Last Update: Tuesday September 25, 2018

Key Idea: Know Yourself

Key Question:

Understand yourself so well that you choose the right path.

A: Greg Steckler re-invented himself to be able to do what he is doing today.

He said he fell in love with computers and when that happened, he "hung up the chain saw and traded it in for a monitor and a keyboard." Greg is typical of the men and women we know who have created plenty of cash from a home-based business. They know themselves well enough to know that they can't do work they can't be excited about. We hear the word, "love" all the time. Owners say: I love my work. I love my customers. I love what I do. If you can't imagine saying that, don't even think about working from your home.

It's hard to remember when we all didn't have a personal computer but in light of history, it was just a few seconds ago that we were all doing our work without a computer. Greg knew himself and was in touch with his real feelings at the time he got his first computer. He was confident that he could migrate his construction customers to his log home plan business.

Contact

Lee Marie Steckler, President
Greg Steckler, founder
61283 Ring Bearer Court
Bend, Oregon 97702 541-389-4887

http://www.logrhythms.com/

Q: What can you do to learn more about yourself?

A: Go to a career counselor or take some tests like the Johnson O'Conner or The Flanagan Aptitude Classification Test. We do not believe in the theory that any person can set their mind to any task and succeed. We believe in finding your strengths and going with them. The web site of the Johnson O'Conner Research Foundation says, "Aptitudes are natural talents, special abilities for doing, or learning to do, certain kinds of things. Manual dexterity, musical ability, spatial visualization, and memory for numbers are examples of such aptitudes. In a comprehensive battery of tests available only through the Foundation, these and many other aptitudes are measured. These measured traits are highly stable over long-term periods."

We have personal experience with the Johnson O'Conner as it helped to save our niece. She was determined to become a hairdresser because she had been styling hair since she was a child. Her father would hear nothing of it and sent her off to college where she slept through most of her classes for two years. We suggested the testing and it showed her father that his daughter has natural aptitude at working with her hands. Today she makes plenty of money, works her own hours as a hairdresser and is a wife and terrific mother to her two daughters.

There are many web sites which offer some free guidance. I just went to the University of Missouri on the web and took a test. I found out that I am doing what I am good at. I am selling, editing, writing, and teaching. I also discovered that I would be good at being a probation officer and a Rabbi. In fact, I was shocked at the list of potential occupations the test produced for me.

Think about it

Do you know yourself well enough to be confident you are spending time on the best career path? Are you in an industry where you enjoy the people? Do you have the gifts to be the best in your chosen field?

Making a business work from home takes discipline, drive, brains and more than anything, a willingness to be honest with yourself as you explore your gifts and talents. You will begin by studying by yourself to find just the thing to do that most resonates with you personally.

Greg Steckler loves designing homes, he loves logs, he loves the outdoors, and he loves working from his log home miles from others.

How do I make it easy for customers to do business with me?

A: Follow Greg's example. Over the years he has adopted online tools so that any customer can view him at work from any computer connected to the Internet. Providing service to customers in multiple time zones was his initial motivation.

Q: Why is this so valuable to Greg's customers?

A: He is drawing custom log home plans for his customers. They are all dreaming about the home they are going to build with these plans. They are anxious to see what he does with their ideas and without excpeption, they are chomping at the bit for him to finish their project. By using the password he provides, each of Greg's customers can view their log plans in progress. Can you imagine how many phone calls this must save him everyday?

None of us want to stop talking to our customers on the phone. However, if we can give them more of what they want when they want it, everybody is happy.

How do I find new customers?

A: Convince strangers to tell you who they are when they visit your web site.

Q: Where was most of Greg's business coming from soon after he put his first website up and why?

A: Greg followed all of the rules we have already talked about and he offered a free item if people would request it by email. This gave him a way to contact, interview and eventually sell many web visitors that other may never reach.

What do you think? What could you offer to get more web visitors to provide you with their email contact information?

Q: With whom did Gregg form his first strategic alliance?

A: The site called Log Homes On The Internet. The reason he went to them first is that the traffic report provided by his site hosting service told him that most of his traffic was already coming from this site. Therefore, "you dance with the one who brings you."

This follows the principle that you focus on your strengths and when you have time work on weak spots. Some might think that they shouldn't worry about an alliance with those who are already helping you because you're getting business from them already. Greg was right though to develop a formal relationship with the sites that were sending him business. This helps to create even more enthusiasm and more traffic.