Knowing what business to start is a huge question for many aspiring entrepreneurs.  Aside from examining your own passions and interests, you can gain great insight into this question by thinking about your ideal customer in the following dimensions:

1. Who would I genuinely like to work with?  What characteristics do they share?
2. What impact would my product or service have on their life?  How does it feel to know I am having a positive impact?
   
3. How would I feel talking about my business with these customers? 
   

See how the "customer likeability factor" impacts your decisions about what business to start.  Please share your thoughts on the blog!  www.escapefromcubiclenation.com

Do you do something very well, get recognition and rewards for it but feel very burned out and dead when you practice it?  You may suffer the curse of competence, a deadly trap for aspiring entrepreneurs. 

This episode discusses how to avoid starting a business based on a skill or ability you are burned out on.  It can seem the easy path to money, but often leads to real frustration and apathy.

Some strategies discussed:

1. Disconnect the ability from the job description
2. Create a personal development plan to give yourself time to learn new skills
3. Consider a mix of "curse of competence" and new skills to kick-start your business

I'd love to hear your comments on the blog - www.escapefromcubiclenation.com

 

 

Two of the most critical elements of becoming a successful entrepreneur are developing a positive mental attitude and defeating negative self-talk.  This is important to not only produce great business results, but also to enjoy the day-to-day process of building your business.

In this episode, I discuss two elements of a postive mental attitude:

1. Distinguishing between your "essential" self and your "social" self to ensure you are doing work you are meant to do
2. Using a simple 4-question process called "The Work" to overcome negative self-talk

Sources I refer to are Martha Beck's book Finding Your Own North Star:  claiming the life you were meant to live and Byron Katie's Loving What Is:  Four questions that can change your life 

Leave comments at www.escapefromcubiclenation.com

In this episode, I cover three things that help new entrepreneurs overcome their dread of all things marketing:

1. Readjusting your marketing mindset
2. Clearly defining a niche
3. Selecting and creating a marketing plan

I reference two helpful marketing experts:

Robert Middleton from www.actionplan.com and

John Jansch from www.ducttapemarketing.com

Many people have questions about which business to start.  But most approach the task from the wrong angle, believing that if they just think about it enough that the answer will magically appear.

In this episode, Pam covers:

1. A myth about the process of deciding which business to start
2. Insight into why it is such a difficult quest for veteran corporate employees 
3. A (fun) homework assignment to get some insight into the best business idea for you 

This episode covers the importance of thinking about the kind of life that would make you happy, healthy, stable and fulfilled before you run down the road of creating a business plan.  I include an easy-to-complete exercise with just enough "woo woo" to make you relax in your cube.

This episode introduces the purpose and intent of the Escape from Cubicle Nation Podcast.  It will build on content I write on my blog www.escapefromcubiclenation.com as well as include interviews with interesting, informative, passionate and creative people who know more than a thing or two about entrepreneurship.