004 – Be Remarkable – LCB Woodturning

September 16, 2011 in Be Remarkable, Video Blog with 13 Comments

This is the first episode of a new series titled, Be Remarkable.

In this series I’m going to highlight people and businesses that are doing just that, they are being remarkable.

Whether or not it is in how they are building their product, how they are interacting with their customers, how they pour their heart into what they are doing, I’m going to highlight people doing things in remarkable ways.

My focus is not just small businesses. In this series you will see a variety of people and businesses; however, every episode of Be Remarkable will show case a remarkable action that can be implemented in YOUR business. So whether I’m highlighting my father, a local landscaper, or the breakfast crew at my local Chickfila, there will be something remarkable that you can take away and apply to YOUR business.

I’m VERY excited to start this series by show casing none other than my Pops, Louis Bickett. Since his retirement 10+ years ago Pops has been a wood worker. He started making furniture and more recently transitioned into wood turning, or as he likes to say, “Making square things round.”

I don’t want to spoil what is so remarkable about LCB Woodturning, so please, enjoy the video:

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So Pops is remarkable because he is SO GOOD at what he does that potential clients COME TO HIM and ASK HIM to make pieces for them. Pops doesn’t turn wood for a business, he does it because he loves it, but when and if he does turn LCB Woodturning into a business he’ll have clients lined up asking to buy his pieces.

I ask you, are you so good at what YOU do that clients come to you, instead of the other way around? Because most of us have to go looking for clients and ask them to do business with us.

~Ivan

You have seen this name FREQUENTLY here at A Better Way of Business, but I want to thank Justin Lukasavige for the inspiration for this series. Check out this post by him over at coachradio.tv to see what I mean.

  • http://twitter.com/pastdue Justin Lukasavige (@pastdue)

    This is amazing, Ivan! I can’t believe anyone can figure out how to put 307 pieces of wood together by calculating it.

    You need to get him on video!

    • http://abetterwayofbusiness.wordpress.com Ivan Bickett

      Pops has some demo videos where he demonstrates how he does some of what he does. I can make you a copy if you’d like. I asked him if he wanted to be in this video so people could see him and he said no. He had two grand kids to play with so he was busy!

      ~Ivan

  • http://fundamusic.com curtishollembeak

    That is definitely some amazing work there by your dad!

    What should we do if nobody asks us to do anything? I guess the things I do remarkably well are not things that are in popular demand (learner, thinker, analyzer, etc.). I have tried to turn those things to good use by becoming a teacher and music director, but I rarely get feedback that those I work with couldn’t do without me. About the only thing I’m asked to do is sing (occasionally).

    Any suggestions?

    • http://abetterwayofbusiness.wordpress.com Ivan Bickett

      Curtis! Ouch! I feel your pain man!

      Why?

      Because I’m in the same boat. I want to help people that are currently employees and have an idea, take that idea and turn it into a business. Or I want to help people who have already started a business around their idea, but the business isn’t performing as desired, turn that business into that image they had in their mind when they started.

      This is basically coaching.

      And everywhere I look online I see: “If no one is asking you for help in the area you want to coach in, then you shouldn’t be a coach in that area.”

      That’s EXACTLY what was going on with me. NO ONE was asking for help. So I got REALLY DISCOURAGED AND UPSET! I was ready to throw in the towel. I was ready to walk away from YET ANOTHER BUSINESS IDEA I’ve had.

      But I didn’t.

      I realized that the reason NO ONE was asking me for help is I wasn’t putting myself out there. I’ve been REALLY miserable in my day job for a long time. So the LAST thing I’ve wanted to do is talk about BUSINESS outside of work. I WAS FREAKING HATING BUSINESS!!!

      So I decided to IGNORE the experts. IGNORE people I REALLY RESPECT AND TRUST.

      Why?

      BECAUSE I’M GOING TO MAKE THIS WORK! One way or another. Hell or high water. THIS WILL WORK!

      So I started this blog. I started talking to friends that I KNEW wanted to start a business and offered my help. One friend bit. And I’ve since helped her. In pouring out my heart on this blog I’m now starting to get interactions with people I don’t know. I don’t even know how they discovered A Better Way of Business. But I’m starting to reach an audience that is beyond my personal influence. I’m building a community of people wanting to start a business.

      I don’t have the once sentence answer for you, unfortunately. But here’s what I think you can do:

      • http://abetterwayofbusiness.wordpress.com Ivan Bickett

        In the realm of action (something I think I just made up), the three things you do remarkable well, learner, thinker, analyzer, are passive. What I mean by that is when you do them there is no physical action. There is not outward movement (unless you take notes or make spreadsheets). I’m familiar with these. THEY ARE WHAT I DO!

        But I want you to take these three points and build some ACTION around them. If these are what you’re good, AND they are what’s on your heart all the time, THEN YOU NEED TO FOCUS ON THEM! But you need to do so in a manner that connects with other people, assuming you’re wanting to build a community and a business around them.

        Knowing you love music, and you have your blog, FundaMusic.com going, can you SHOW people how you learn new techniques? Can you start producing short videos of you showing new techniques? Discuss the technique before hand. Explain the fine points. Then show how to do it right. Show how it’s commonly done wrong, too, and then show how to correct that.

        Can you take a 1 minute piece of music and analyze that music. Discuss the different musical…. characteristics (is it forte… is it PP (can’t remember what that is, but VERY soft)). What time is the music? HOW do you know that?

        If I’m interested in learning music, think of reason WHY I would want to use you. Blog about it. Talk about it.Show people what sets you apart from all the other options.

        So tell me Curtis, (in all seriousness) does this help? Does this give you ideas to try? Action steps to take away?

        IS THIS HELPFUL???

        ~Ivan

  • http://fundamusic.com curtishollembeak

    Hmm…Interesting thoughts there, Ivan. I talked to Deb Ingino on the FAA “You” course webinar last night. She was very enthusiastic about the correlation between my C-S “precisionist” wiring and working with small children. I plan on gearing my education materials to grades K5-4th grade. I asked her if I was to be marketing to kids or their parents, and she said primarily the parents, and secondarily to the kids.

    The question I have for you is, if I put up some videos on the website, should they be for the kids or for the parents? How about my blog postings? I would assume that small children would not be surfing the ‘Net looking for music education resources, but I wonder if I should showcase what I can offer the kids?

    • http://abetterwayofbusiness.wordpress.com Ivan Bickett

      You definitely write for the parents. Like you said, kids aren’t going to be looking for your material, their parents are.

      However, your videos should be made as if a child is sitting there and you’re trying to explain to them what it is you want them to learn. So you’ll have to use your imagination. How are you going to teach little Johnny and little Suzie? What would you say? What do you think their main issues would be? How would you address those issues?

      Remember, Mom and Dad are the ones who are going to find you online. Mom and Dad are the ones who will pay you for helping their kid learn the fundamentals of music. Mom and Dad are who you should target. But your end … customer will be little Johnny and little Suzie.

      And Mom and Dad will tell their friends based off of how successful you teach their children.

      ~Ivan

  • http://fundamusic.com curtishollembeak

    Now, see, someone is asking you for help. Does that make you feel better?

    • http://abetterwayofbusiness.wordpress.com Ivan Bickett

      That made me laugh! I was already feeling like a million bucks! I decided right before I started, right after I started, somewhere shortly after I realized why people HADN’T been coming to me (b/c I wasn’t putting myself out there), that I would maintain A Better Way of Business for nine months with ZERO visitors and zero interaction from anyone other than my wife and my mom. If I didn’t get any outside involvement after nine months I would re-evaluate whether or not to keep this up.

      And I can tell you, that I’ve been doing this for less than 2 months and I’ve already blown my 6 month goals OUT OF THE WATER in terms of traffic and interactions. I’ve done better in two months than I ever DREAMED I would do in 6 months. Especially considering the experts that I know and trust said this wouldn’t work (not me specifically, but my case in general).

      Thanks for the laugh.

      ~Ivan

  • Rose

    Dad watched the video in his shop with me, and he said it was excellent. I also think it was excellent. Keep up the good work!

  • http://coachradio.tv/ Justin Lukasavige

    You don’t need inspiration from anyone, Ivan. You’ve got a ton of great content bursting out of your mind.

    Great story about your dad!

    • http://www.abetterwayofbusiness.com/ Ivan Bickett

      Funny you said that… I was discussing with Skye yesterday how when I go full time I’m going to seven days a week blogging b/c I keep having more ideas to write about and video blog about then I have days to post.

      And I’m starting to build up too many reserves. Need to get these ideas out there and helping others.

      Did you see this post by Seth Godin? http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/09/talkers-block.html

      Seth encourages you to write everyday. And I took the liberty to remove write and put video blog or whatever else I’m trying to get better at in “writing’s” place.

      And honestly, Justin. I don’t know that I would have had the fortitude to dive into A Better Way of Business like I have without the inspiration and encouragement I’ve received from you and Coachradio.tv.

      YOU ROCK! Thanks for being Awesome!

      ~Ivan

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