Re-Marketing
written by Jim Berry
It was as if I was struck by a bolt of lightening or some other earth
shattering news when I realized that the New Market that I had been going
after was the wrong Market for my business.

I had been in business for years and had been doing fairly well and decided
to venture into a new area. Was I in for a surprise!

I had to refocus my aim and redirect my scope so that I could even compete
in the new area. What a shock and realization.?.

Understanding a new marketing venture or a new business opportunity takes a
person away from the comfortable zone they previously had. It takes a
fantastic amount of soul searching, questioning & testing to find your way.

You've never tread these waters before and although it is exciting it is
also precarious. Where will your next decision take you? You are not really
sure. How do you hold onto what you already have while taking that next step
into what is unknown for you?

There will be new players with different mind sets. Do you have what it
takes you ask yourself. Do you understand the complexities and nuances of
the new Market that you are going after? All of these questions have to be
answered to ensure that you will have at least some success.

I don't have any benchmarks to go by or any historical documentation. The
only thing I know is that I don't know. Knowing that you don't know...it is
the 2nd stage of enlightenment. At least you're not at the 1st stage which
is that you don't know that you don't know.

How will I know what level of success I have achieved? How many more steps
are there in the process? What will be my longevity in this New Market?

I am content in my current business but I have been doing it for so long
that maybe it has become too comfortable for me. I need a change I tell
myself but can I make it just one more time? Do I have what it takes. I don'
t know.

We all need to ask these types of questions of ourselves from time to time
so that we don't become too complacent in what we already are doing. We need
to test ourselves to find out if we can go another mile in a different type
of race - one that we have never run before.

What if I could change...would I make it? Would I still excel as well as I
think I do now? Could I fit into another pair of shoes and not wind up with
aches and pains from a new journey?

What if...you've got to ask yourself...what if?
12/09/99