Small Business Support For Those On A Tight Budget

By Stu McLaren

It doesn't matter who you are, every entrepreneur has the same obstacle to overcome in the beginning.

The obstacle for many people is getting their business marketed on a tight budget. Being creative can help you get through on a tight budget and by answering some of these creative questions you can learn how to do it.

Questions like:

1) How can I

Start with another creative question like:

2) Who could assist me with This is a great question. Who could assist me with

Here's another one:

3) Who might exchange for ?

Or this one:

4) How can I do this cheaper? or How could I do this faster? or How could I do this with less effort? or How could I do this without paying? That's a great creative question.

Try this 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) If I was so-and-so, how would I 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.

These questions amongst others have opened up all kinds of opportunities for me, and they've been the oxygen - the lifeblood - of my career and the success that I'm experiencing.

I'll show you an example of how I used this method of creative questioning to help me.

Right out of University I decided to become a professional speaker, speaking to high school and college students - which I still do on occasion - speaking on the topic of creativity because that topic helped me go from a University failure all the way to the top of my class, straight A's, and named Most Outstanding Male of my graduating class. There was a big difference between what happened first year and my last year, and I attribute it all to learning the skill on the art of creative thinking, and I was very passionate about it.

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

To try and learn the ropes I joined an organization called 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."

"The first thing you need to do is surround yourself with people who are in the same industry as yourself. Join CAPS, it will help your business grow." I said, "Okay."

To join CAPS the registration was $200, which was a big chunk of my budget. I remember even asking them if I could pay in smaller payments, which I did. Despite the squeeze, I joined the CAPS organization.

The second thing he said I had to do was, "Get out to the CAPS National Conference." As much as I wanted to go, it was on the other side of Canada, which meant more costs on top of the relatively expensive conference fee. At this point everything was expensive for me as I had no money. To get there I would have to pay for my flight, accommodations and everything else.

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.

What I had at the time was time itself. I wasn't speaking very often because I had just started my speaking business, so I had some time on my hands.

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.

This is how I used my creative thinking. The largest chapter of CAPS in my province consisted of about 75 people. I went to one of their meetings and asked if I could have 30 seconds in front of them.

This was something new to them, no one had asked for that before. I got up in front of everyone and asked them, "When you started off as a speaker, how many of you had no experience?" With no surprise, everybody's hands went up in the air.

The next question I asked was, "Out of all of you who have your hand up, how many of you have been to the CAPS national conference?" About 75% of the room kept their hands up.

I said, "Of those who still have their hands in the air, how many of you feel that it would be beneficial for somebody with zero experience to get out to that CAPS national conference?" They all had their hands in the air.

My reply was, "Great. Well I am somebody that obviously needs to go to the CAPS national conference because I have zero experience."

Then I said, "But here's the problem. I don't have any money. But what I do have is time. Here's the exchange I'm willing to make and hope that you are willing to make as well. I've created a campaign called Help Stu Be Like You." And I handed out these little flyers, black and white. Basically what I did was I printed two 8x6 flyers on an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet to save costs, and I just cut it right down the middle and I gave everybody in the audience one.

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."

Surveying the audience at this point, I could tell some people's minds were racing with all the odd jobs they could get me to do for cheap.

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."

As I was finishing up a gentleman in the back of the room stood up. I thought he had a question but instead he said, "Stu, I will take care of your seminar entrance fee." Half of my costs, just like that, were basically taken care of.

Once that gentleman was finished telling me about what he was willing to contribute another gentleman stood up. He said, "Stu, I will take care of getting you out to the seminar." Bang, Bang. In a matter of minutes 85% of my expenses were taken care of.

That's what being creative is about my friends.

By asking myself that one creative question, I was able to come up with a creative solution that solved my problem of not being able to get to the national conference. By the time the conference happened all kinds of people had heard about my story and even had a story published about me in the national publication.

By exploring your creativity ideas will come to you when you need them the most!

Stay posted for more!

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