Hong Kong found me in a Wisconsin convenience store!

You never know where opportunities may come from. One of mine recently came from a local convenience store. Many of you know that my book, The Brander-In-Chief, was released this past November. I had a big media launch in an old downtown theater. It was very exciting. One of the attendees had a small chain of gas station convenience stores and he offered to sell my book in his stores.

 

Hey, it’s my first book, you got to start somewhere (by the way you can now order at amazon.com)! So we created a display stand and placed my books in four of his stores. For a month nothing moved. We decided to re-brand the display stand with, “LOCAL AUTHOR!” all over it. The books started moving at a modest rate.

 

A CEO, from a successful company, received the book from his in-laws who purchased the book (I later discovered) at one of these stores. This successful CEO asked his associates if anyone knew this Joe Kiedinger guy? One of his associates actually went to college with me and knew me quite well. The CEO wanted to meet with me because he liked the message of the book and the Brander-In-Chief philosophies and system held within.

 

I learned that one of his companies does leadership training in Hong Kong. Last night I had a Skype conversation with his office in China. After two hours I was informed that the Brander-In-Chief message would be quite well-received in Hong Kong and was asked if I would consider a two-week trip to Hong Kong to give speeches and run coaching sessions with their people. My, oh, my! I guess Disney had it right. It really is “a small world afterall.” This opportunity happened because one business owner allowed me to sell my books in his convenience stores.

 

This one powerful example illustrates how important it is to present your uniqueness to everyone you meet including people you may think can do nothing for your business: teachers, college students, vendors, even family members. You never realize the impact a meaningful conversation about your vision and unique selling proposition can have until you share those ideas with others. Sometimes these conversations can lead to opportunities years down the road, but it always pays dividends at some point.

 

As Brander-In-Chief of your life and the business you serve, you are an ambassador. You should always be talking to people and networking. You are a unique individual who brings value to others. Tell them how and show them if possible. Don’t underestimate anyone. Tell your story and live with passion!

 

Joe Kiedinger

 

ACTION PLAN: Be the ambassador!