Create Reality: Business Lessons from a Homeless Man

A few days ago I was downtown Atlanta with a client walking back to his office after lunch. We had stopped on the corner waiting on the light to change when a man approached us and entered our conversation. He had a blank piece of paper and pen in hand. As he talked with us he drew this beautiful picture of a barn. He told us that he was an artist and that he was going to produce a television program and become famous. (Hey crazier things than that have happened on the streets of the ATL. You’ve heard about Tyler Perry.) He asked for a blessing and I gave him what I had - $5.

As I walked to my car I thought about how he might be crazy or he just might be brilliant. It’s a fine line, one that many an entrepreneur walks. He’s stuck in my mind. He was articulate, well groomed and obviously talented. This man was taking what control of life he could, making the best of it and creating his own reality.

As someone who primarily works with mid-sized business owners and entrepreneurs, I’ve found the one thing they all have in common is that they create their own reality and take control of destiny. Successful business owners don’t sit around waiting for someone to find them and their brilliant idea – they hustle much like the man on the street corner.

What traits do the successful entrepreneur, growing business and this guy on the corner share?

Appearance - The guy on the corner looked and acted like someone I’d have over for dinner. He presented himself well. The same goes for a business. To attract customers you have to be attractive to them. Communication messages and tactics should be strategically crafted with the customer in mind and presented to them on a level that will elicit the desired response …. The blessing.

Enterprising Spirit - He didn’t wait for the City of Atlanta to empty the donation for the homeless meters, the guy on the street approached us. He wasn’t threatening or overly aggressive but he demonstrated gumption as my mother would say. The same applies to business. You have to physically reach out to your customer and ask for the sale.

The Goods – Simply put you have to have a product or service that the customer will value. At times you have to create value around your product or service. (That’s marketing) The picture of the barn, conversation, statement of goals and alike all helped to create a product with a perceived value. I treasure that picture now because of the story.

Expertise – People want to do business with people with promise – experts. Our new friend established himself as someone special, an artist, someone with goals through his story and demonstrating his talent in front of us. He was proud and highlighted his best attributes making him more attractive to us. He made himself someone we wanted to know. Businesses need to use the similar communication tools and opportunities to highlight their best attributes and expertise. A client recently spoke about his expertise at a conference and it was mentioned in social media, the presentation was recorded, the slides are going online, and it will be talked out in the customer newsletter. We are establishing him as an expert to his customers who weren't even at the conference.

There’s a lot that can be learned from the guy on the corner if you are willing to follow a homeless man.

The artist's name is Tim Harris and he is apparently touching lives of people here in Atlanta. Here’s another blog posting that mentions his work http://www.sehota.com/blog/?p=36 Keep an eye out for him….I have a feeling you’ll be able to learn more.

And for those who like to Google – Tim Harris is also the name of an advocate for the homeless.