Naturally, if you are trying to make a living selling your services, there are numerous roadblocks to your success. That has always been true and it always will be. Having a Twitter account and a zillion followers won’t keep you from failing. And being there on the cutting edge marketing yourself via Facebook won’t either.

If you have your message aligned with your target market, versus your competitors. If your value proposition is really a value and written in simple terms for your target audience. And if you actually deliver a valuable service, so that those who do buy it tell their friends. Well then, having a few followers is excellent and a zillion followers will have you stacking up the cash.

There are however these two rocks in the middle of your road to success. You can not ignore them, you can go around them or you can blast them out of the way, but they are facts you have to face.

One of the key roadblocks is having sufficient capital – money in the bank, that sort of thing – so you won’t run out of money before you get famous. If you run out of capital before your revenues are consistently great enough so you can support yourself you may find that having a zillion Twitter followers telling you how well they are doing – just might be a downer.

And you do not have enough money in savings. I know that, you know that, so when more money goes out each month than comes in – you will be broke unless you can change it.

The second of the key roadblocks is insufficient revenues. Without a sufficient revenue stream you will go bust even if you have a bunch of money in the bank, because nobody except the government can spend more than it takes in indefinitely.

No matter how clever your sales copy is, no matter how fabulous your web site is and all the social marketing you’re doing, if you do not have more money coming in than is going out – your career is headed in the wrong direction.

So, if I have any advice – for those of you just getting started in your professional career, it is “don’t quit your day job” before you absolutely have to.

If you are in a day job you really hate or if you have already quit one that you really hated, one that was taking you in a totally different direction than you wanted to go – then you might consider changing your day job.

Even if it means working for less money, if it is in an industry, in a position, in a profession that you’ve identified as the one you want to work in or focus on, then every thing you’ll be doing is a learning opportunity as well as an earning opportunity.

Become a bartender. If you want to become a counselor to alcoholics, work in a bar. Drive a school bus. If you want to coach parents toward having more patience with their youngsters become a part time school bus driver. Or work behind the counter at a drug store. If want to understand what drug store owners, or farm equipment retailers, or florists have to deal with – so that your insurance solutions or coaching services resonate with them, walk a few months in their shoes.

Use the opportunity to establish credibility, a teachable point of view – to do some competitive intelligence work and to make useful contacts inside their industry.

Haven’t you noticed how experts, authors, consultants, and gurus of all kinds – people we know are successful and making a lot of money, still stay on the faculty, of council, as an adjunct professor, or a consultant to one institution or another? Is it possible, whether they are getting paid much or not – that they see a marketing benefit from this connection?

From a marketing point of view – everything is about marketing isn’t it, those of us who are inside the circle where our prospective clients spend their time are the most effective at marketing their services.

During the thirty years I worked with business owners, marketing selling and delivering my services to them, 90% of them came from three related industries. Everywhere I went they were there – people I did not know knew people I had done business with. People called me after seeing me at their trade association meeting ten times.

If you are a Dentist, then other Dentists are ideal prospects for you – you already know the lingo and the likely problems they are facing. You also know somebody they know. The same thing is true if you are (or were) a Chef, an Engineer, a Mechanic, or a Hair Dresser.

By leveraging your day job (or getting one in your niche market) – when you are ready to strike out on your own you’ll be known in the market of your choice.

And you won’t have to deplete your savings or go broke because of deficit spending before your services are well known in your niche – making you the envy of your competitors and earning you the respect of your peers.

About the Author

Successful professionals are always on the lookout for ideas and resources to help them. They are also looking for creative ways of marketing their professional services. If you want to be even more successful in the future than you are today, learn more about marketing professional services and share your insights with others, visit us and join in the discussion.

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