STAGE TWO: SCAN — RESOURCES

OVERVIEW

Scan by researching new and related skills, talking to other people, and mapping out potential opportunities.This is the exploration phase: oftentimes the scanning phase involves doing research, identifying and plugging knowledge and skill gaps, and having a wide variety of conversations with an expanded network, without falling into analysis-paralysis or compare-and-despair. Scanning includes: people, skills, and opportunities.

PODCASTS

TEMPLATES

• Opportunity Grid Brainstorm: Scan and pilot with a plan; this template will help you brainstorm potential skills, people and projects.
   
• Plan Your Next Career Move: This template will help you start to lift the fog on your career — it breaks down various categories within a job or career (location, company size, type of work, etc), and provides space for you to brainstorm a list of must-haves, nice-to-haves, and can’t stands for each area.
   
• Network Email Mad-Lib Template: This template outlines exactly how to reach out to your network once you’re clear on what you want to do next, and what you bring to the table. Simply fill-in the blanks, personalize, and voilà! You’re ready to send to your inner circle so they can help keep feelers out for you.
   
• Meet Market: Moving to a new area? This template will help you brainstorm ways to meet new people.
   
• Mentor/Network Tracker: Track contact info of people you meet that you want to follow-up with. No need to refer back to business cards – info is easily accessible online (& centralized). Skim through your list every few months & follow-up.
   
• Mastermind Best Practices, Facilitator Guidelines, and Group Discussion Template: Guidelines for setting up a mastermind group with peers, and an optional discussion template that you can modify before meetings to share updates.
   
• Bartering Best Practices: Pointers for swapping services with friends without exchanging money; brainstorm what you could give and receive; identify what factors will help a specific barter proposal feel fair for both sides. 
   
• Professional Development Strategy: This template has three strategy areas: Your Vision (brainstorm about desired impact, what you want to do & have), The What (skills, knowledge, education, experience), and The How (quarterly benchmarks & resources).
   
• Platform/Niche Brainstorming & Attracting Ideal Clients: Worried that the market you want to serve is too big? Too small? This worksheet will help take your intended audience from fuzzy generalizations to a clear, specific description that will allow you to become discoverable to your ideal clients (and help friends and family better spread the word). 
• Ideal Business Design and Action Plan Template: This template will help you outline your high-level business goals (schedule, finances, “red carpet” offering) and guide you to create an action-plan to make it happen.

BOOKS

• So Good They Can't Ignore You
• The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies
• Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want
• Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us
• Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success
• Stand Out: How to Find Your Breakthrough Idea and Build a Following
• To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others
• Your Network Is Your Net Worth: Unlock the Hidden Power of Connections for Wealth, Success, and Happiness in the Digital Age
• The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything . . . Fast!
• The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life  
• The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
• The Education of Millionaires: Everything You Won't Learn in College About How to Be Successful
• Get Big Things Done: The Power of Connectional Intelligence
• How to Work a Room
• Getting There: A Book of Mentors
• Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

OTHER

• Momentum Community: A private community for smart, creative, driven solopreneurs, side-hustlers and HGNIs. With Momentum, you will get access to all my best tools, templates and resources, as well as the ability to ask me anything and collaborate with others.