I want to start a business... but I don't know where to start!
I don't know about you but I have heard so many of my friends say this over the years - recently it has made me wonder how many people DO DREAM of starting their own business? I think many do. As human beings I think there is an innate instinct in us to dream, see and create. I was lucky to have inspiration to start my business through my Dad. I watched him throughout my childhood run his own business and I guess it just became the normal thing to do and wasn't beyond the realm of possibility for me. I would love to let YOU the reader know that it is possible for you to do the same.
My question always in response to my friends that say this statement is 'well what are you doing to find out?!'. The answer is typically 'well I haven't really...'. This answer always intrigues me. Why does someone say I want to start a business but doesn't actually do anything to get started? I think as a society we've been conditioned to identify what we're good at and what we're not good at, which means we usually end up staying in a place where it's safe. Remember those times when you were a child, when your parents told you to not go in a certain room or look in a certain cupboard, but you did. Why? You had the desire to learn! You were curious, you asked questions, you wanted to explore, discover and figure things out. So, what has changed when we become adults? One word - FEAR!
We're afraid to look stupid.
We're afraid to fail.
We're afraid we'd get hurt.
We're afraid our business might be a complete disaster.
To begin on the journey of starting our own business we have to STEP UP and STEP OUT. Sara Blakely, owner of Spanx puts it perfectly - “Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know.” When I started my first education company I had no idea how I was going to get my programmes and teachers into schools, all I knew was that is what I HAD to do. I started to research, I asked teacher friends how companies sell products and services to them, this proved useful, but the biggest learning curve was when I did my first marketing campaign.... You know those times when you look back at things you did in the past and you cringe.... yeah it's one of those moments! The branding was awful, the copy sucked, it didn't have a call to action... I could go on! But the key thing I learnt was that I did it, I started. Once you step out you break fear. You start to realise 'hey I did that and it wasn't so bad', I think I can do it again.
It's like making your first public presentation - remember that moment standing in front of everyone, legs are starting to shake, heart is racing and palms are sweaty! After you finish you breathe that sigh of relief and normally go 'that wasn't so bad' and you start to imagine the next time you do it, feeling more confident and in control of your nerves. This is exactly the journey we all have to go on when starting a business - first of we just have to STEP UP and STEP OUT.
I would love to encourage you to start exploring the realm of possibility. Explore that idea you've always had. Explore how you can make that product. Explore how you can provide that service.
Join me next time for the power of DOING.
Wishing you great success in your journey.
Michael
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