Here’s something to always keep in mind throughout your career:

Growth creates opportunity.

It’s not profound. It’s completely logical. Yet many people never stop to think about it.

So when you’re setting your career goals, think about where the growth is. There are three influencers of career success: your occupation, your industry and your company.

Hear this post. Click a player to listen to George & Mary-Lynn on The BIGG Success Show Podcast.

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BIGG success is life on your own terms. It’s about entrepreneuring your life. Whether you ever plan to be an entrepreneur in the traditional sense of the word, you are in charge of your life. You own it lock, stock and barrel.

So how does life on your own terms fit with the three influencers of career success?

You want to match your own passions and proficiencies with an opportunity.

Since growth creates opportunity, as you evaluate your occupation, your industry and your company, you want to look for growth.

Let’s run through two scenarios today; the two extremes.

Scenario 1: Growth in all three

Under this scenario, you’ll likely stay put. Opportunity should come your way. Keep building your network. Do all that you can to establish yourself as an expert in your field.

Always be on the lookout for projects that play to your strengths. And set your own timetable – when you want to get promoted – and go for it.

Scenario 2: No growth (or worse) in all three

You can wait. But as a BIGG goal-getter, unless you’re near the end of your career, it’s time to get proactive. Clearly, it’s time for a career change.

In this case, you want to start with you. What are your passions? What are your strengths?

You want to really do some thinking before you start considering possible careers. Otherwise, you’ll become overwhelmed with choices.

By starting internally, you can quickly eliminate the external options that don’t fit you. Then you can focus on finding the best opportunities for you.

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This is the scenario I found myself in before we started BIGG Success. I was a radio DJ. I loved it. I have a passion for radio broadcasting. But I didn’t see any opportunity for growth.

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I remember, Mary-Lynn, we looked at the financials for your employer. They were facing declining sales. We went and looked at the industry. It had falling sales as well.

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Right, and this was even before the recession. So the outlook wasn’t positive. I knew I needed to look at options. We arrived at BIGG Success.

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And it’s ironic – now you’re back in radio.

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Yeah, I host my own talk show on 93.5/95.3 Connect FM. It’s broadcast online at MyConnectFM.com. But it’s on my own terms. I get to do something I love part-time while I work to make my business grow full-time.

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It’s like having your cake and eating it too. Three rights don’t make a wrong. In fact, find a growing occupation in a growth company that’s in a growth industry and you’ll be well on your way to BIGG success!

Considering a career change? Need help finding your opportunity? Maybe we can help.

Here’s something that never changes. We’re so grateful that you spent some of your time with us today.

Next time, we’ll talk about how to break the boundaries that keep you from reaching BIGG success. Until then, here’s to your BIGG success!

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00726-081111.mp3

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So you want to start a business?

But you’re not really a risk taker. What can you do?

You might be surprised to know you’re not alone. The most successful entrepreneurs are excellent risk managers.

So today we’ll talk about 5 ways to start your own business with less risk.

Hear George & Mary-Lynn share the 5 ways to start your own business on The BIGG Success Show Podcast. Click a player to listen.

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Rather than quitting your job and starting a business, why not start part-time?

Even if it’s not your ideal business, start building a customer base while you still have your regular income.

Your business won’t be burdened with your full salary. You’ll be able to reinvest more so you may be able to grow faster upfront.

Before you know it, you’ll be able to quit your job and devote your full effort to your business.

Get a part-time job

Instead of relying only on your new business to pay all your bills, get a part-time job.

It adds stability to your stream of income. Maybe you can work for your existing employer part-time. Maybe you can get another part-time job to supplement the income from your business.

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We still do this. I host a daily talk show on a locally-owned radio station. It makes for a busy schedule, but I love radio!

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In addition to BIGG Success, I also teach entrepreneurship at our local university. I still thoroughly enjoy the interaction with my students.

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These part-time gigs relieve some of the pressure of owning a small business.

Tag team your startup

If you’re married, can you live on just your spouse’s salary? Or will your spouse’s income cover most of your bills so you can reinvest more profit in your business to make it grow faster.

After you get your business stabilized, maybe your spouse will get the entrepreneurial itch. Your income can help them get started in the same way they helped you.

Find a working partner

You don’t have to quit your job at all to own your own business. Partner up with someone who has the skills and the time for a startup business.

You invest capital. You may also work part-time in the business. As the business prospers, you may eventually leave your job and work in the business. Or you may repeat the process and build a portfolio of small businesses.

Sell your sizzle for a stake

You don’t have to be the entrepreneur to have a stake in a small business. Find an entrepreneur who needs your skills. Negotiate for a percentage of the business in addition to a salary.

There you go – 5 ways to start your own business with less risk.

But remember, you’ll never get to BIGG success if you don’t get started!

If you aren’t sure how to start your own business, shoot us an e-mail at bigginfo@biggsuccess.com or leave a voice message at 888.455.BIGG (2444). Maybe we can help.

Thanks so much for reading our post today. We sure would love to see you here again tomorrow!

Until then, here’s to your BIGG success!

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00718-071411.mp3

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Some people sing. Some people make fun of the people who sing.

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It makes me think of that time, Mary-Lynn, when you were still in radio and we ended up at Karaoke Night with one of my favorite bands of all time, Cheap Trick.

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Yeah, I had interviewed Rick Nielsen, their lead guitarist, on my show that day. He arranged for backstage passes which was awesome. After the concert, they invited us back to the hotel bar to hang out.

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It just happened to be Karaoke Night. A woman attempted, and I’m being generous here, to sing Pat Benatar’s Hit Me with Your Best Shot. Robin Zander, Cheap Trick’s lead singer, made a face I’ll never forget.

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I kept hoping someone would sing one of their songs, but that never happened. It was still a fun night!

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Enough about karaoke. That’s just one half of the topics for today’s post.

We talk to a lot of people about social media. A lot of people in the bricks-and-mortar world are trying to get it. And like a lot of things that are new, it seems complex.

So let’s see if we can take away some of that complexity by comparing Karaoke Night to social media. We’ll look at three things we need to make a successful Karaoke Night and apply those to social media. It comes down to 3 P’s:

Place

With karaoke, we usually think of a bar or a coffee shop. Someone has to organize it and promote it.

In social media, the place may be a blog or a site like Facebook or Twitter. They organize and promote their place so people will come there and hang out for awhile.

People

Karaoke wouldn’t be much fun if there was no one there. It’s the people that make it interesting. Similarly, Facebook and Twitter are great places to be because there are so many people there.

Performers

If no one ever sang, how much fun would karaoke be? It’s fun because of the variety of talents and interests displayed. You learn about people by the songs they choose to sing.

In social media, everybody can be a performer. Of course, there’s the blogger or podcaster. There are people who leave comments; they’re performing, too.

Every tweet in Twitter or status update on Facebook is just like singing a song at Karaoke Night.

They’re both networking

Karaoke and social media both bring people together with something in common. They both allow people to show off their talents and interests. They both allow you to meet new people. They’re both an opportunity to share experiences and build relationships.

If you pick the right song when you karaoke, everybody will sing along. If you share something people find intriguing or useful, they’ll share it too. Do it enough and you might just become a celebrity with your own group of fans!

Can you think of other ways that karaoke is like social media? Share that by leaving a comment below, calling us at 888.455.BIGG (2444) or e-mailing us at bigginfo@biggsuccess.com.

To connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, etc. visit our About Page.

Thanks so much for reading our post today.

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We’re going to continue talking about social media tomorrow. We’ll look at some new research to discover if social networking can help you live longer. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

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Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00449-073009.mp3

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There’s a lot of advice about how your website should look. It’s important to pause to realize …

It's the experience that counts the most!

Just like in the bricks-and-mortar world, people value the experience.

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I've had two bad user experiences recently. The first one has to do with a local not-for-profit organization for which I volunteer. I produce the audio for the radio and television commercials that promote the event. The commercials mention a web address to get more information. However, that address takes you to the organization's national website. I spent ten minutes trying to find the page with information about our local event.

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If memory serves, Mary-Lynn, you told me that you saw a link, “Find your local event.” But it directed you to sign up or log in to get more information.

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Right! It’s crazy. I shouldn't have to sign up to simply get information. Regardless, I finally recovered my user name and password. Then I logged in, but I still haven't found the local page. I ran out of time and will have to go back.

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People who aren’t as invested as you probably wouldn’t put that much effort into finding the local information. Worse yet, they may never go back to the site.

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Tip #1: Create a landing page specific for what you are promoting.

Make it easy for people to find the information they want. For example, our local branch could have a page that ends with the name of our city. They could set up an address like this: nameoforganization.com/champaign.

That's a landing page. It’s the address you want to promote to people in your area for information about your local organization – especially when you’re using local TV, radio, or the newspaper.

Here's another example for a business: If you are promoting a deal, use a web address like one of these:

yourbusinessname.com/deal

yourbusinessname.com/summersale

Create your landing page in advance. It can reiterate the most important points of your advertisement and provide more information. Also provide links to your home page and any other pages that people interested in this promotion might find useful.

Integrating your offline marketing with online marketing makes all your marketing more productive. It’s a time-tested strategy. If visitors to your site get the information they want quickly, they’ll be more likely to take the time to visit other areas of your site.

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The second bad experience occurred when I read an article online about a local tech series that is free and open to the public. The article was on our local newspaper's website. It gave details on the upcoming session and offered a link to the organization's website to get more information on all of the sessions in the series.

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So you went to the website to find out more information, and I remember hearing a … how should I describe it … a frustrated sigh coming from you.

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That’s a good way to say it. I was frustrated because I couldn't find anything about the series. I clicked on several page links, including their events link. Nothing. I used their search tool to search for the name of the event. Still nothing. Finally I went to their calendar and typed in the exact date. The first session in the series came up. It contained the same information that was in the article. Nothing further about the entire series. I was planning to put all of the dates on my calendar. I guess I’ll have to call them.

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Tip #2: Make it easy to find the information you promote.

If you want people to know about your events, make it easy to get that information. Especially if your event is getting press!

Create a page like we suggested above. If you prefer to link people to your home page, create a link and highlight it so people can find it quickly and easily. For example, in the case we mentioned above, you could highlight it this way:

"Tech series starting in August"

Make it very visible on your site. When people click on that link, it will take them to the page you've created with all the information about that event.

Your site is an excellent tool to compliment your other marketing efforts. But if you don't make it easy for people to find what you’re promoting, they won't participate in your sale or event.

Prepare your web site for visitors before you advertise or send out a press release. That will help make your campaign a bigg success!

Do you have any tips from your bad user experiences? Or maybe a good experience combining your web site with traditional media? Share that with us by leaving a comment below, calling us at 888.455.BIGG (2444) or e-mailing us at bigginfo@biggsuccess.com.

Thanks so much for reading our post today. Please join us next time when we’ll discuss artificial dissemination. Yes, you read that right! Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed.

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00442-072109.mp3

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We got a great comment by Andrew R. Timms about this. He says, “… just because we decide on our terms doesn’t mean the rest of the world is going to agree or accept them.”___

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Andrew raises a very good point. It’s something we need to keep in mind as we seek bigg success …

What do you do if life on your own terms creates conflict with the people around you?

Andrew goes on to say that, in some cases, a person may think that your terms are keeping them from living their life on their terms. He suggests that we assume that they’re right! Then we’re at least common ground. Now with that in mind, we can explore solutions that work for both of us.

That’s an excellent suggestion. It’s Stephen Covey’s “Seek first to understand.” We have a personal example of this.

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Before we were married, we both talked about our career goals. I was in radio and life on my own terms meant growing as a broadcaster and sharing my talent with more and more people. That meant moving to a larger market.

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I was in business for myself and teaching part-time at our local University. I loved what I did, but my businesses were here as was my part-time gig. Life on my own terms meant growing without moving.

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These weren’t the only factors at play, but they were definitely part of the equation.

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So we had conflicting terms and we started looking for solutions.

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That’s when the idea for Bigg Success came up. It allowed me to broadcast to the largest audience I could imagine – the whole world!

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It allowed me to expand my business without moving. The conflict forced us to work together to find a solution. Because of that, we both found a better opportunity than we would have had otherwise. That’s synergy!

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What if you can’t find common ground?

We were able to find a solution that allowed both of us to live our lives on our own terms. But what if we weren’t able to do that?

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Let’s say I was determined to stick with radio.

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Earlier, we alluded to the fact that there were other factors at play in how we got to Bigg Success. And Mary-Lynn, I think what you saw in the future of radio is one of those factors.

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Yeah, the industry was, and is, going through some significant changes. I felt like there was a lot less opportunity for me to really grow like I wanted to, if I stayed in the business. But let’s pretend that wasn’t the case. I would have had to move for my next bigg opportunity and, George, that would have meant a long-distance relationship for us.

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Life on your own terms isn’t idyllic

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Now that’s not how either of us defines life on our own terms. But there’s an important point to understand here – life on your own terms isn’t idyllic. It involves setting priorities. A long-distance relationship may not be consistent with life on my own terms. But I’d rather do that than not have a relationship with you at all, Mary-Lynn.

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We’d both be living life on our own terms, career-wise, but obviously not the way we would prefer in our personal lives. Sometimes you can’t have it all and you just have to accept that.

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It’s a timing problem

But here’s the key – we may have to accept it for now. In the meantime, we keep looking for solutions and opportunities that get us to our ideal life, to life on our own terms. In most cases, it’s a timing problem, not something we have to accept for our whole lives.

We’re talking about the closest of relationships here, the relationships on which you place the highest priority. In other relationships, the dynamic may change as a result of living your life on your own terms. You’re willing to accept that because you know you’re headed for bigg success!

What do you do when your terms conflict with others?

You can share that with us by leaving a comment below, calling us at 888.455.BIGG or sending us an e-mail at bigginfo@biggsuccess.com. Thanks Andrew for your thoughtful comment. And thank you for reading our post today.

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Join us next time as we help a member of our community who’s looking to get back into the workforce after an extended time off.

Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed.

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00368-040809.mp3

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