This week’s post is a guest article by Christine Comaford. Please watch my introduction video first:

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I’m just here in my office doing some little preparation for a speaking event that I have coming up in a couple of weeks. I’m going to be speaking in Phoenix to Sam Beckford’s coaching clients. Around 400 will be in attendance.

I decided to record a video for you for a couple of reasons. First, I’m going to be teaching them about the Invaluable Factors, one of which is Irreplaceability, but also because Sam is a great example of this factor of Irreplaceability—and I wanted to illustrate why.

One of the things that determine how much money you make per hour and how much people want to work with your business is how irreplaceable you are. And Irreplaceability really comes down to two factors: one of course is supply (meaning how many other options do people have) and the other is understanding.

The reason why I wanted to bring up Sam in particular is because he is an awesome example of Irreplaceability. He has built a business that is irreplaceable, but to a target market. And that is the key, is to determine who your target market is and be very specific with them.

If “everyone” is the target market, if “everyone” is someone that you can work with, you are replaceable because you are competing with everyone. But when you focus on a particular market, suddenly there’s less supply. By definition, there are less people who are working with you and less people that are competing with you.

My guess is the majority of those reading this have never heard of Sam Beckford. And the reason why is because he targets music studios, dance studios, and gymnastics studios in providing his business coaching services.  He has built a widely successful business based out in Vancouver, Canada. And part of the reason why he’s so successful is because he is so targeted.

Remember that I said Irreplaceability comes down to two aspects, and one is supply. So by focusing on a certain niche, he has made himself in scarce supply. And second of all by focusing on a certain niche, he has made himself someone who understands his market better. Understanding is the second aspect of Irreplaceability. The more that you focus on people, the more you understand your customer and provide services that fit them in a unique way, the more irreplaceable you make yourself.

Think about businesses, product and services that you think are irreplaceable, that you just want to keep doing business with them over and over again. A big part of that is that they understand you and your needs. In most cases, they have done a lot of research and a lot of careful thought into making sure that they understand you and build products and services that are matched to your needs.

Dave Crenshaw has appeared in TIME magazine, SIRIUS XM Radio, Forbes, MSN Money,  been interviewed on radio and TV stations across North America and is the President of the National Association of Productivity Coaches. His book, The Myth of Multitasking: How ‘Doing It All’ Gets Nothing Done, has been published in six languages and is a time management best seller. His next book, Invaluable: The Secret to Becoming Irreplaceable, will release in all major bookstores in May 2010. Dave is the foremost expert in helping you increase the value of your time in an ever-changing market and has helped thousands of clients worldwide. To get a series of free Candid Productivity coaching videos from Dave, visit www.BeInvaluable.com.

Please comment! I’d love to hear your comments both about my example of Sam and also other product and services that you can think of that have shown that they understand YOU—and have, in turn,  made themselves irreplaceable.

Posted in: Case Study/Testimonial, Entrepreneurship, Focus, Invaluable, Most Valuable Activities, Video Training | Comments (1)

I shot this week’s video on the set of a internet-TV interview with Andrew Lock. Andrew is the host of the show ‘Help! My Business Sucks!.’  This is going to be a lot of fun, we’re going to talk about The Myth of Multitasking.

I think this is a great opportunity for me to talk to you about the sixth invaluable factor which is AUTHORITY. Authority means that you are viewed by others as an authority, and expert, a decision leader on a specific subject. One of the best ways to increase your authority is to get TV, media appearances and even having your own web show or doing a regular video like I’m doing right now.

Think about what your most valuable activities are—your MVA’s—and how you can offer video like I’m doing right now to teach people what it is that you know. Most everyone has something to offer the world in terms of their expertise. What is yours?

Visit the Help! My business Sucks! Website and subscribe to their updates. My interview will be online probably on a few weeks. By watching my interview with Andrew, you’ll get insight into how to increase your authority through web video.

Dave Crenshaw has appeared in TIME magazine, SIRIUS XM Radio, Forbes, MSN Money, been interviewed on radio and TV stations across North America and is the President of the National Association of Productivity Coaches. His book, The Myth of Multitasking: How ‘Doing It All’ Gets Nothing Done, has been published in six languages and is a time management best seller. His next book, Invaluable: The Secret to Becoming Irreplaceable, will release in all major bookstores in May 2010. Dave is the foremost expert in helping you increase the value of your time in an ever-changing market and has helped thousands of clients worldwide. For more information, visit www.BeInvaluable.com.

Please comment: How are you or your business using video to help establish Authority?

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[This guest article was graciously shared by Kelly O’Neil. Please thank her by taking her up on her free MP3 offer: http://www.marketingtomillionairesgift.com]

No matter how much we might wish to believe the contrary, no one is good at everything.  Each of us possesses specific talents, gifts, skills, abilities, etc.  Our unique set of talents and abilities makes us who we are as business owners or entrepreneurs.  It makes us who we are as individuals, as well.

In the business world, no one can do everything.  The same is true in our personal lives.  Whether we don’t have time to learn to do things, or we don’t have time to do some of the things we know how to do, we simply can’t do it all. Nor should we try to do it all.

Fortunately, each of us has our own area of genius.  When we focus on our particular genius, we are able to accomplish more, accomplish it more efficiently, and accomplish more of what we do best.  For example, I am not an automobile mechanic, nor do I want to be one.  If I were to try to fix my car myself to save money, by the time I figured out what was wrong with my car, I would be able to develop a marketing strategy for a client.  By the time I figured out how to fix what might be wrong with my car and actually fixed it, I could have helped several clients and easily created enough profit to fix my car and then some.  So, I don’t even try to work on my own car. That would be a complete waste of my time and energy. What is more, it would take me away from what I do well and cost me more in lost time and income than if I just take it to a mechanic and pay him to fix the problem.

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[This guest article was graciously shared by Christine Comaford.]

In today’s economic climate, it is essential to have a seasoned team, a fast path to revenue, and a staged rollout plan. When it comes to team, there are some absolute necessaries that you need to put in place.

What are the first questions a prospective investor will ask? PEOPLE questions, of course! Here are some of mine: Do you or your team members have massive experience in your field of choice? Do you have an advisory board? (It’s easy to set up an advisory board, which can bring you phenomenal expertise at zero up-front cost, as well as much-needed credibility.)

Without a seasoned team or a long history of experience and income sheets to review, how can anyone possibly trust your revenue and cost projections? As a business owner, you need credibility, and you need it pronto. Follow this “people plan” to help you get off the ground.

1. Lock in well-known and respected advisers who are veterans in their respective industries. Timeline for this? Like, now.

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