How many times have you lay in bed, your brain buzzing with ideas, confident that THIS WILL WORK and that you have the NEXT GREAT THING!
Ready to change the world, or if not the whole thing, at least yours.
And then you try, or it fades away, replaced by the next big idea.
And if you do try, sometimes it fails, or also just fades away, replaced by the next big thing (even though the first big thing is still struggling to exist)
I used to be a serial entrepreneur. Chasing one brilliant idea after another, my brain keeping me awake into the deep, dark midnight hours. I created fabulous things.
Sometimes they worked, other times they didn’t. But every time the success was never tied to the idea, it was tied to something else entirely.
You have have an amazing, back woods hike planned. Your route can travel down forest paths, surrounded by giant trees, across rocky beaches with whales breaking the seas just off shore. You can put yourself in a location to see and experience miraculous things, but without some basic preparation and an understanding of what you need to survive you will be calling for rescue as soon as things take a turn for the worse.
The same goes for business start ups and planning.
Preparation and survival, both of those are needed to make that GREAT IDEA a reality, and not just another failure stacked up on your linked in profile.
So, tonight while you lie in bed with the neurones firing, think about these few tips before you buy that next domain. Perhaps we can just create ONE amazing moment in your life, instead of attempting a dozen that never come to fruition!
TEAM
First of all, you CAN do this alone. Trust me. If you came up with the idea, you can probably make it happen without a partner.
Most often women get partners because they don’t have the confidence to go forward alone. Much like we travel to the bathroom in packs, we also start businesses with partners.
They can also be useful for carrying half the start up expenses.
The biggest problem here, (aside from them also getting half the revenue when it comes . . . which means you need to make twice as much to make the business sustain you) is that these are all the wrong reasons for bringing a business partner on board. If you need collaboration, you can find that in mastermind groups or through a business strategist or coach.
You can do this, and you should do this, alone. It will be the best thing for you and for the business.
But, having support is always appreciated, and being able to build a strong team that you can subcontract to for work beyond your niche (or preference) is a great idea. Be fair with your pricing, and clear on your messaging, and don’t pick up sub contractors until you need them (which means you need to know how to do all that stuff on your own to start)
Shortcuts
There are no shortcuts.
To build a strong foundations for a long term and successful business you need to do it the hard way. Brick by brick, step by step, building up until you are bigger, better and stronger than when you started.
There are also no easy ways to BIG money! If you are trying to sell something that has a value of $3500 for only $79.99, people will know that your value is skewed. Be honest, be upfront and deliver amazing results.
Focus
Master the first thing before you move on to the second thing. Master that before you take on more. Faster accumulation of higher degree projects doesn’t necessarily mean more success, in fact it is often a quicker way to failure. Stay focussed and committed to your plan, make it work, and make it easy, and then add on some more. Eventually the majority of your work will be in the easy management stage, which usually has a higher return on investment, and the minority will be in development (which is usually where you spend a lot of time making mistakes that cost the $$) and your revenue will be stable and consistent.
Oh, and even when the shiny things start coming around, STAY focussed! Do what you know best, stay true to your path.
Pivot
Always be able to pivot. If something isn’t working, be humble enough to admit it and let it go. This can be true for projects, products, and even partners! Be flexible and don’t get so emotionally tied to certain aspects of the business that you can’t let them go if they don’t produce.
and on that note, put yourself through a “cull” on your products and services every quarter. What works, what doesn’t. Who works, who doesn’t. Then bring out the axe, and cull the deadweight.
Follow the Revenue
Your business will tell you better than anything what is working. Following the green, and be consistently searching out how you can fit into what the market needs. I started in my business as a lifestyle coach, and was swiftly pulled into business and blogger coaching for branding and monetization. There was a need, and I had a solution.
Don’t follow the rules
Trust your instinct and know when you need to break a rule (even the ones above this) Know when you need to push harder, or sit back. Know when to pivot, and when to stay steadfast in your plan. Always be flexible to what your instinct tells you.
Be stupidly courageous
I often say that my ego balances out my introversion and forces me to take chances that freak me out! My confidence in what I am doing outweighs my fear of doing it and I leap into opportunities that another person would never consider taking the chance on. And of course, since I break rules, I never worry about if I should, or shouldn’t take the risk! I just try, hoping for success, but preparing for failure.
Never say Never
One just doesn’t know what is going to happen tomorrow, so try not to burn too many bridges while you are walking around today.
Ask for Help
People around you probably don’t know what you need, but I bet if you asked for help, guidance or direction, they would be willing to give you some. Being humble is HARD, but by pushing your ego down and putting yourself in a position to get support from another you can open your opportunities. Be willing to learn. Be willing to admit you are wrong. Be willing to try something different than you think.
Just be willing.
When all else fails, learn
Sometimes no matter what you put into it, it fails.
Take your failure, learn from it, and try again, but do it better next time.
Perhaps this ONE thing wasn’t actually THE ONE. And as we learn from each failed relationship, ex boyfriend or husband what we want in the future one, we are able to piece together the successes from our previous business concepts to build a better one next time.
Admit your failure, and never, ever blame it on anyone but yourself. Accept it, swallow the medicine and come back 10x better tomorrow.
In the end, to keep your momentum you need to keep moving forward. While you may pause every now and then, motion will create amazing things in your life.
It’s time to stop letting your ideas control you, and time to start controlling your ideas.
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