Have you ever felt the intuitive nudge to take BIG action in your career or business? Perhaps you’re feeling the call to re-brand your business, move your office outside of the home, hire staff or engage a coach.
Whatever the action, these surges forward typically involve a significant investment of time, energy and money. So why is it, even thought we know the time is right, we just can’t bring ourselves to pull the trigger?
It’s that inner voice that says, “I’ll do it next year, when I feel more ready”, or “When I’m making more money, I’ll make the investment”. Or maybe it’s something very real, like an unexpected business or personal expense that sends us into a tail-spin and hurrying back to safe territory.
Fear itself isn’t the enemy. It’s an incredibly useful tool that’s kept us alive since the dawn of time. But when we allow fear to control us, it can hold us back from doing things we need to grow and make a bigger impact in the world.
Today, I’d like to share 4 ways to balance healthy caution with your maverick entrepreneurial spirit, set yourself up for success, and start getting the results you want now.
1) Ask yourself why you want it
Let’s use re-branding your business as our example here. Why do you want to re-brand? Is it because:
- You’ve bootstrapped and cobbled together your brand, but it’s no longer aligned with your status and vision.
- You are charging more for your services and your branding needs to reflect this increase.
- You have re-structured your business and need a website that’s as functional as it is beautiful, drawing prospects into your sales funnel and converting them into clients.
- You don’t have enough clients and you think a brand-spanking new website will draw prospects to you.
- You know you really need to re-structure your business, but you’d rather spend time and energy working on the fun part i.e. the design
- Yours is old. Isn’t it time for a re-fresh?
If it’s one of the first three, you’re on the right track. If it’s one of the last three, you might want to re-consider the investment at this moment. You don’t want to have to do this twice!
2) What do you want to get out of it?
Let’s use coaching as our example here. Do you want to:
- Target higher-quality clients so you can work on fewer, better-paying projects
- Create processes that will allow you to streamline your efforts
- Raise your rates
- Have someone to talk to about how hard freelance life is
- Feel like you’re doing something
- Have a coach because all the successful people seem to have one
If you answered yes to one of the first three, you’re on track. If it’s one of the last three, I’d save your money until you feel clearer on your desired outcome.
3) What do you want the return on investment to be?
If you’re making a significant investment in your business, you need to be clear on what return you’re expecting on your investment. For example:
- Do you want to raise your rates by a certain % within a certain time-frame? If so, how long would it take for you to recoup your investment at this new rate?
- Do you want to work less, but make the same, if not more? What are your expectations about how the investment you’re about to make will help you do that?
- Do you want to streamline your business so you can focus ONLY on money-generating opportunities, while outsourcing the rest?
Being very clear on what you expect will help you, and the person you’re working with, ensure you meet those goals. My most successful clients have always been the ones who know what’s not working, how they want it to change, and are prepared to do what it takes. Which brings me to my last point….
4) How much are you prepared to invest to get the outcome you want?
We’re not just talking about an investment of your dollars, but also one of your time and energy. Going for glory in your business means having to ask yourself some tough questions, acknowledge what’s not working and commit to putting in the work to create what you want. No matter what someone’s marketing message says, there are no silver bullets. There are great solutions, but you’re going to have to be in it 100% and work hard to make it happen.
If you feel excited and inspired, that’s a great sign. Make the commitment to take action towards getting the results you want now!
If you’d like to talk about ways in which you can get results faster in your creative business, book a free 30-minute consultation with me here. To your success!
