Bashful Bill initially struggled with blogging because he felt uncomfortable sharing his inner thoughts with the internet. Bill’s new challenge, economically induced writers block, would require a new approach. Business owners struggle with bills, sales, and employees; these mental processes eat away at one’s ability to engage, enlighten and/or encourage others. Bill’s shyness added an extra level of stress which took him further away from business blogging.
Bill and I were meeting at a local Sushi restaurant, I figured meeting over lunch would help prepare Bill for what I would tell him. After several rolls and some small talk, I launched into the problem at hand.
“Bill, tell me something new you’ve learned about your business this past year?”
My question caught Bill off guard, Bill replied, “I thought we were going to talk about my blog article?”
“We will Bill, but first, tell me something new about your industry or the way you are doing business.”
“Not much to say about the landscaping business, except business is down all over. People are canceling contracts and I’m forced to layoff workers. I guess I don’t understand your question.”
“Did you attend any trade shows this year Bill?”
“Uh…No.”
“Did you attend any seminars?”
“No.”
“Did you take any classes at the community college or the local Small Business Development Center?”
“No, what are you getting at?”
I ignored Bill’s question for now. “Do you subscribe to any landscaping magazines?”
“Yes, I read Landscape Architecture, but I thought we were going to meet and discuss my article about cutting home landscaping costs? I’ve spent a lot of time on this article and feel I just need your help getting started.”
“Bill, sometimes we, as business owners, must see our problems with different eyes in order to understand a way through the situation. Continuing education is one way to gain a new perspective on business life. Recessions are a natural part of business and if we fail to seek mental stimulation to keep our thoughts moving in a positive direction, we’ll only have business struggles to ponder. Our worries will keep us from doing that which builds our business and so begins a downward business spiral.”
I continued, “With that in mind, can you tell me about one of the articles from a past issue of Landscape Architecture that peeked your interest?”
Bill proceeded to tell me about Treeconomics and while the details were mostly a blur, I could hear Bill’s passion for the topic. When Bill concluded I said, “Now put yourself in the shoes of your readers. Which story would you rather read, one dripping with worry or one with passion and positive feelings?”
The look on Bill’s face told me he understood. “You mean my troubles writing are because the tone is negative?”
“Yes. Negative thought be gets negative results. When you are faced with an economically induced writers block, the solution is to turn to your passion. That which you are passionate about will always get you writing again. You can come back to your current story, but don’t get so focused on one subject that you avoid publication all together. Your readers are taking a break from life to read your thoughts, reward them with your passion for your profession.”
Ed Bejarana
For more information about how business blogging can help you and your business, please visit our companion website BusinessBlogging.net or call us at (503) 709-1454.
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