Envision Your Entrepreneurial Success
It’s August, my birthday month, a time of reflection and introspection. Let’s talk about envisioning your success and how it plays such an important role in your success.
Most people get stuck at this point of starting their own business because they don’t see a clear passage or transition that can take them from where they are now to where they want to be. Funds, clients, and paychecks surely won’t come just because you’ve incorporated your business. After all – you’re in your current job for a reason. It pays the bills, and without it, you’d have no way to pay your expenses, raise your family and support yourself.
Take a moment to answer these questions
From a financial standpoint, how much or how little do you need to work at your current job in order to make ends meet while you transition into starting your own business?
How does your schedule look right now, and how would it look if you were to work only part time, as-needed, or not at all (depending on what you answered above)? What does the day look like from sunup to sundown? How much time would you have in your schedule? Do you have other commitments during the day that you need to include (picking kids up from school, taking care of family members, etc.)?
How do you envision your physical health being affected as you transition from the schedule you have now to the schedule you dream of?
How do you envision your spiritual health being affected as you transition from the schedule you have now to the schedule you dream of?
How do you envision your financial health being affected as you transition from the schedule you have now to the schedule you dream of?
Create a budget with your current income, and describe how you plan to save for the final exit from your current position.
Your Dream Scenario
If self-employment is the path for you, I’m sure that your description of what you’ve envisioned in your dream scenario is much more satisfying and fulfilling than what your current reality is. Therefore, the description of what you’ve written is what success looks like for you. So you will know if you’ve achieved success by whether your physical, spiritual and financial health is in accordance with what you’ve envisioned. By simply identifying what success looks like, not only have you increased your chances of attaining it, but you’ve also created a guide that you can refer back to from time to time. If down the line, you’re stressed financially, you’ll know that you’re not making enough money and that you need to find more clients or spend more time marketing in order to find balance. Similarly, if you are physically tired, maybe you’ve taken on too many clients, or need to hire an assistant to help out.
The End Goal
Remember – the end goal is to create a life for yourself that is more balanced and healthier than the one in which you’re currently entrenched. By working for yourself, you’ll have the control to run the business as you want, and you’ll know best how to do that based on how you feel physically, spiritually and financially. If one of those areas is out of balance, you’ll need to recalibrate. What you’ve just created is a great guidepost, because, especially early on, you will be working a lot to develop traction and get the business going, but if you don’t know what you’re working toward, you could spend forever grinding gears without realizing when to ease up.