4 steps for getting out of the slow lane
No one likes the slow lane.
Even if you are a safe, by-the-book driver, you still don’t like the slow lane.
For the record though, I am not endorsing speedy, reckless driving here…
The slow lane is where you sometimes hang out if you are in a new part of town and don’t know where you are going.
The slow lane is where you meander.
Sometimes, oddly, the slow lane is where you can get lost.
Now, the slow lane isn’t all bad. Sometimes you need to go slow in order to figure things out, to get your bearings, to set your course. Those are good reasons to be in the slow lane for a while.
But, it can be frustrating to stay there too long. When you are ready to move, when you are ready to take 2 steps forward - to go – the slow lane can feel, well, slow.
And sometimes we stay in the slow lane too long simply because we don’t know what to do or where to go next.
It’s not that we don’t want to go and it’s not that we don’t have some general idea of how to get there, we just don’t have quite enough directions to actually go there. Been there, done that.
Honestly, when I’m in the slow lane, I know it’s time to stop meandering around and look for some directions. Getting these directions doesn’t have to be complex or take a bunch of time.
If you are a newsletter subscriber, you already have access to the starter 4-Step Find Your Wedge framework, aka, a set of directions.
To help you use those directions, I’m breaking down each of the four steps of the Find Your Wedge framework here. Of course, the actual document gives you more guidance, this is the short-version.
Here we go:
1. Starting Point Sentence: Know where you are today. Create a 1-sentence description of your business as it looks today. 1-sentence. Just starting out? Your sentence is what you are thinking your business will be about.
2. Inspo-Competitors: Look around (meaning Google it) to see who else is out there operating in your broad niche (Note: niche ≠ wedge). You may already know these, they may have inspired you to hang up your own shingle. But, they don’t all have to be competitors or businesses in your niche. In your search, you’ll likely run across some general trends or news in your niche. Note that down, too. Look closely at what you find here (what they sell, business structure, others’ pivots, etc.) But also, pay attention to what you think is missing.
3. What’s Missing: What stands out to you as missing from Step 2 is one step closer to you really finding/defining your wedge within the niche. How does your experience and expertise fill in that missing piece? Just a heads-up, Step 3 is what I call the ‘thinking step’. Reflect. Consider. Think. Give yourself a bit of time to get through this step. Not months, but a couple days of writing, reflecting, considering, yes.
4. Your Updated Sentence: Re-visit the one you wrote in Step 1, and with your new-found perspective, re-write it. Use more detail, emphasize your experience, highlight the missing pieces as you see them. THIS is your wedge.
So, this was a quick and dirty run-through of the 4 steps. Pull out the framework worksheets you already downloaded and start working your way through them. Give yourself your own set of directions.
Your wedge gives you insight into:
Platforms where you can sell your products or services
Creating messaging that speaks to your potential customers
Developing your next product(s)
All of which gets you out of the slow lane and moving again
