Monday Mindset: Doing one thing with excellence or many with mediocrity?

Posted on 11 June 2012 by

Nicola Bird, Creator of JigsawBoxThere’s two approaches you can take in business – try and be all things to all people, or do one thing really really well,

Let me explain how that works in our business so you can see what I mean.

Here at JigsawBox we constantly get asked for new features. Can you develop and autoresponder to go with JigsawBox? Can you create your own shopping cart we can integrate? Does JigsawBox do sales pages? Can my clients book appointments into my diary using JigsawBox?

And our answer is ‘no’ and here’s why. Aweber, Infusionsoft and 1ShoppingCart have spent gazillions on perfecting an autoresponder that works. Same with the shopping cart idea. WordPress is already perfect for creating sales pages, and Timetrade is the thing to use for booking client appointments online.

Can you integrate all these things with your JigsawBox? Absolutely. Do we want to divert our resources into trying to provide these for you? Certainly not.

I’m a great one for listening to what your market tell you they want, however we pride ourselves on the fact that we say ‘no’ to a huge percentage of customer requests for development.

We take Steve Jobs’ stance when he quoted Henry Ford who said ‘If I’d asked them what they wanted, they’d have asked for a faster horse’.

Our focus is on making JigsawBox THE number one piece of toolkit for any serious coach. We’re working every day to make it faster, prettier and easier to use. In fact later this week we release the ‘copy module’ and ‘copy package’ feature that you HAVE all been asking for – because this supports our core purpose of providing a simple, elegant, beautiful piece of technology that allows coaches to sell more than their 1: 1 time and have the time, money and freedom to do more of the stuff they love.

So what’s the mindset piece here? List out 10 things you’re going to say ‘no’ to offering as part of your services and get really really focused on that one thing you do really well, better than anyone else in the world.

Monday Mindset: Nothing is good or bad

Posted on 04 June 2012 by

You can mulle...er...do it!‘Nothing is good or bad but thinking makes it so’ according to William Shakespeare (Hamlet Act 2 scene ii)

I really think the Bard knew what he was talking about here. The way we think about things makes them what they are to us. Specifically, the way we describe things in words makes them ‘good’ or ‘bad’ in our minds. Or anything else – interesting, boring, useful, beautiful or inspiring.

In case you haven’t heard me say this before…

There’s always more than one way to describe a thing.

If the way you currently describe something means that you don’t feel good about it, how about experimenting with different words. Not to change the meaning, just to shift the emphasis.

For example, the complaint,
‘I’m not happy about that’ could be re-worded to, ‘I’m not totally happy about that’. How does that shift your thoughts?

Or the try this one: ‘I’m not good at that, I can’t do it’ transformed to ‘I haven’t discovered the easiest way to do it yet’.

In NLP this is usually described as re-framing. You could also call it taking control of your thoughts. I think of it as shifting focus using language.

But like I said, there’s always more than one way to describe a thing.

_________________________________________________________________________
Guest blog post – written by:
Dianne Lowther Master Trainer of NLP

Dianne Lowther is a Master Trainer of NLP and Principal of Brilliant Minds. She specialises in applications of NLP for leadership and business results.

JigsawBox Tip: Ready, Set, Start Your JigsawBox!

Posted on 20 April 2012 by

Let's Start Off Right!JigsawBox was made to be simple and easy to use, which is why we know so many of you out there turned to it in the first place! You wanted something that you could easily understand and impliment in your own coaching business so that your clients had your programs in a timely and conveinent way.

And we love being able to provide that for you! But what we want to do is know that you are taken care of, and for those of you that are new or might have purchased JigsawBox and just have not gotten to it, here is the starter guide that you need to get set up immediately.

Let’s get the basics going!

  • Decide what you are selling.

Before you do anything else, figure out what and how you are going to sell your coaching program. Don’t just stick everything in one box, package it up, and move it out – make it personal. You want your program to be packaged up right and to do this, it means putting in effort. To make your program really sing figure out what your clients really want in an online program. Are they wanting tips and strategies? Are they wanting you to help them with “To Do” Lists and guidelines that are comprehensive? Do they respond best to you when they have your content clear and available?

  • Create your program and package it up.

Once you’ve decided on what you are selling, then it’s time for you to get in there and SELL IT! Once you log into your JigsawBox account, you will be able to do many different things such as creating modules with your content, uploading audio and video, adding questions, creating packages, even adding forums so that you can communicate with your clients! I encourage you to get in there and make those test packages so that you start to fully experience the power of what JigsawBox can do for you.

Some of the important areas to remember:

My Account – This link will allow you to change your personal information so remember to update when needed, and fill out as much information as you can!

My Modules – This is a tab that leads to all of your modules! In this section you are able to upload and create your coaching content including adding those questions and even uploading documents.

My Packages – This tab leads to the place where you see your “finished” package! From here you are able to grab your client link, set your prices, set your terms and conditions, and much more!

E-Learning & You

Posted on 11 April 2012 by

Learning! It's great for you!Alright so we have to admit it, the digital age has transformed how we learn.

No longer bound by the tradition (although beloved!) of going to the library and researching or checking out that old dusty book, we have moved decidedly forward. We, students of modern technology have embraced how we learn. Our thirst for knowledge cannot be contained and e-learning, once something that was more curious than familiar is now a staple in our everyday lives. So let’s examine it!

What is E-Learning?

E-learning is the constant virtual flow of knowledge by both teaching and being taught information.

If you are a college student much like me, who is attending an online University, then you are accessing those virtual libraries, corresponding with classmates via discussion forums and virtual classrooms, and researching using online databases. If you are a technical support manager then you are no doubt training your support technicians by way of online content, a help desk, or even a series of PDF’s and videos. If you are a coach who has had their coaching programs in the more “terrestrial arena” and are not using platforms like JigsawBox to take it live, congratulations! You, too, are participating in the e-learning process.

So how does e-learning benefit over traditional learning?

It’s mobile. It’s convenient. It’s global.

We don’t have to bind ourselves to books that are not in store or worksheets that we have to fill out. We no longer have to go to an actual library to research information on a subject or paper. Laid out before us we no longer find seven thousand papers, two hundred pencils, and twenty pens. We do not have to file anything physically away and if we are the ones that are distributing content – it’s no longer about two hundred legal pads filled with notes.

Now it’s in the form of releasing information digitally. With Web based training and Computer based training, we are bringing our knowledge to the masses by allowing anyone with access to a computer or telephone the ability to direct connect to what they need to know. At JigsawBox, we look to that future and embrace it.

JigsawBox is that unique spot on the internet that is not just easy to use, but that also caters to e-learning. We encourage coaches and more to join us by signing up for a trial and just taking a look at how you can add your content and information by way of the module, create that package, and then send out that link for your clients to sign up immediately and start learning from you TODAY.

You can use your JigsawBox to promote your method of e-teaching your students via learning logs, questions and answers, forum discussions, trade documents and files, and so much more.

E-learning is not just the present, but it is the future. We here at JigsawBox appreciate how to stay ahead of the curve.

JigsawBox
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