Are You an Entrepreneur Who’s Not Afraid to Think Outside the Box and Make Some Money?
Author: Susan Dunn, The EQ Coach

“It’s called Companion Air,” my client Sarita bubbled. She wants to take a trip and doesn’t want to leave Rudy, her dog, at home. So there she is, with lots of money and time, staying home.

I LOVE MY DOG AND I WANT TO TRAVEL

What is Companion Air? ( http://www.companionair.com ) “Stress-free travel for pets and owners is our mission, says founder, Rick Roof. “We don’t think any pet should be considered cargo.”

Sarita, like many of my clients, is middle-aged, has disposable income, and is ready for “her time.” The kids are raised, she’s got her 401k, she’s ready to have some fun. She loves Rudy and wants him with her, or she’s not going. Finally someone decided to help her spend her money and set her free!

Companion Air listened, and so are some other providers.

I’M SINGLE AND I WANT TO CRUISE

I like to cruise and I’m single. Am I the only one? It’s true you don’t see a lot of singles on cruises … but maybe it’s because no one’s invited them. Could it be because there are no singles fares? The only cruiseline I’ve found that offers a true single-rate, not double-occupancy, is Carnival.

… AND I LIKE TO DANCE

There’s music all over cruise ships, and I like to dance. It makes me sad to sit there and watch all the couples dancing. The QEII is among the cruise lines offering Gentlemen Dance Hosts, available for dancing every night from 8 pm to 1 am.

…AND I DON’T WANT TO HEAR KIDS CRYING

Tom and Julie went on a cruise the last week in July. “Not that great,” said Julie, when I asked her. “Crying babies, kids splashing in the hot tub, a toddler at the table next to ours, and worst of all, a million teenagers. Watching a ‘dude’ with an ear ring in his nose and purple hair writing on the corridor wall with a lipstick is not my idea of relaxing.”

“Never again,” she added.

Celebrity (http://www.celebritycruises.com ) listened. They offer the Celebrity Escape™. “Every now and then,” they say, “grown-ups need a little getaway of their own, and what better way to truly relax than on a Celebrity Escape cruise—where all of the guests are over the age of 21.”

I HATE SECOND-HAND CIGARETTE SMOKE AND I WANT TO CRUISE

Nancy’s thrilled to have discovered the Carnival’s Paradise. It’s non-smoking and they mean business. They check your luggage before you get on, for tobacco items, and if you’re caught smoking on-board, you get kicked off. She has terrible allergies and from now on that’s her ship.

I’M SINGLE AND DON’T WANT AN APARTMENT OR CONDO

Chin, another client, has plenty of money but he doesn’t want to spend it on a house. He lives alone, he travels a lot, he’s beyond “showing off,” and he has no intention of sharing a wall with someone else.

On a recent drive from my home (San Antonio) to Austin, I saw an amazing site: three billboards advertising three different housing developments in beautiful locations with houses starting in the s.

WHAT’S NEW? THE UNIMAGINEABLE

“I never would’ve dreamed of being able to take Rudy with me,” says Sarita. “I never even thought to ask.”

“I never thought I’d find a house for ,000 in a decent neighborhood,” says Chin.

Your consumers have many questions they haven’t thought to ask for because they didn’t think it was possible. And what’s possible?

When I was growing up in the 50’s – hang on, there’s a purpose to this – I’m delivering “paradigm shift” here, dramatic paradigm shift:

• Milk was put in bottles and delivered to your house 3 times a week.
• You never locked your house door or car door. You left your keys in the ignition. The dry cleaner delivered and just walked in and put the clothes in the living room.
• Someone put gasoline in your car.
• There were no female lawyers or doctors.
• There were no fast-food restaurants.
• There was no daycare. There were hardly even babysitters.
• I never went inside a toy store. My mother didn’t have a car; Dad took it to work every day.
• Stores weren’t open at night or on Sunday.
• Grocery stores delivered.
• You tipped the guy who carried your groceries out to your car.
• Pediatricians came to your house.
• 1% of the kids in high school had braces.

WAYS I COULD’VE MADE A FORTUNE

In the late 60’s when I was in college, the only hair dryers were those bonnets you put over your head that took forever. One day I decided to stick my head under the blow dryer in the bathroom. My hair dried fast, had body, and looked cute. The idea spread around the dorm.

In the late 60s there was a strange restaurant in Durham, N.C. It made to-go breakfasts – eggs and sausage on buns and biscuits, etc. It was extremely popular. You stood in a line forever. I wondered why no one else offered breakfast-to-go like that. It never occurred to me or anyone else that the Hardee’s down the road could do that as well as the burgers. No one was connecting the dots. And who’s to say Durham was the universe?

HUNCHES … INKLINGS

There’s some need out there you aren’t conceiving of you could capitalize on. Keep your mind open and consider possibilities.

I WANT TO BE COMFORTABLE WHEN I FLY

Breta is happy with Southwest’s new policy about “large people.” It’s controversial, I know, but Breta’s experiences have made avoiding having someone spill halfway over into her seat her number one priority. She now flies Southwest all the time.

I DON’T WANT FIBERGLASS IN MY HOUSE

My client, Ray, is wealthy and a very discriminating consumer. He wanted to build a house, and didn’t want fiberglass insulation, so he was stalled out. He called the other day. “I found it,” he said. “ Prodex™ insulation ( http://highr.net ) … it’s got the fire rating, waterproof, radiant barrier, energy-efficient, all that, AND no fiberglass.”

Someone was listening.

And look at that list he rolled out. Today’s consumer knows a lot. Are you addressing this?

INVENT & ACCOMMODATE

I’m a coach, and everyone negotiates fees with me. When I started licensing my products, I thought “Good. I can just list these on my website and I won’t have to mess with all that. They click, they order.” Wrong! The emails continued. People simply like to negotiate these days, and expect to be able to. So I accommodate.

In response to consumers, I now offer one-shot coaching. Many clients accomplished what they wanted to in one session, so I just made it an official option. Other clients don’t want to schedule their session. They sign up for a month but want to call on an as-needed basis. I now call it “putting me on a retainer.”

I "let them have it their way," and my practice is thriving.

CONCLUSION

1. Listen to your clients and customers. As in HEAR them.
2. If something’s a hassle in your business, figure out why. Then accommodate.
3. When they ‘hassle’ you, your clients and customers are telling you what they need and what they’d pay for if you offered it.
4. When you’re the consumer, speak what’s on your mind, i.e., “If you did what X does, or provided X, I’d buy from you.” Or “Have you thought of...?”
5. Push the limits. There were no female lawyers in 1965. No fast food restaurants in 1970. No coaches in 1980. What’s not in 2003 you could make happen?






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Susan Dunn, Internet Marketing Coach, www.webstrategies.cc, www.susandunn.cc. Web strategies, !deas, web design, branding, promotions. Get a web strategy, not just a web site. Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------