If you’re fearful — whether of success or failure — you will find you’re spending most of your day spinning your wheels.
What can you do to put our finger on what you’re afraid of? How can you move past fear toward achievement? Here are a few of my suggestions:
Refocus. Maybe you’re too busy selling and not serving your clients. Maybe you’re trying to be everything to everyone. Focus your efforts. It could be a feeling of overwhelm that is freezing you in your tracks.
Fear of the unknown will freeze you on the spot. Having a business plan and working that plan will help you move forward without fear.
Focus on your core competency and build a team of professionals to help you with what you’re not well-versed in.
Surround yourself with a support system of professionals. Join a mastermind group. Find a mentor.
Be a risk taker. Sometimes you just have to be willing to experiment and take a risk on having it not work out. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Managing and taking risks is part and parcel of being an entrepreneur.
You got into business for yourself to be a success, right? If that’s the case and if you’re struggling, maybe you need to take a step back and look at the basics. Here are my three habits that I’ve found highly successful entrepreneurs share:
Prioritize. You cannot drift along hoping for success. There has to be a written plan in place. Your priorities will keep you on track and will keep you accountable. If you’re working your priorities, you’re bound to succeed.
Build a great team. Whether it’s the staff you hire, the attorney you work with, the virtual assistant who oversees your projects or the mastermind group with whom you associate, you need to surround yourself with great people.
Communicate. Whether you operate a virtual business or brick and mortar, you need to master effective communications with your staff and clients. Every communication, whether on the phone, by email, or in person, should have a well thought out purpose and be clear, concise, and complete.
Work on incorporating these habits into your daily business routine and you might just see your success rates increase. What do you find is a habit that helps you succeed?
Do you remember the Pet Rock? If you do, you remember it was very popular at one point, but now it’s gone the way of many widgets and other business ideas that just weren’t sustainable. Not every business can be Facebook, but you can ask yourself questions to see if your idea is a viable one.
Here are some starting points.
Is your business idea a good one? Harken back to the Pet Rock. Ask yourself this:
Is there a need for the goods or services you’re offering?
How much competition is there?
Do you have the skills and expertise to make your business viable?
Are there any trends that could make your idea more, or less, viable in the future?
Do you have the income to support yourself while you launch your idea?
Do you have the know-how to launch this business? Having an idea is one thing, launching is something entirely different.
How will you make sales?
What is your comfort level with providing customer service?
What do you need to launch your product or service?
Will you need to store product or find someone to make your product?
Where will you market the product and find customers?
Can you make a living?
If you’re not making a living, your idea is a hobby
Know how much it costs to deliver your goods or services
What is the anticipated demand?
Where will you sell it? Online? In person?
How long do you anticipate it will take to see a profit?
Do you have a support system in place?
These questions will jump start your business planning process. They will also help you formulate your written business plan — a necessity for business success.
Have you ever asked yourself. “Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?” If so, here are a few questions to ask so you can delve deeper into that question and see if entrepreneurship might be right for you:
You come from a family of entrepreneurs. Many individuals find that if they come from a family who pursues its passion and turns it into a living, they are more likely to have the entrepreneurial drive themselves.
You simply cannot work for a “boss.”
You have the self confidence to strike out on your own, work hard and deal with the ups and downs that come from owning a business.
You never take no for an answer. That’s a good trait as an entrepreneur, to be successful, never gives up.
You relish a commute that extends from your bedroom to the home office.
You believe that job security comes from what you make for yourself, not from an employer.
You have a finely honed competitive nature and are willing to compete with others to make your business the best.
What can you do to make the leap from unemployed or underemployed to business owner? You need to have a roadmap in place and a mentor or coach in your corner. Questions? Send me a message.
I may not be able to offer definitive proof, but I’ll bet that a business owner who has a business plan is thriving at a higher level than a business owner who is just “winging it.” You don’t have to look at a business plan as a document that will take you months and months to write. Look at your plan as a road map to your future success. Start it small, then build on it. The most important aspect is to “start it.”
Why do you need a business plan?
To make certain your idea is a good one. A business plan will help you put numbers to paper on whether your idea is feasible. Who will pay for what you’re selling. Who your competition is? What your profit margins should be, and even more. Getting this information down on paper is crucial to truly being able to determine if your idea can take flight – and earn you a living.
To give you a road map to follow. Developing a business means you need to have a plan in place to serve as your start up compass. Map out the first year before you take the leap. Know where to go for financing. If you need financing, you will need a business plan. Write down your particular skills and make note of those skills you will need to hire for.
A business plan will help you manage business growth. It would be a happy problem to have to have your business grow beyond your means to handle it on your own, right? If that growth happens and you’re not prepared you could make hiring mistakes or other mistakes that could kill the momentum.
The type of business plan you have will likely vary on the industry you’re in but at its most basic you need to have the items mentioned above written down to serve as your road map toward success!
