Creative Questions To Help Move Your Business Past a Tight Budget

Sometimes it is difficult to start, no one starts at the top. Almost all of us have to overcome one major obstacle in the beginning.


If you're looking to market yourself and your business on a tight budget, you've got to learn to be creative and you've got to learn to start asking creative questions.


Questions such as:


1) How could I...


Another creative question starter:


2) Who could help me with I love that one. Who could help me with


How about:


3) Who do I know that would exchange for ?


What about this one:


4) Could I do this cheaper? or How would I be able to do this faster? or Could I do it with less effort? or Is there a way to do this for free? That question will really get your creative juices going.


Here's another one:


5) How could I substitute 'XYZ' for 'ABC'? How could I substitute 'X' for 'Y'? Or whatever you want to do. What could I substitute for 'XYZ'?


Here's another one that I love. This really puts you in the shoes of unique and different people.


6) How would solve this problem?


Here is an example: How would my wife solve this problem? How would my mentor, child, neighbor solve this problem? By asking yourself this question you really have to look at things from a different perspective.


I've answered these business questions myself and it has allowed doors to open in every direction, propelling my career to new heights and success to be and continued to be achieved.


I'll show you an example of how I used this method of creative questioning to help me.


I decided to become a professional speaker as soon as I was done University. My focus was speaking to college and high school students about the topic of creativity. I focused on creativity because with it I was able to move from a first year failure in University to graduating being named Most Outstanding Male with straight A's. I changed a lot between how I did things in first year to my last year, and I credit a lot of it to learning something I had become very passionate about, creative thinking.


Being a professional speaker and building a profitable speaking business was two things I didn't know anything about though.


I went to and joined an organization called CAPS, which is The Canadian Association for Professional Speakers.


I remember going to one of the local chapter meetings and there was one guy there that was doing very well in his speaking career and I asked him, "What do I need to do to get to your level?" And he said, "Well Stu, it's very simple. I'm going to give you three things to do. When you've done all three, then come back to me and I'll give you some more." I said, "Okay."


"The first thing you need to do is surround yourself with people who are in the same industry as yourself. Join CAPS, it will help your business grow." I said, "Okay."


In order to join CAPS it cost $200, which at that time was a squeeze. Thinking back on it I remember paying for it on payments in order to be able to do it. I did number though, I joined CAPS.


Then he said, "Number two, you have to get out to the CAPS National Conference." And I thought, 'Man, how in the heck am I going to get out there?' It was on the complete opposite side of Canada. The seminar itself was relatively expensive. Anything for me, at that point, was expensive. I had no money. I had to pay for my flight and all that nonsense.


I needed to find a creative solution. Here's what I did. I asked myself some creative questions. What I started to do was look at what I had that, perhaps, somebody might need and want.


What I had at the time was time itself. I wasn't speaking very often because I had just started my speaking business, so I had some time on my hands.


Then I started to say, "Okay, how could I use my time to benefit somebody else?" From that question I came up with a campaign, and I called it Help Stu Be Like You.


This is how I used my creative thinking. The largest chapter of CAPS in my province consisted of about 75 people. I went to one of their meetings and asked if I could have 30 seconds in front of them.


No one had asked for this before. I asked a question that got everyone's hands in the air. It was, "How many of your, at one point, started off as a speaker with no experience?"


"Awesome," I said. "Keep your hand up if you have ever attended the CAPS national conference before." Seventy-five percent of the group kept their hands up.


I continued, "With experiencing the national conference, how many of you with your hands up belief that it would be beneficial for somebody with zero experience to go to?" Everyone who had been kept their hands up.


My reply was, "Great. Well I am somebody that obviously needs to go to the CAPS national conference because I have zero experience."


But then I gave them my situation. I said, "I have a problem though. I don't have any money. The one thing I do have though is time. That is why I have created a campaign called, 'Help Stu Be Like You.' Basically I am willing to make an exchange and I'm hoping you will too." I passed out 8x6 black and white flyers I had printed off at home on 8-1/2x11 sheets to save costs. I made sure everyone in the audience got one.


I said, "Here's what I'm willing to do. I'm willing to do all the dirty work that you speakers don't like doing or don't have time to do. I will make sales calls for you. I will write sales letters for you. I will lick stamps for you. I will cut your grass. I'll even wipe your baby's bottom, if that's what you want me to do, for a financial contribution of your choice."


I could see some of them in the audience were just licking their chops thinking, "Oh my goodness. This is awesome. I'm going to get cheap labor."


I said, "I am willing to do whatever you don't like doing in exchange for a financial contribution of your choice, all of which will go towards getting me out to the CAPS national conference."


As soon as I finished explaining it, a gentleman at the back of the room stood up, and he said, "Stu, I will pay for your entrance fee to the seminar." Boom. Just like that. Half of my costs basically taken care of.


Once that gentleman was finished telling me about what he was willing to contribute another gentleman stood up. He said, "Stu, I will take care of getting you out to the seminar." Bang, Bang. In a matter of minutes 85% of my expenses were taken care of.


That's what being creative is about my friends.


That one creative solution got me out to that conference. It turned out to be a big story because all kinds of people heard about it there and I even had an article published in the national publication.


Ideas will come to you when you explore the possibilities of creativity!


Until next time!

Article Source: ArticlesMaker.com

About the Author: Answers to all the major business questions you have are only a click away. With live and recorded, audio, visual and written responses, Instant Business Answers can assist with small business support. 

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