As I sit here in a lay-by looking down at the sea, I think it would be fair to say that I’m filled with immense gratitude for my life. I have a business model that allows me the freedom to work where I like – most of the time; I get to work with inspiring, creative driven people and yes, I am talking about my clients, my friends and my mentors; and I get to do the stuff I really love doing, (again most of the time). In short, I make my difference in the world my way.
Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be one of those ‘look how great and easy this is’ kind of blogs it’s about commitment, grit and making stuff happen. The truth is we all have to do things we don’t want to in our business from time to time; whether that’s the accounts, a particular piece of client work, dealing with team issues – insert your own pet hate here!
If you don’t deal with these things, or delegate to someone who will do them better, they come back and bite you. They take away the freedom you might strive for and the passion you have for your business. While you are thinking about them, beating yourself up for not having done whatever you are putting off, or worrying about how to sort things out you are messing with your neurology, you are using up energy, stealing joy from the moment you are actually living. Now you will have heard that 100’s of times before, I know, but honestly have you nailed it yet?
Building and growing your business is about balance – be driven by the things that matter to you, the impact you want to have, the results you want personally, and be committed enough to do what is needed to make those things happen.
It’s taken me 16 years to get to a business that mostly involves what I love, and I’m very lucky to have an awesome team around me who love some of the stuff I hate. In the earlier days when there was no team I had to do that stuff, I had to pay attention to invoicing, to chasing payments, to making appointments, to following through on sales calls, otherwise the business would not have grown. More importantly, I wouldn’t have been able to go and do the stuff I did love doing with my clients.
This commitment and grit to do the things that will make a difference to your business is essential. For me, it has been about getting really clear about what drives me, what is so important that I’ll suffer some of the things I don’t like doing, or that scare me, or I think I’m no good at in order to be able to do the things that are important to me. Think about this for yourself for a minute, what are the enablers, the things you need to make happen in your business so that you can go and do the thing you love with your clients?
For many people this is about actually finding more of those clients. So it’s putting yourself out there – networking, blogging, social media, building relationships (not jumping straight in with the sell – unless you’re invited to of course). Sometimes it’s creating structure and order out of the chaos – your admin, your office space, your scheduling. Sometimes it’s clarity, being really specific about what you do for whom, and most importantly, what is the benefit for them. But I think the most common enabler is quite simply getting out of your own way, dropping the excuses, the procrastinating, the distractions and making time to do what your business really needs right now.
I hope this has created some food for thought, and I hope you are brave enough to act on those thoughts, because frankly it’s easier to go with what you are driven by than to settle for your own particular struggle.
Business success really is about commitment, grit and making things happen. It is these things that ultimately give you freedom to do business your way. Which brings me back to why I’m sitting in a lay-by writing this blog. I needed to make a sales call & had no phone signal where I was working today. So to make it happen I jumped in the car and drove around to find a signal. As you can see form the picture it’s beautiful here, so when I’d finished my call I thought I’d stay a while and work here.
If you want more support, inspiration and accountability join our growing Brave Scene community on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BraveScene/