As 2017 rolls into 2018 take a moment to rewind back to January and remember what intentions you had for this year…
Was it to quit your job and start an online business? Was it to find your passion? Was it to find more freedom in your life? Was it to really start living, instead of just being? Was it to be more present and spend more time with your children?
So, I have a serious question for you.
Did you actually do it?
Or, are you still trying to make it happen?
Or, maybe you aren’t even trying and just hoping that these things will magically all fold into place.
Yeah…. It doesn’t really work like that.
Sometimes the universe will give us a blessing in disguise, like the time I was fired from my job for being a mum.
Posted in Remarkable Business Mums FB group
But, look, the honest truth is…
If you are one of those people ‘waiting’ to find your passion, ‘waiting’ for the perfect business idea, ‘waiting’ to feel ready there is a good chance you’ll be waiting for the rest of your life.
Think about it.
How long have you been waiting?
Weeks? Months? Gosh, please don’t say years?
Here is what I know for sure.
We don’t find out answers by sitting back waiting for them to all of a sudden appear in front of us.
We don’t gain clarity from the outside, we don’t move through confusion and overwhelm by expecting to wake up one day and for it to be gone.
If you have been stalling on something, ask yourself why? It will usually be because of something like, I don’t have the time, I don’t have the money, I don’t have the skills, but guess what? There are people just like you out there that are finding the time, that are gaining the skills and that are finding the money.
Pull it back even further, and I think you’ll find the real reason why you haven’t taken action.
It is fear.
What if I fail?
What will people think?
What if I don’t make any money?
What if I invest my time and money and I lose it all?
So a serious question for you…
None of this has even happened yet so why are you letting these thoughts in your imagination dictate your life?
Here is a tip, every time one of those limiting beliefs enters your mind, tell it to fuck off. And, instead, say to yourself…
What if it is amazing?
A roaring success?
What if everything you ever could have hoped for came true, plus more?
Launch day for one of my amazing clients, Namrata from Little Whizz
What if it was the best opportunity of your life and you unwittingly turned a blind eye to it and lost it?Z
We make all the things happen by taking small steps of action, even when we are not sure.
Then, the things that we are not sure about, start to crystallize as we gain the experience, exposure and insights.
Fear of failure, is already 100% failure, you know? But, fear of failure but taking action gives you the best chance of…… not failing.
I get it though, because here is a confession…
Fear still tries to control me.
Last week, just before I headed into my interview on MYOBs podcast, to talk about success I called my husband.
I had all the fears.
‘Who am I to even talk about ‘being successful’ I asked him.
‘Babe, shut up.’ He (lovingly) said.
‘You’ve built a business that allowed me to stop working 12 hour days, 6 days a week. You overtook me as the breadwinner, and have carried our family for over 10 months. You made it possible for me to not have to return to work and allowed me to put my self-care first when I was at my darkest and couldn’t see a way out. You built that way out for me. You created freedom for me, and for our family.
You can down tools whenever you want and stop working, you have choice. You are doing something that you love and find fulfillment in. You are showing others that it is possible too’
My heart stopped racing, I took a deep breath and absorbed his words.
I am that.
It’s time to walk into that interview, step into my power and own it.
And, you know what.
Even after that pep talk, during my interview, I STILL heard myself playing smaller than I should have been.
But that is ok.
It is a process.
A journey, not a destination.
We don’t have to do all the things, perfect all the time.
Just a few small steps of action.
Follow the breadcrumb trail.
You’ll find everything you need along the way.
So, how do we start a business when we feel so blocked and unsure of how it will even work?
Here are my tips for you to ponder.
What is Your Why?
Ok, I do get a little bit stabby in this area. All the amazing things that an online business rewards us with do not just get handed to us on a silver platter. We need to have a strong enough desire to carry us over the hard days. I like to call it ‘your why’
Why do you want to start a business?
Write it down.
Then write down where you are right now, what are you doing each day? Are you happy? Content? Annoyed? Overwhelmed?
Then write down where you want to be in two-years time, what are you doing? How does it feel? Dream big, make it whatever you want.
Your job is to then work out how to close the gap, from where you are now, to where you want to be.
Your why needs to be stronger enough to pull the two ends together.
Not Having All The Answers is Ok:
Now you should know why you want to start a business and what has been holding you back, it is time to get a few things straight about your business idea.
We don’t need to know all the answers, we work it out as we go.
When I started Business Jump, I just did it. I kept it simple, I pieced it together as I went, I listened to my audience and as I traveled along everything became clearer and guess what?
This happened…..
Posted in Remarkable Business Mums FB group
I had NO IDEA it was a passion when I got started, there was no business plan, there were no ducks all in a row and I credit my success to just getting in there and working it out as I went.
For all you ODC’ers. I know that is going to freak you out. But, sometimes, waiting for the answers means we never take action. It holds us back.
The realisation that I had found my purpose about 6 months in hit me like a fish to the face.
If I hadn’t of taken those steps of action, even when I didn’t have all the answers this whole experience would have passed me by and I would have been none the wiser on what I had missed out on.
About Monetising Your Business:
I know that it can feel totally overwhelming when you’re trying to work out where to start. I’ve been there.
And, I am going to tell you what no one else will. You can stuff it up, you can make wrong choices and end up working 24/7 for nothing. Some people who start a business essentially just start another job for themselves.
So, I am going to give you some million dollar advice.
Learn how to work smarter, not harder. Strategy is important, but there is an art and skill to working smarter. By saving time and also creating time. Learn how to automate, outsource and work in the flow.
Apply highly automated income streams so you can work ‘on’ the business, rather than ‘in’ the business and sell one to many, not one to one.
Follow a strategy from someone who has actually created a successful business. There is no need to reinvent the wheel, take a shortcut and buy yourself a head start.
Get ongoing support and guidance, because the truth of the matter is we all have days where we feel like quitting? Me? Yes, even me too. But, I have built a strong support network around me whom would never let me quit. They pick me back up from the floor on my tough times and celebrate and dance with me about my wins. It is why I created the Business Jump client only Facebook group, so my clients can have a tribe of like-minded business women around them.
All the above is what we help our clients do right at the very start, it took me 10 years of being in business to work out all this stuff and how instrumental it is to use as leverage to create the life you want to live.
Recognise What Is Holding You Back:
Did you know that when we feel stressed out our IQ lowers by half?
Yep, it is a true story. So, how do we function and make smart decisions when we feel so stressed out most of the time? It actually starts with gratitude.
For the last few weeks, I have been massively busy and doing lots of stuff, that as a little introvert burns me out.
I got tired.
I got stressed out.
I couldn’t gain clarity.
So, I took some time out, a detox from social media and only committed to feeling grateful for the stress, overwhelm and confusion I was feeling.
It is weird, right?
Being grateful for that stuff?
But it works.
It reverse engineers your stress levels so you can start making smart decisions again.
Instead of thinking of all the things that could go wrong, think about all the things that could go right.
