The pre-game show equips you with information about your favorite team, favorite player and the football league in general. The pre-game show prepares you for watching the game; stats, up-close-and-personal player profiles, and a team history lesson. The pre-game show analyzes the team match-ups and informs you about the utter importance of the specific game you’re about to watch.
The pre-game show analysts include journalists, former athletes, and ex-coaches who chant their opinions about player-to-player match-ups and who they believe will win with friendly banter and stifled adrenaline. Ultimately, they give you, the fan, a checklist of things to watch for during the game, including key injuries and superstars.
How does all this relate to being a self-employed entrepreneur? For you, your pre-game show is all about preparation – preparation to run your business with clarity and efficiency. Let’s move through some pre-game show steps so you can enjoy your “business game” to the fullest.
1. Team match-ups – Just as coaches study game film so they can identify weaknesses and strengths in the opposing team, I study my competition regularly so I know who I’m up against in the business world. What are they offering that I’m not? How well do they service their clients? What is their USP (Unique Selling Proposition) and how do they leverage it to score more clients? Be diligent to study your team match-ups – my guess is that you’ll discover what uniquely sets you apart from the competition and, as a result, you’ll add more plays to your success playbook.
2. Stats Are Learned – Tex Noel, Executive Director of Intercollegiate Football Researchers Association, (www.secsportsfan.com/college-football-association.html) and author of four books on college football’s statistical histories, knows firsthand that stats are learned and that you really can love the little buggers. Tex recently told me that he was not a whiz at math throughout school but has a natural aptitude for historical sports stats.
Do you have to love stats to have a successful business? Not really, but taking a few moments every week to analyze your web stats for page views will be time well spent. Analyze your blog posts and social media sites to see how many likes, comments, and tweets you’re getting. It may seem like a waste of time but just a few minutes will yield a better understanding of how to adjust your website content and cater to your prospective clients’ preferences.
3. Checklist (foresight of what to watch for) I have found the most profound thing to watch for is my own personal growth through self-employment. Paul Hawken says, “Being in business is not about making money. It’s a way to become who you are.”
Since you still have to live on this earth, money ranks right up there with oxygen in importance but it doesn’t have to define who you really are. Football players do not learn the game in theory only – they learn from being on the field; running and hitting and blocking and falling…and getting back up.
You don’t learn about business from reading your business plan or from burying your head in books. While I have gained a ton of knowledge from reading business and personal development books, my real lessons have been “on the field” by running to the right contacts, hitting my mark with quality service, blocking naysayers and negative influences, and falling down in discouragement…and getting back up.
So, let your pre-game show begin. Equip yourself by knowing your match-ups, getting a handle on your stats, and actually playing the game. After all, you’re the star of the show!
