Sometimes it is difficult to start, no one starts at the top. Almost all of us have to overcome one major obstacle in the beginning.

The obstacle for many people is getting their business marketed on a tight budget. Being creative can help you get through on a tight budget and by answering some of these creative questions you can learn how to do it.

Questions such as:

1) How can I

Start with another creative question like:

2) If I needed help with (blank) this person could help me. This is a fantastic question to remember.

Here’s another one:

3) Who would exchange for ?

What about this one:

4) How can I do this cheaper? or How could I do this faster? or How could I do this with less effort? or How could I do this without paying? That’s a great creative question.

Try this one:

5) What can I substitute for ‘X’? Could I substitute ‘XYZ’ for ‘ABC’? Just think about whatever you could, or want to change.

If you answer this question you will really be putting yourself in the mind frame of some of your unique and different customers:

6) How would solve this problem?

A good example: How would my mentor solve this problem? How would my four year-old daughter solve this problem? It’s a great question because it forces you to think from a different perspective.

I’ve answered these business questions myself and it has allowed doors to open in every direction, propelling my career to new heights and success to be and continued to be achieved.

Let me give you a small example about how I used this creative way of questioning.

Right out of University I decided to become a professional speaker, speaking to high school and college students - which I still do on occasion - speaking on the topic of creativity because that topic helped me go from a University failure all the way to the top of my class, straight A’s, and named Most Outstanding Male of my graduating class. There was a big difference between what happened first year and my last year, and I attribute it all to learning the skill on the art of creative thinking, and I was very passionate about it.

Being a professional speaker and building a profitable speaking business was two things I didn’t know anything about though.

I went to and joined an organization called CAPS, which is The Canadian Association for Professional Speakers.

It was at one of the local meetings were I asked a gentleman, who was doing very well with his speaking career, “What did I have to do to get to where he was?” He replied by saying, “I’ll give you three things to get started on. Once you finish those come back and I’ll give you some more.” He said it would be simple, so I said, “Okay.”

“The first thing you need to do is surround yourself with people who are in the same industry as yourself. Join CAPS, it will help your business grow.” I said, “Okay.”

So I shelled out the $200 to join the CAPS organization. It was a squeeze for me. In fact, I specifically remember asking if I could put it on payments, which I did. I joined the CAPS organization.

He continued saying, “The second thing you have to do is get to the CAPS National Conference” At this point I thought to myself, ‘How am I going to do that? The conference that year was being held on the other side of Canada. With the seminar being pretty expensive itself, plus traveling costs, it was really expensive. I had no money, so everything at that point was expensive for me

I needed to find a creative solution. Here’s what I did. I asked myself some creative questions. What I started to do was look at what I had that, perhaps, somebody might need and want.

What I had at the time was time itself. I wasn’t speaking very often because I had just started my speaking business, so I had some time on my hands.

I started to then rack my brain about how I could use that time to benefit someone else. By asking myself that question I came up with a campaign called, ‘Helt Stu Be Like You.’

But here was the concept and here’s what happened. I approached the biggest chapter of the CAPS organization in my province and I asked for 30 seconds in front of the whole group. There were about 75 of them.

This was something new to them, no one had asked for that before. I got up in front of everyone and asked them, “When you started off as a speaker, how many of you had no experience?” With no surprise, everybody’s hands went up in the air.

I said, “Great. How many of you have attended the CAPS national conference before?” And about 75% of the room had their hands up in the air.

I said, “Of those who still have their hands in the air, how many of you feel that it would be beneficial for somebody with zero experience to get out to that CAPS national conference?” They all had their hands in the air.

“Great, I am someone who needs to get out to the CAPS national conference because I have zero speaking experience!”

Then I said, “But here’s the problem. I don’t have any money. But what I do have is time. Here’s the exchange I’m willing to make and hope that you are willing to make as well. I’ve created a campaign called Help Stu Be Like You.” And I handed out these little flyers, black and white. Basically what I did was I printed two 8×6 flyers on an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet to save costs, and I just cut it right down the middle and I gave everybody in the audience one.

I continued to explain what my campaign was about, “This is what I am willing to do. I will do everything you as speakers don’t like doing or don’t have the time to do. Whatever it is, licking stamps, calling clients, writing sales letters. If you need me to I will come to your house and cut your lawn. All I’m asking in return for my time is a financial contribution of your choice.”

I could see some of them in the audience were just licking their chops thinking, “Oh my goodness. This is awesome. I’m going to get cheap labor.”

I said, “I am willing to do whatever you don’t like doing in exchange for a financial contribution of your choice, all of which will go towards getting me out to the CAPS national conference.”

I finished explaining my campaign and immediately a gentleman at the back of the room stood up. He said, “Stu, I will pay for your entrance fee to the seminar.” Just like that, half of my costs were taken care of!

Immediately following that, another gentleman stood up and he said, “Stu, and I will pay for the cost to get you out there.” Boom, boom. Eighty-five percent of all of my expenses were taken care of just like that.

That is what being creative can enable you to do.

By asking myself that one creative question, I was able to come up with a creative solution that solved my problem of not being able to get to the national conference. By the time the conference happened all kinds of people had heard about my story and even had a story published about me in the national publication.

Always remember to explore your creativity and may ideas come to you when you need them the most.

Until next time!