Brainstorm Your Way To Home Business Success
Brainstorm Your Way To Home Business Success
He was referring of course, to the power of the mastermind.
When more than two minds unite with the intention to create a specific outcome, magic occurs. That third invisible mind draws on unseen forces and brings forth ideas one may not create alone.
One of the most powerful activities within a mastermind group is "brainstorming."
What is brainstorming you ask?
It's is a method of shared problem solving in which all members of a group spontaneously contribute ideas. The goal is to let ideas fly without judgment with the goal of finding a solution that sticks.
The main goal during a brainstorming session is to allow anything that comes to mind on the subject at hand to be expressed regardless of its perceived worth.
Sifting and sorting through the ideas and insights are reserved until the end of the "brain dump."
Brainstorming is a high-energy exercise. Once ideas start flying, it's like releasing a wild stallion from a barn. You don't know where the hooves will fly!
To give you an example of how brainstorming can help you in your business, here's an example from my mastermind session this week...
Two of our members had challenges requiring brainstorming. One wanted to find an appropriate name for her latest product and one wanted a sexier, more memorable name for one of her businesses.
We started with the product.
We reviewed the benefits it provided and physical properties, then started rhyming off ideas that came to mind.
As the ideas began to fly, many more followed, faster and in greater abundance.
Thesaurus pages were flipping, web sites and domain names were being queried and tag lines were forming instantaneously.
Once we had everything on paper, we started to look at the smorgasbord of possibilities. The next stage would be research and verification. Great gains were made.
Before calling it a wrap at the 40-minute mark, one of our members had the idea to beat all ideas -- a conference was taking place in two days. What if our colleague who was attending the conference created a "name that product" contest and asked fellow attendees to participate?
She could offer a variety of her products as a reward for the winning idea.
It was brilliant. Even more brilliant was the fact our second mastermind member looking for a new business name was also attending the conference. It came to be that two contests would be run -- Name that product" and "Name that business."
The day following our brainstorming session, my colleagues had rounded up additional prizes for their contests including a three-day mini vacation donated by a travel agency.
Two major challenges solved within 45 minutes of brainstorming.
My colleague has a superb list of product name ideas from our group to start with and will add to it this upcoming weekend at the conference.
Belonging to a mastermind group isn't mandatory to brainstorm (although I highly recommend it), but another option is to gather together friends, family members and colleagues to help you, following the same process.
There is only one rule everyone must follow during a brainstorming session - this is no place for judgment. As soon as judgment rears its ugly head, the process loses momentum and power.
Sometimes the most seemingly stupid ideas are the ones that are built upon to create the perfect solution. Keep an open mind and a closed mouth when others share their thoughts. Keep the ideas flowing until you've exhausted your ideas or arrived at a solution.
If you're stuck on something, round up the troops and give brainstorming a go.
Remember, more minds are always better than one. Build that invisible third mind and let it deliver the answer to you on a gleaming silver platter.
2007 © Laurie Hayes - The HBB Source
Brainstorm Your Way To Home Business Success - To learn more about this author, visit Laurie Hayes's Website.
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Napoleon Hill, Think And Grow Rich, stated, "No two minds ever come together without thereby creating a third, invisible, intangible force which may be likened a third mind."
He was referring of course, to the power of the mastermind.
When more than two minds unite with the intention to create a specific outcome, magic occurs. That third invisible mind draws on unseen forces and brings forth ideas one may not create alone.
One of the most powerful activities within a mastermind group is "brainstorming."
What is brainstorming you ask?
It's is a method of shared problem solving in which all members of a group spontaneously contribute ideas. The goal is to let ideas fly without judgment with the goal of finding a solution that sticks.
The main goal during a brainstorming session is to allow anything that comes to mind on the subject at hand to be expressed regardless of its perceived worth.
Sifting and sorting through the ideas and insights are reserved until the end of the "brain dump."
Brainstorming is a high-energy exercise. Once ideas start flying, it's like releasing a wild stallion from a barn. You don't know where the hooves will fly!
To give you an example of how brainstorming can help you in your business, here's an example from my mastermind session this week...
Two of our members had challenges requiring brainstorming. One wanted to find an appropriate name for her latest product and one wanted a sexier, more memorable name for one of her businesses.
We started with the product.
We reviewed the benefits it provided and physical properties, then started rhyming off ideas that came to mind.
As the ideas began to fly, many more followed, faster and in greater abundance.
Thesaurus pages were flipping, web sites and domain names were being queried and tag lines were forming instantaneously.
Once we had everything on paper, we started to look at the smorgasbord of possibilities. The next stage would be research and verification. Great gains were made.
Before calling it a wrap at the 40-minute mark, one of our members had the idea to beat all ideas -- a conference was taking place in two days. What if our colleague who was attending the conference created a "name that product" contest and asked fellow attendees to participate?
She could offer a variety of her products as a reward for the winning idea.
It was brilliant. Even more brilliant was the fact our second mastermind member looking for a new business name was also attending the conference. It came to be that two contests would be run -- Name that product" and "Name that business."
The day following our brainstorming session, my colleagues had rounded up additional prizes for their contests including a three-day mini vacation donated by a travel agency.
Two major challenges solved within 45 minutes of brainstorming.
My colleague has a superb list of product name ideas from our group to start with and will add to it this upcoming weekend at the conference.
Belonging to a mastermind group isn't mandatory to brainstorm (although I highly recommend it), but another option is to gather together friends, family members and colleagues to help you, following the same process.
There is only one rule everyone must follow during a brainstorming session - this is no place for judgment. As soon as judgment rears its ugly head, the process loses momentum and power.
Sometimes the most seemingly stupid ideas are the ones that are built upon to create the perfect solution. Keep an open mind and a closed mouth when others share their thoughts. Keep the ideas flowing until you've exhausted your ideas or arrived at a solution.
If you're stuck on something, round up the troops and give brainstorming a go.
Remember, more minds are always better than one. Build that invisible third mind and let it deliver the answer to you on a gleaming silver platter.
2007 © Laurie Hayes - The HBB Source
Brainstorm Your Way To Home Business Success - To learn more about this author, visit Laurie Hayes's Website.
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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