I recently read an article in Forbes that said that the small business start-up is the next big thing, especially for women. To that, I have to say “Amen.” I have long held the opinion that everyone should own their own small business.
But my experience in working with small business owners as they start-up or expand their business is that it takes a little thing called Courage to actually start a business. Being an Entrepreneur isn’t always easy.
So many people are stuck in 9-to-5 jobs that they hate. They aren’t fulfilled, they aren’t living the life they want. They want something else. But they don’t know how to take that next step.
I’ve come up with a 4-step process that seems to help many people get on track to pursue their dreams: Get Clear, Lose the Fear, Make the Plan, Take Action. Today we’re going to talk about the first two.
Step One: Get Clear
“Getting clear” means that you have to do a deep analysis of yourself. You need to really know your strengths, your weaknesses, your interests, your skills and your resources. You have to understand why you are dissatisfied with your current situation and you have to know what it is you want to change. It takes some work, but once you define what you want and know why you want it, it’s much easier to figure out how to make it happen.
Step Two: Lose the Fear
I have found that fear in starting a new business is almost always a result of one of two things: either 1) the potential entrepreneur does not have enough knowledge or 2) they have the wrong mindset. If the fear is a result of not having enough knowledge, that fear is easily overcome by doing your homework. You’ve got to conduct your market research and talk to others who are doing what you wish to do. You have to have a clear understanding of your business cycle – where customers come from, how the cash flow works, what it takes to provide the products or services you want to provide.
A wrong mindset is sometimes a little more difficult to overcome, but it’s certainly possible. One of the exercises I usually have clients do is to write down a list of all of the things they think could go wrong with their new business. This really helps to identify and name their fears. Then we go through the list and I flip each fear around and present it as an opportunity. I show them how to learn from every possible failure, how to make it a positive experience, how to turn it into an adventure of discovery. I encourage them to review the list and really look at the bright side examples every day for at least 30 days. In time, we can really get to the core issues – what they are really afraid of. Then we work together to develop a plan to eliminate, or greatly minimize the results they fear.
Next week, we’ll talk more about Make the Plan and Take Action.
Here’s to your success,
Trina
P.S. And as always, if you need help getting started with your own small business dream, send me an email to Trina@SuccessPointConsulting.com. I’d be glad to help.
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