9 Tips On How To Become An Expert While Protecting Your Job Security

“Wachovia plans to cut 600 more jobs than previously expected; total now 11,350″ -Yahoo.com August 11, 2008

“Looming job cuts march on-report: The number of job cuts announced in July jumps 26%. Airlines and financial firms top the list, according to monthly study” -CNNMoney.com August 4, 2008

“Deepening Cycle of Job Loss Seen Lasting Into ’09″ -New York Times July 2, 2008

FoxBusiness.com published this deansguide-innerarchitect blog article August 17, 2008

Where and when does it end? The speculation over recession, the mortgage meltdown, the banking crisis brought on by greed, and the worries that accompany these problems permeate the national consciousness.

Economic change and political transition are everywhere in America right now. Looming layoffs, election hopes, and uncertainty of our country’s direction have produced a paranoia amongst American’s for the health and welfare of their futures.

Make Yourself Invaluable

1. Your work ethic is the best way to keep your job, if you really enjoy your work, by making yourself an asset that your company can not live without. Be invaluable

2. Be versatile to the point where you can do your job with a high level of expertise as well as other valuable jobs within your organization. If layoffs come, the person with the largest skill set is often in the best position to remain unscathed

3. Ask for more responsibility, more work, and do it now. Make sure your positive attitude is seen as a benefit to the organization–don’t remain undercover instead be your own PR person

Increase Your Expertise

4. Read cover to cover your industry trade publications, online resources, and niche blogs within your industry

5. Read as many books possible about related subjects

6. Take classes and workshops for hands on training and comprehension

7. Utilize the internet search engines for extensive research

8. Attend trade shows and industry conferences

9. Join organizations, professional associations, and niche specific networking groups

Quick Business Guide #1: The 5 Key Questions You Must Answer Before Launching Your Business

Watch this video of Jay Abraham to understand Key Question #3 in this Quick Business Guide

In order to understand the importance of preparation in going to market with any business, you must first install processes that will support your business. One of the most important overview processes to perform is answering the 5 Key Questions to starting a successful business.

If you do not have answers for any of these questions, it is important to stop and examine the “missing ingredient” that may create long term problems for your new startup.

The Five Key Questions

1. What is Your Substance Factor?

These are experiences, education, career titles, collaborations, successes, or lessons learned from failures you accumulated throughout your career that provide the “expert” substance factor that will give you credibility in your business

2. What Are You?

This is identifying what type of company you are about to launch and the market you are targeting

3. What Are Your Products, Services, and Market Strategies?

This is simply identifying whether you provide a tangible or intangible product, services only, products and services, and the strategy that allows you to cross sell and or up sell your customer base on an ongoing basis.

The #1 Market Strategy you can review before going to market is provided by the $7 Billion Dollar Man Jay Abraham in “3 Methods To Grow Your Business”

4. Who Is Your Customer?

Identify your customer, their demographics, their propensity to buy, and the habits this target market exhibits. Identify if you will sell to the general public, small businesses, large corporations, or a combination of the aforementioned. Investigate the possibility of opening up to a global-world wide market

5. What Is Your “Differentiating Factor(s)”?

What makes your product-service special or standout from the marketplace? Do you have an advantage that your niche competitors do not have in their businesses? Can you market this differentiating factor and make it a driving factor in your launch? How can you leverage this differentiating factor in order to convince an established business, in your niche and with established-developed channels into the market, to partner-collaborate-or present you to the marketplace?