It Started At The End
4 Steps To Putting Yourself Out Of Business
Put yourself out of business. What would you have to do for your clients that would make them no longer need you? My mother, a therapist and social worker, told me, “We work until we are out of the job, that’s the idea.” I think this way, and you should too, and here’s why:
We shouldn’t reinvent the wheel every year, making people apply the same principles, hoping it’ll change things. We should be solving new problems for the same people in our specific industry. And here is how you can do it: Map the journey: what problems—actual problems—do you solve?
Choose the destination: how do we solve them? Put yourself out of business: solve the problems! Put yourself back into business: find more problems?
Let’s dive in!
You Choose The Destination Because You Are The Leader
The best way to write a story is to start at the end. You, my friend, will do both before the end of this article. Take a moment to think about your business. What does the end outcome look like for your customer? What’s a happy ending?
You should have an ending in mind for each of your products; we in the business call this the “outcome,” or “deliverable.” As business owners, it is essential for us to understand the ultimate goal, or destination, of both our business and what it offers.
First, you need to sell your business and what it offers. Yes, sales… the “S” word. But let’s pull back the veil for a second: we are all, as business owners, giving something in exchange for something else. I took the time to write this article, and you invested time to read it. If you find it acceptable and valuable, you will then dedicate time to apply it. However, I wrote this article on the premise that I had a destination in mind for you, and that through words, you would reach it.
Secondly, you need to know the end: I am using an outline to write this, and I have a specific outcome in mind for this article. This does not constrain creativity; it focuses it. You, as a business owner, as a visionary, need to be able to chart the course, because, as Lady Galadriel, in The Fellowship of the Ring (movie), to Frodo Baggins, “…and if you do not find a way, no one will.”
Plot Points or Pain Points.
Writing a fiction novel or creating a sales plan relies on plot points — or, in this case, pain points. I don’t see much difference if you are doing them from the right disposition, because it’s your job as a visionary to help people find their way. It’s okay if my clients don’t know what they want. It’s my job to help them figure out what they want. I am the expert.
If you are tracking, you have a destination in mind. But how do you get there? How do you deliver the product to your client? How do you give a speech in a way that makes your listeners take action?
You need to map out the steps in your marketing, but more importantly, you need to put yourself in the business of risking it all for your audience.
Put Yourself Out of Business
How do you put yourself out of business? I knew this one would be a shocker when I was on a call with a fellow writer. She was like, “Kyle, that’s a horrible idea, that’s the opposite of what we want.” But it made me think: isn’t that the end of all service?
I believe the ultimate goal of all service is to have a person served, edified, and fully satisfied, knowing they received what they expected and much more.
A Never-Ending Story
Just as I formed the Idea of putting yourself out of business, I have also created an approach. Because… your vision expires in five years. Yes, you heard me right. And well… the vision of your product also expires in five years. Hopefully, in five years, we won’t be relying on the same funds from the same individuals to address the same issues.
This burns because it places full responsibility on me—us—to provide and keep providing. Because, while I have been thinking about you, dear visionary, I have also been thinking of my own vision. I want to work with the same group of clients for my entire career, offering new ways for them to help grow their brand, freeing me from stagnation and into a realm of constant innovation.
It’s the never-ending story that you want to watch happen because it is a new adventure every day.
In Short: The Three Steps
Have a vision, be the visionary, and choose the destination, because you are the leader.
Map out the plot points in your business journey, while also paying attention to the pain points of your audience.
Put yourself out of business: we should ALWAYS be solving new problems.