Trying to find your business identity can be a struggle, especially when you have an entrepreneurial passion with several ideas to pursue. How do you explain to people what you do, when you offer a variety of services? I laughingly always had the idea that I should have an accordion style business card carrier so when a person asks me what I do, I just tell them to pick one from the group. And it can be a challenge to discern what to share about your vocation based on the conversation you are having with a person in order for it to make sense.

Further complicating the situation was the late 90′s idea that your job description should be engaging and invoke inquiries from the person to whom you are speaking. A cornucopia of titles have emerged over the last decade in the creative world … Design Guru, Web Design Ninja, Chief of Design Intellect, Ideation Specialist, Creative Officer, Designer of Experiences, etc. You are “supposed” to come up with something clever because designer or web developer is just too stale and boring. Yet, the problem with the artsy fartsy names is that people look at you like deer caught in headlights. Maybe they ask you more questions or maybe they think you’re on another planet.

Then there’s the idea that a solopreneur or freelancer should make their businesses appear bigger. You have to come up with a business name that’s cool and start writing text on your website as ‘we’ instead of ‘me’. After all, no one wants to do business with a one man (or one woman) shop, right? Thank goodness people ARE starting to realize that one person can actually do a great job at what they do and they don’t have to be an agency with a plethora of services to be successful. I thought about going back to the agency concept because I thought it would get me closer to making one of Fast Company’s important lists. Then I had the illumination that doing so isn’t really all that important and I don’t want to manage a group of people who may or may not care about the business as much as I do. Whew!

What’s this post really about???

That I think it’s really OK to just be who you are and that you don’t need a fancy title or business name to be a success. What matters is that you do great work and that you provide amazing solutions to your clients. You can provide an awesome experience even if you are a solopreneur or freelancer – and it’s not a negative to call yourself one. All the business books and blogs out there are excellent resources, but they can cause analysis paralysis because you’re trying so hard to follow what the experts say. So quit thinking so much and just do! Be who you are and be proud and I will do the same.

I’m James Dalman. I’m a designer. And I endorse this message!

The person who really wants to do something finds a way; the other person finds an excuse.  ~Author Unknown

There are many factors that can keep us from obtaining that which we desire. There are many difficulties and challenges that we have to overcome in order to achieve our objectives. But no excuse in the world can truly stop us from what our heart longs for. Excuses are for the lazy and the cowards who feel that somehow something is “owed to them”.

The world owes you nothing!

Matt Marcinek has an excuse. He has been disabled with cerebral palsy since he was nine months old. He can’t walk so he should just cry that life isn’t fair and ask for a handout. But the Disabled Grappler makes NO EXCUSES and he doesn’t ask for sympathy. Matt trains every day as a martial arts grappler and even competed in tournaments. He never won a match, but that doesn’t stop him from doing something he is passionate about! And he also makes fun about his “disability.” I have respect for Matt and am honored to call him a friend.

Do you have something you’ve wanted to do but have held back because you have your reasons? Will you find a way through it or will you just find an excuse?

Respond. Verb. 1) to reply or answer in words: to respond briefly to a question. 2) to make a return by some action as if in answer.

You would think that most business owners or their team would respond to a potential client interested in their service or product. Think again! I’ve had numerous conversations with friends who have sought out a company for a solution and never heard a response, either by email or phone. I have also closed on three very great projects since the beginning of the year just because I actually returned an email or phone call. One simple step that elevated me over my competition.

My Communication Response Rules:

• Respond to emails within 12 hours or less.
• Return calls in 24 hours or less.
• If it can’t be done in that time, at least tell the person you are sorry and you will respond properly when you have time.

Sometimes things do happen and we will let communication fall through the cracks, but for the most part there is no reason to not respond to potential clients – no matter how busy you are. If you don’t want the work, then at least tell the person so they can find someone else to give their money to faster. ABC. Always Be Courteous.

That’s my Power Punch for today.

Time.

It’s a precious treasure that is always fleeting and one that you can never keep. Once you’ve lost it you can’t get it back and you definitely can’t manufacture any more of it. That is why time is so incredibly valuable. In fact, it’s priceless.

This is why we should respect it.

Stop wasting your time on useless business meetings. Avoid childish social media playgrounds. Don’t work on projects that suck. Quit charging too little for so much. Give up habits or situations that don’t contribute to your well being. There are plenty of things in our lives that completely waste our time. It’s up to us to change that.

Life is moving faster than you or I can keep up with.

The question is, will we let life pass us by because we focus on the crap that doesn’t really matter … or will we live with more purpose, focusing on the things in life we will regret losing if we never do them?