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The best way to market my business
- Thread starter millie
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rosada
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Hi Millie,
Just playing around with some ideas..could 59 mean spreading the word?
59.3 says "He dissolves his self. No remorse," and talks about putting aside all thought of self. My first thought is that perhaps the IChing is urging you to put more time into your work. But you're probably doing that already. Could this mean not charging your usual fee or maybe bartering or doing something so that there are no obstacles between you and those who could use your service? "No reasonable offer refused."
59.6 Departing, KEEPING AT A DISTANCE going out is without blame. Perhaps this is encouraging you to build your business on referals, that is, encouraging others to market your business for you. Use the testamony of satisfied customers.
48.Certainly sounds like you have something of real value to offer. The Well is a resource centrally located. Perhaps you should promote how accessible you are. Or advertise in a place where everyone gathers.
Just trying to be helpful..
R
Just playing around with some ideas..could 59 mean spreading the word?
59.3 says "He dissolves his self. No remorse," and talks about putting aside all thought of self. My first thought is that perhaps the IChing is urging you to put more time into your work. But you're probably doing that already. Could this mean not charging your usual fee or maybe bartering or doing something so that there are no obstacles between you and those who could use your service? "No reasonable offer refused."
59.6 Departing, KEEPING AT A DISTANCE going out is without blame. Perhaps this is encouraging you to build your business on referals, that is, encouraging others to market your business for you. Use the testamony of satisfied customers.
48.Certainly sounds like you have something of real value to offer. The Well is a resource centrally located. Perhaps you should promote how accessible you are. Or advertise in a place where everyone gathers.
Just trying to be helpful..
R
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bruce
Guest
Good thoughts, Rosada. What came to my head from 59 was, dispensing seeds everywhere, indiscriminately. This is mass marketing rather than niche marketing.
Line 3 is self-sacrificing, meaning dedication. But line 6 makes distance from it all, as if to say 'don't let the enterprise become you or your life'.
48 is a central source, as in a distributorship?
Not very different from what Rosada has already said.
Line 3 is self-sacrificing, meaning dedication. But line 6 makes distance from it all, as if to say 'don't let the enterprise become you or your life'.
48 is a central source, as in a distributorship?
Not very different from what Rosada has already said.
good ideas. i was also thinking that 59 meant to disperse my marketing efforts widely. as for not thinking so much about myself ----- i have been struggling with my bio and how much to say and what not to say, and having it all out there on the interent. perhaps yi is telling me not to worry so much about all that. you are intuitive. 59.6 is still bothering me a little. maybe it is about referrals. what other positive spin could i place on this line? you've done a good job of turning around what initially looked like a grim line to me.
bruce - we crossed posts. i agree about 59 being dispensing seeds everywhere. mass marketing. it might also refer to the internet, yes?
line 6 again. "dont let the enterprise become your whole life." hmm. i'm still stuck on that one.
no, this business isn't a distributorship. don't sell a product. it's a service business. what i sell is my knowledge.
line 6 again. "dont let the enterprise become your whole life." hmm. i'm still stuck on that one.
no, this business isn't a distributorship. don't sell a product. it's a service business. what i sell is my knowledge.
hilary
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Very quick note... Mum-in-law went home today so I get to do the washing up again...
48 - think what you have to give - and about how really disastrous it would be if you failed to give it because the 'well rope and bucket' of your marketing were inadequate. (The Judgement of 48 is actually quite tough.)
59.3 - it's not about you, it's about them. (One common piece of advice is to count the occurrences of 'I', 'me', 'my' in all you write; do the same for 'you', 'your' etc. Second person should outnumber first person, a lot.) Probably best not to put energy into making a 'brochure'-type website.
59.6 - eek, indeed. Pouring yourself into your work is one thing, but... expending lifeblood, bottomless pit... careful... (Emotional investment? Paid advertising?) I would suggest a second question here, asking Yi what exactly it is that you need to get away from.
48 - think what you have to give - and about how really disastrous it would be if you failed to give it because the 'well rope and bucket' of your marketing were inadequate. (The Judgement of 48 is actually quite tough.)
59.3 - it's not about you, it's about them. (One common piece of advice is to count the occurrences of 'I', 'me', 'my' in all you write; do the same for 'you', 'your' etc. Second person should outnumber first person, a lot.) Probably best not to put energy into making a 'brochure'-type website.
59.6 - eek, indeed. Pouring yourself into your work is one thing, but... expending lifeblood, bottomless pit... careful... (Emotional investment? Paid advertising?) I would suggest a second question here, asking Yi what exactly it is that you need to get away from.
hilary, i am honored that you weighed in on this. i love your website. you are great. good idea to pose a second question. i fear an anbiguous answer to the question however, before i've even asked. if i actually say to yi, "what should i avoid" and get an answer that leaves me at risk of poor interpreation --- scary. but i'll give it a go anyway, and we'll see what happens.
and yes, it would be disasterous if i failed to give what i have to give because of inadequate marketing. i had this happen once long ago, and do not wish to repeat the experience.
and yes, it would be disasterous if i failed to give what i have to give because of inadequate marketing. i had this happen once long ago, and do not wish to repeat the experience.
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bruce
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Millie, this is a little like shooting in the dark, without understanding the specifics.
This may mean nothing, but if I got this reading about my business venture, I'd reconsider it, or at least reconsider the present approach. Or perhaps buy a little time to think it out. The well of information and possibly experience and talent is there, true. Positive spinning aside, this reading would make me nervous about beginning an enterprise. More thought and follow up seems prudent.
This may mean nothing, but if I got this reading about my business venture, I'd reconsider it, or at least reconsider the present approach. Or perhaps buy a little time to think it out. The well of information and possibly experience and talent is there, true. Positive spinning aside, this reading would make me nervous about beginning an enterprise. More thought and follow up seems prudent.
ack!! that scares me. my question wasn't about the business itself, it was about how to best market the business. but you are suggesting the reading was about the business? what do you see that i am missing? i am open to your feedback, even it i might not want to hear it.
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bruce
Guest
Millie, on a more idealistic framework, this from my notes:
Disperse
One can not hold truth as they would an object. God is not a statue.
hmm.. have you connected this business to your highest ideals yet?
Disperse
One can not hold truth as they would an object. God is not a statue.
hmm.. have you connected this business to your highest ideals yet?
of course, my confidence in yi is lacking at the moment, given that i recieved 19 repeatedly about a relationship when it turns out the guy has run to the hills. but go ahead ------ give me some feedback about this reading and i'll reflect on it all.
we crossed posts again.
yes, i have connected this business to my highest ideals. i believe yes, for sure. but there may be something else here. what i have for sale is knowledge e.g. truth. it is difficult to sell and to market. it "canot be held" as an object can be held.
perhaps this is the advice yi has for me. that this will be a difficult task.
yes, i have connected this business to my highest ideals. i believe yes, for sure. but there may be something else here. what i have for sale is knowledge e.g. truth. it is difficult to sell and to market. it "canot be held" as an object can be held.
perhaps this is the advice yi has for me. that this will be a difficult task.
given my business, i still think the advice with 59 is to disperse the marketing efforts in various channels. i do not think it's to disperse the business idea. but i do need to pay atention to 59.6
or, according to brad, i should read 57.6 and see what that says instead.
or, according to brad, i should read 57.6 and see what that says instead.
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bruce
Guest
Well, Millie, if marketing your ideals and truth is a difficult challenge, you're in some very good company here. lol
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bruce
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Hard to say exactly what this reading is speaking to, Millie. Bradford's 59.6 speaks to the danger of hot-bloodedness. That's an emotional matter, not a business matter.
Wish I could be more specific.
At least you know now what 19 does NOT mean, huh?
It never means a sure thing.
Sure seeming to me that this is speaking to your inner condition, as it relates to this venture. There's both purifying and letting go, clearly in these readings.
I don't want to be a discouraging influence, but I'd give this more time before investing money or hot-blooded emotions.
Wish I could be more specific.
At least you know now what 19 does NOT mean, huh?
Sure seeming to me that this is speaking to your inner condition, as it relates to this venture. There's both purifying and letting go, clearly in these readings.
I don't want to be a discouraging influence, but I'd give this more time before investing money or hot-blooded emotions.
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rosada
Guest
59.6 is about having survived something, so yes it says there is a problem but it says you have survived it. Thus my suggesting personal testimonies saying, "I had this problem and Millie's service solved it." As it also does imply a danger in getting over involved, perhaps you need to alert that you don't promise more than you can reasonably deliver, no "Lose ten pounds or your money back."
If this hexagram is indeed a warning about the whole enterprize - and often the I Ching will tell us things we didn't directly ask about - it seems to be suggesting you not over comitt. Thus you might try ads in several papers to start, but then quickly drop the papers that don't produce.
If this hexagram is indeed a warning about the whole enterprize - and often the I Ching will tell us things we didn't directly ask about - it seems to be suggesting you not over comitt. Thus you might try ads in several papers to start, but then quickly drop the papers that don't produce.
rosada, the area of knowledge i have to offer is connected with helping people solve a problem that I myself experienced and solved. perhaps that is the connection here with this line: to market by way of telling people what my experience has been?
hilary
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<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>quote:</font>
Bruce:
"Well, Millie, if marketing your ideals and truth is a difficult challenge, you're in some very good company here. lol"<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>
LOL!!
Millie, why not tell us all about your work? Post a link to your site? Don't be shy...
Hm - 40 to 19 doesn't look a fat lot like anything to avoid, does it? The first moving line is even telling you there's nothing seriously wrong. Ahem. Rosada - can you say more about this idea that 59.6 is about 'having survived something'? It's new to me, but it obviously strikes a big chord with Millie.
(Pause for thought...)
Bruce:
"Well, Millie, if marketing your ideals and truth is a difficult challenge, you're in some very good company here. lol"<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>
LOL!!
Millie, why not tell us all about your work? Post a link to your site? Don't be shy...
Hm - 40 to 19 doesn't look a fat lot like anything to avoid, does it? The first moving line is even telling you there's nothing seriously wrong. Ahem. Rosada - can you say more about this idea that 59.6 is about 'having survived something'? It's new to me, but it obviously strikes a big chord with Millie.
(Pause for thought...)
R
rosada
Guest
Hi Hilary,
I was looking at Wilhelm, pg.695:
"K'an is blood. Wind dissolves. Thus occasions for the cause of bloodshed is removed. Not only does the line itself SURMOUNT the peril but it also helps the six in the third place, to which it is related."
Then, since you asked about it, I also just now checked out The I Ching on Love. His definition looks tailor made for Millie:
Guy Damian Knight, pg.302:
"This is the line of a person who recognizes a danger which threatens to consume others, but who also sees the way out with a minimum of pain and hardship. Being personally free of the danger this person is also in a position to assist others in achieving freedom."
----
Perhaps Millie would also get value from hearing what Damion-Knight had to say about 59.3:
"This is a time when your work must become more important than anything else in your life. If you wish to focus matchless energy on the task before you in order to overcome inherent difficulties, you must for a time put aside all distracting influences, including personal desires and preoccupations."
I was looking at Wilhelm, pg.695:
"K'an is blood. Wind dissolves. Thus occasions for the cause of bloodshed is removed. Not only does the line itself SURMOUNT the peril but it also helps the six in the third place, to which it is related."
Then, since you asked about it, I also just now checked out The I Ching on Love. His definition looks tailor made for Millie:
Guy Damian Knight, pg.302:
"This is the line of a person who recognizes a danger which threatens to consume others, but who also sees the way out with a minimum of pain and hardship. Being personally free of the danger this person is also in a position to assist others in achieving freedom."
----
Perhaps Millie would also get value from hearing what Damion-Knight had to say about 59.3:
"This is a time when your work must become more important than anything else in your life. If you wish to focus matchless energy on the task before you in order to overcome inherent difficulties, you must for a time put aside all distracting influences, including personal desires and preoccupations."
hilary
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Umm... well, whenever I see 59.6 my first thought is that there's something to escape. But then the Chinese itself doesn't have verb tenses - it can't tell you whether this is something escaped or to be escaped.
Half a marketing-related idea in connection with 59.6. There are two big reasons people do things: to gain something good, or to avoid something bad. When designing any kind of marketing material, you have to decide which motivation to appeal to primarily.
The accepted wisdom is that more people are motivated by the 'avoiding' part, and so you have more chance of success in marketing if you start out by reminding people of a problem and how bad it is (and then show how you can solve it). Of course 'accepted wisdom' is one thing and what feels natural and comfortable to you may be quite another. It is for me.
Hm - wait - isn't that what hexagram 40's all about? Taking the path that leads to where you want to be, as against the 'accepted wisdom' path of 'things you ought to be doing'?
Half a marketing-related idea in connection with 59.6. There are two big reasons people do things: to gain something good, or to avoid something bad. When designing any kind of marketing material, you have to decide which motivation to appeal to primarily.
The accepted wisdom is that more people are motivated by the 'avoiding' part, and so you have more chance of success in marketing if you start out by reminding people of a problem and how bad it is (and then show how you can solve it). Of course 'accepted wisdom' is one thing and what feels natural and comfortable to you may be quite another. It is for me.
Hm - wait - isn't that what hexagram 40's all about? Taking the path that leads to where you want to be, as against the 'accepted wisdom' path of 'things you ought to be doing'?
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bruce
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Hilary, that really comes down to a benefit statement, which may include both winning the good and losing the bad. Yes, I think 40 can assimilate this meaning.
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bruce
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(I missread your comment on 40.)
Going back to 'if this were me', I'd draw a vertical line on paper. On one side I'd write "pragmatic business question about best marketing approach", and on the other side I'd write "inner, personal matters to be aware of, concerning this business, at this time". Then I'd do one reading for each, and ask no more until I was able to conclude sufficient meaning from these two readings.
The reason this works well is that both you and Yi know that both questions will be addressed, eliminating the possibility of cross-over confusion, or of Yi's prioritizing one question over the other. Most of us know that you can ask one thing and have an underlying matter being addressed.
Right now, there's just too many uncertainties to be specific about these readings.
Going back to 'if this were me', I'd draw a vertical line on paper. On one side I'd write "pragmatic business question about best marketing approach", and on the other side I'd write "inner, personal matters to be aware of, concerning this business, at this time". Then I'd do one reading for each, and ask no more until I was able to conclude sufficient meaning from these two readings.
The reason this works well is that both you and Yi know that both questions will be addressed, eliminating the possibility of cross-over confusion, or of Yi's prioritizing one question over the other. Most of us know that you can ask one thing and have an underlying matter being addressed.
Right now, there's just too many uncertainties to be specific about these readings.
hilary
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<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>quote:</font>
Most of us know that you can ask one thing and have an underlying matter being addressed<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>
Yup, true enough.
Again 'if this were me', I would be prompted by 40 to explore the question of whether I can freely follow my own natural inclinations, or whether there is marketing stuff I need to do, whether I like it or not.
Not-unrelated question: can 'pragmatic business question' and 'inner, personal matters' ever be separated? I haven't managed to yet (I'll try your parallel question approach one of these days), but the scale and/or nature of Millie's business may make it utterly different for her.
Most of us know that you can ask one thing and have an underlying matter being addressed<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>
Yup, true enough.
Again 'if this were me', I would be prompted by 40 to explore the question of whether I can freely follow my own natural inclinations, or whether there is marketing stuff I need to do, whether I like it or not.
Not-unrelated question: can 'pragmatic business question' and 'inner, personal matters' ever be separated? I haven't managed to yet (I'll try your parallel question approach one of these days), but the scale and/or nature of Millie's business may make it utterly different for her.
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bruce
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I would certainly hope they could be separated, and easily so. That's why I divide the question beforehand rather than as an afterthought. If it's understood that both questions will be asked, independent of one another, then Yi and/or my own mind can read the answer definitively. Otherwise the logic and emotions can become so entwined that?s it?s impossible to separate them. Quite important for a business manager to make these distinctions.
hilary
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Lots of food for thought, here... I'll have to pick your brains on it all some time.
(Restraining myself from doing that here and now on Millie's thread.)
thanks for all these good thoughts. it makes sense to try this dual question approach. i won't do this until later tonight, but will get back to you all with the answers. i agree that it's possible yi has something to say to me personally about venturing forward in this work, that may be different from a purely technical response to how to market. maybe in the current answers i'm being told to notice things about myself within this process, and it seems worthwhile to pull those out separately. at the same time, i agree with hilary that separating ones self from work issues isn'teasily managed, i'm thinking of this as shining two different spotlights on the situation rather than an actual separation.