The internet is flooded with people telling you how amazing it is to start and run your own business.

Particularly mums; who love to float how easy it is to work around your kids, how much flexibility they have and how amazing it is to be their own boss. 

I even do this at times. Because technically it is true but…..

There is a big disclaimer we need to lace within that information though whilst also putting it into context.

Because otherwise there can be some rude shocks down the line when you realise with some hindsight that Susan from the internet wasn’t actually all that she made out to be. 

Screening questions we want to be asking when we see someone raving about how awesome their business is are along the lines of:

Do they actually have a real business? Allow me to define:

Do they actually pay themselves a wage?
Do they have a registered ABN or ACN?
Are they attracting and selling a product or service?
Do they own all the business assets?
Are they selling to an actual market, and not just friends down the line? (yes, I am looking at you MLM’ers #fyiyouarenotarealbusiness)

As for context, most of the above perks relating to freedom and flexibility come later down the line. After you’ve done the work, after your business starts to generate an income and after you’ve learned to implement a really smart strategy.

 It takes time to get your sea legs (business legs?).

You plant the seed and then do the watering.

It is not an overnight thing.

I think on some level we all know that if you’re catching my drift. 

But they make it sound so damn good don’t they? And it is nice to daydream what life could be like unbothered from the entrapment of 9-5. So I don’t blame anyone for giving it a crack or wanting to be a believer regardless of what you’ve been told. It has triggered a response in you, and that is worth acknowledging. 

In fact, it is from trying things we figure stuff out and I promise you this – every single experience accumulates into knowledge so you can pave your path forward so really, it is only win-win. You’ll either create the business you’ve always dreamed of or gained valuable insights and Intel to use on your next try. Sometimes we forget that even the wrong decisions still lead us in the right direction. 

So if you are wanting to get started what does it really take? What are the things that are actually super important that most people don’t mention or tell you?

Expectations: 

Having helped hundreds of women start an online business, being the founder of a Facebook group of over 16,000 like-minded business women and having been in business full-time for ten plus years I can tell you this. We all come into business with expectations and a story in our mind of how we think it should be, or what we think it will take or what we think we are (or aren’t) capable of.

I would like you to start questioning those expectations rather than believing them because chances are, they are keeping you stuck in an illusion. An example I hear all the time is ‘I can’t start a business because I don’t have x amount of time’ Sure, the more time is better, but we still have options here. It isn’t a hard no. It is a ‘let’s see what we can do to make this work’ and find some options.

Perhaps instead of layering your thoughts about starting an online business with potentially false expectations, flip the thought process and ask yourself some questions:

What is important to me?
What are my values?
What type of person do I want to be?
What are my goals?
What are some small things I can do to move forward?

And then with every single decision you make, layer it with those questions and finish it off with ‘is this decision taking me closer to my end goal/s or further away? Create a business and life around that framework and I am very excited to see where you end up in a few year’s time. 

Flow 

For a long time I worked in my businesses from an exhausted state, almost impossible not to as a mother right? But over time, largely thanks to a huge awakening contributed by Post-Natal Depression I realised working in this state and accomplishing anything was like trying to swim up the stream against the current. 

Um… why don’t I just flow down the stream instead? 

So much easier.

Once I figured this out and put my self-care before business and worked on ensuring my cup was half-full instead of half-empty my business thundered to over a million dollars in revenue in 18 months. 

And look, it is not always easy. I have almost two-year-old twins, a tweenager and an eight-year-old plus life to deal with, however, it is my intention every single day to protect my energy first and foremost so I can be a better mother and businesswoman.

It is as simple as asking myself some questions:

How am I feeling today?
Am I feeling inspired or depleted?
What does my body need right now?
What can I do to deregulate any stress I am feeling?
Will eating this entire packet of Tim Tams make me feel better or worse?

When we are conscious of where we are at energetically we start to co-create, instead of simply exist. 

Learning 

Business is just a skill we can learn and I promise that you do not need to sell a lung on the black market to figure it out. Still to this day I am constantly listening to podcasts, reading, stalking in Facebook groups whilst also pairing what I learn and absorb with my own intuition and inner knowing.

The beauty is, you don’t need large blocks of time for this. I listen to my podcasts in the car, or while out on a walk with my dog, remember we are flowing down the stream, not swimming against it? However you can make it work for you, is the most important. Whether it is a few pages in a book before bed, or blocking out an hour to watch a YouTube tutorial. It does not matter, it only matters that you did it. 

Every single thing you need to know, can be learned. I encourage the members of the Business Jump Family to always constantly be learning. When they work with us, I like to think of it as I am teaching them to fish, not giving them the fish…. Well, I guess we do give them the fish (the business technically is all done for them) but we also teach them how to fish. #winningcombo

Learning isn’t always fun and easy. Sometimes it is challenging, sometimes it is daunting and sometimes it is uncomfortable but it is the Trojan horse to a successful business and to be honest with you, the uncomfortable times are where the inner growth happens.

So running your own business is not all laptops by the beach drinking cocktails, it requires us to learn a deep-seated mindset of awareness, perspective whilst combing it with some courage and grit – and that is what starting and running your own business is all about.

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