If you are an entrepreneur, you are in many ways your business-there is barely a separation between our personal and professional lives.  Given that you live and breathe your business, are you truly capitalizing on all of your opportunities for marketing?

When I travel, I always keep at least one copy of my book, The Entrepreneur Equation, with me.  I carry it through the airport in the outer pocket of my oversized red bag standing vertically so the top half of it is showing.  This is my walking billboard, and it’s effective.

Today, the gentleman standing behind me in line on the plane tapped me on the shoulder and asked, “Is that your book?” while pointing to The Entrepreneur Equation.

I told him that it was.  He was extremely giddy over the thought of someone having their own book and told me that it looked interesting because he worked for a Chicago startup.

I asked him if he would like to read it.  He said yes, so I handed him the copy of the book and told him to just send me feedback when he was done.

Now why would I do this?  Not only did the book get noticed, but I know that this guy- who was gregarious enough to ask a total stranger about the book- is the type of person who is going to tell many people this story and spread the word about the book.  It’s a very cheap marketing tactic and it was done in a way that didn’t even feel like marketing.

Even if I didn’t give the book to him, I could have shown it to him and directed him to his local bookstore.

The point is that there are tons of people that I see at the airport every time I travel, so I might as well be promoting my book.

I also heard a story of a famous costume designer, who designs concert gear for Britney Spears, Rihanna and many others.  How did he get his start?  He used to attend parties with fabric and a sewing machine.  He would set up in a corner and make garments on the fly during those parties.  That’s how he caught the eye of those who mattered, those who he would have had a hard time getting in front of otherwise.  And that gave him his big break.

Can you surprise a potential customer with a sample of your product in an unexpected venue?  Are there locales that you frequent where you are missing a marketing opportunity?

Make the most of every opportunity to spread the word about your valuable products and services.