Q & A With ExcelShir

Talking about the idea nugget incubator today…

…with a client who live to tell the tale, ;)

Recently, my colleague, client and friend, Shir, participated in the Idea Nugget Incubator Program.

For those of you who are unsure of what that is, it’s my idea generation program that helps clients rewire their awareness so that they are able to create endless amounts of social media content that illustrates their expertise, their life as a business owner, and their experiences as a human being living on this planet in order to nurture and develop their relationships with their audiences.

In addition to several brainstorming calls, the Program also includes a workbook that helps organize thoughts into hyper-specific content buckets. These content buckets are the starting point for the whole program as they prompt the client to brainstorm as many idea nuggets - see what I did there? - as possible within each bucket.

Once the entire workbook is filled out, that’s when we schedule our first call to review the entire workbook, and from there, you guessed it, the magic ensues, :)

So, Shir is in the process of rebranding himself, and also is looking to develop a more robust, online presence, so, he decided to take a spin in the Incubator to get himself more equipped for this upgrade to his marketing strategy.

Unlike other Incubator calls that I have with my clients, I actually made a house call, and we went deep for well over 2 hours. By the end of the workbook review, we were both ready for naps, but, the good news was that everything we discussed was audio recorded, and Shir, being the ever-so-prepared student, took copious notes throughout.

As an early-ish adopter of my Incubator program, I sat down with Shir and asked him a couple questions about his experience going through this Idea Nugget Incubator process:

Q: When you first signed up for the Idea Nugget Incubator Program, what was your initial goal?

A: My initial goal was to get a sense of direction.

For years I’ve been so overwhelmed by the thought of creating content that I’ve barely created anything. My hope was to break down what I actually needed to do, and not waste any time on things that didn't matter. In other words, I wanted to be pointed in the right direction by an expert, so that I could work smart, not just hard. I wanted help creating a system.

Q: How does the Idea Nugget Generator Workbook help enhance your ability to write stories for social media and blog posts?

A: The workbook has already served me as a guide for identifying which stories to tell, and what perspectives to tell them from.

Before the workbook, my ideas were amorphous and jumbled together. After filling out the workbook, I have specific buckets (a.k.a. Categories) of ideas and a mental framework from which to operate. I LOVE frameworks. It was exactly what was missing.

Q: What were the biggest takeaways from the Workbook Review session with John?

A: I used to be convinced that nobody wanted to hear my stories, and that people were only interested in my expertise (the "How To" videos). Reviewing the workbook with John helped me see that in fact, people do care about the stories. After all, I’m not just an expert - I’m also an entrepreneur, and a human being. Sure, some people might just be interested in my actual lessons, but the best, most consistent, and most profitable clients are ones that care about me as a person as well.

Q: How did this program help you see idea generation and content creation in a different light?

A: I used to think of idea generation and content creation as a total chore.

But now I realize that ideas spring up around me ALL THE TIME. It’s just about shifting my awareness to be ready to jot down those idea nuggets before they slip away. Then, the actual content creation becomes more about expressing my creativity, and less about banging my head against my desk to try and come up with ideas which will end up feeling forced and stale.

Q: Why would you suggest other business owners invest in the Idea Nugget Incubator Program?

A: As entrepreneurs it’s very easy to fall into the trap of “if you want something done right, do it yourself.”

That is a dangerous way of thinking when it leads you to try to figure things out by yourself, instead of investing time and money with an expert who has already succeeded in the area you are striving for. Why on earth would I attempt to do by myself what John has already spent years refining? Do yourself a favor - don’t figure out this content creation thing out on your own. Hire John for an idea nugget incubator. Your future self will thank you.

So now, I turn to you…

Have you been hiding from leveraging social media to elevate your visibility? Need some help to walk out from the shadows and into the light?

Listen, I get it, I was hiding deep in the weeds for YEARS, so, I totally get it.

But now, I am here to help, :)

First, check out more information on the Idea Nugget Incubator Program here. Then, schedule a call with me and let’s see if we’re truly a match to work together.

Help me help you, my friend, :)

PS - For those of you who aren’t in the know, I mail out these blogs 3x a week, and lemme tell you, they’re a real party, so, if you’d like to get in on this, sign up for it here and I’ll throw in a free gift for you, because I care, :)