Jul

Creative Questions To Help Move Your Business Past a Tight Budget

by Stu McLaren

Sometimes it is difficult to start, no one starts at the top. Almost all of us have to overcome one major obstacle in the beginning.

To get past the obstacle of having a tight budget to begin with you really have to learn how to market yourself creatively by asking yourself some simple creative questions.

Ask yourself:

1) How can I

Another creative question starter:

2) Who could help me with I love that one. Who could help me with

Here’s another one:

3) Who do I know that would exchange for ?

Here’s another one:

4) How can I do this faster, with less effort, cheaper? Could I do this for free?

Here’s another one:

5) How could I substitute ‘XYZ’ for ‘ABC’? How could I substitute ‘X’ for ‘Y’? Or whatever you want to do. What could I substitute for ‘XYZ’?

If you answer this question you will really be putting yourself in the mind frame of some of your unique and different customers:

6) How would solve this problem?

A good example: How would my mentor solve this problem? How would my four year-old daughter solve this problem? It’s a great question because it forces you to think from a different perspective.

I can confidently say that these questions, as well as others, have allowed my creativity to grow and have opened all kinds of opportunities up to me. The success of my career can be credited to my creative thinking.

Here is an example of how I used this creative questioning to overcome an obstacle early on in my career.

I decided to become a professional speaker as soon as I was done University. My focus was speaking to college and high school students about the topic of creativity. I focused on creativity because with it I was able to move from a first year failure in University to graduating being named Most Outstanding Male with straight A’s. I changed a lot between how I did things in first year to my last year, and I credit a lot of it to learning something I had become very passionate about, creative thinking.

Being a professional speaker and building a profitable speaking business was two things I didn’t know anything about though.

The first thing I did was join the local chapter of CAPS, The Canadian Association for Professional Speakers.

I remember going to one of the local chapter meetings and there was one guy there that was doing very well in his speaking career and I asked him, “What do I need to do to get to your level?” And he said, “Well Stu, it’s very simple. I’m going to give you three things to do. When you’ve done all three, then come back to me and I’ll give you some more.” I said, “Okay.”

He said, “Number one, you need to join CAPS. You need to surround yourself with like-minded people, who are working in your industry and can help you grow.” I said, “Okay.”

In order to join CAPS it cost $200, which at that time was a squeeze. Thinking back on it I remember paying for it on payments in order to be able to do it. I did number though, I joined CAPS.

Then he said, “Number two, you have to get out to the CAPS National Conference.” And I thought, ‘Man, how in the heck am I going to get out there?’ It was on the complete opposite side of Canada. The seminar itself was relatively expensive. Anything for me, at that point, was expensive. I had no money. I had to pay for my flight and all that nonsense.

I needed to find a creative solution. Here’s what I did. I asked myself some creative questions. What I started to do was look at what I had that, perhaps, somebody might need and want.

At this point I wasn’t speaking very often because I had just started my speaking business. This allowed me to have time. Time to be able to do other things for someone else.

Then I started to say, “Okay, how could I use my time to benefit somebody else?” From that question I came up with a campaign, and I called it Help Stu Be Like You.

But here was the concept and here’s what happened. I approached the biggest chapter of the CAPS organization in my province and I asked for 30 seconds in front of the whole group. There were about 75 of them.

No one had asked for this before. I asked a question that got everyone’s hands in the air. It was, “How many of your, at one point, started off as a speaker with no experience?”

I said, “Great. How many of you have attended the CAPS national conference before?” And about 75% of the room had their hands up in the air.

I continued, “With experiencing the national conference, how many of you with your hands up belief that it would be beneficial for somebody with zero experience to go to?” Everyone who had been kept their hands up.

I said, “Great. Because I am somebody with zero speaking experience that you just said needs to get out to that CAPS national conference.”

I continued by saying, “But, here is where I run into difficulty. I don’t have any money, just time. Here is the exchange I am willing to make and I hope you are to. ‘Help Stu Be Like You’ is a campaign that I have created.” At this point I handed out a small flyer to everyone in the audience. It basically was a 8×6 black and white flyer that I had printed at home on 8-1/2 x 11 sheets and cut down the middle to save on costs.

I began to explain my campaign. “This is what I am willing to do. Anything that you as speakers don’t like doing, don’t have time to do, or just need an extra pair of hands to do, I will do it. Sales calls, creating sales letters, licking stamps, anything. I will even come to your house and cut your lawn or wipe your baby’s bottom if that’s what you want me to do. All I’m asking in return is a financial contribution of your choice.”

I could see some of them in the audience were just licking their chops thinking, “Oh my goodness. This is awesome. I’m going to get cheap labor.”

I finished up by saying, “Whatever you don’t like doing I will do, in exchange for an financial contribution of your choice. Everything I make from this campaign will go directly towards getting me out to the CAPS national conference.”

I finished explaining my campaign and immediately a gentleman at the back of the room stood up. He said, “Stu, I will pay for your entrance fee to the seminar.” Just like that, half of my costs were taken care of!

Another gentleman stood up right after him and said, “Stu, don’t worry about paying to get out there, I will take care of it.” In a matter of five minutes 85% of my expenses needed to go were taken care of.

That is what being creative can enable you to do.

By asking myself that creative question, I was able to come up with a solution that got me out to the conference and my entrance fee paid for. By the time I got there it had turned into a big story, the national CAPS publication had written a story about me and I had all kinds of people coming up to me asking me questions.

Always remember to explore your creativity and may ideas come to you when you need them the most.

Stay posted for more!

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