serious, I’d love the chance to hold you accountable. I love working with solopreneurs who’ve made up their mind to act and want to be held to it through a tough coaching relationship.
Interested in learning more about working with me? Check out my coaching info here.
The brand new Sparkplugging Podcast is here at last!
The best way to “get your feet wet” is to have someone you know interview you and record that session. Even though you can consider this to be a “practice” interview, treat it as if there are a hundred people on the line. This experience will prove to be invaluable because you can critique your own performance and it will provide you with an interview recording you can use as part of your virtual book tour.
Prepare for your interviews
D’vorah Lansky, M.Ed., is the author of 21 Ways to Launch a Successful Virtual Book Tour. Visit her book blog and check out the full schedule for the virtual book tour, celebrating the launch of this exciting new book: 
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Have you ever experienced a phishing or phone scam? Do share your experience so we can help each other stay protected!
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