Growing Business: Just Ask

By Stephanie Clark.

One of the best things I’ve done for business is to pick up the phone, call a stranger, and just ask! Here’s an example. I noticed that our local daily newspaper, the Waterloo Region Record, had a regular Friday feature article titled “Careers Weekly.” The copy they used was ubiquitous, and had no value-added benefit to readers.

So I called the editor.

Unbelievably (at least to me!) she called me back. Before I knew it, I had a weekly gig!  The Record’s circulation is quite widespread across central Ontario. Although I don’t get calls every Friday, I know that people are noticing. Writing these articles led to a local private college asking me to deliver a key-note presentation at its first-ever Open House. My 20 minute speech on Career Management attracted new clients, and provided another accomplishment to add to my resume. And while on-site, I discovered that my weekly articles were posted on the bulletin board, which did wonders for my confidence.

Admittedly not every time you ask will you land an offer. But if you never ask, you’ll miss opportunities.

Who could you call today?  You could volunteer as a speaker, as a writer, a workshop host; you could offer  a free resume assessment service to a local job/career fair, a workshop on career management, a presentation on penning a dynamic professional bio … the list is endless.

So simple. Just ask.