Your vision for your business already has your roadmap built in. You already know how you like to communicate (maybe you like writing, or video, or talking), how you want to work with customers (online, in person), and what you want to help them with (the whole reason you started your business in the first place!). You just have to put the pieces together, AND BELIEVE it will work.

So, what do you need to prepare for on your business journey? The countless obstacles that are waiting to stand in the way of you choosing what is BEST FOR YOU. 

The obstacles, limiting beliefs, and conditioning you embody along the way are what trigger you to start questioning if you know enough, or to start listening to the “experts” tell you that you have to do it a certain way, and that all leads you to start to lose sight of what is right for you and start veering off the path. 

To help you navigate these obstacles, I’ve compiled together what I believe are the real simple truths about starting and growing a small business – what REALLY matters when it comes down to the things that will make you successful AND enjoy your business:

1. buck the trends

There will always be trends, but that doesn’t mean they are right for your business. There are countless ways to do business, to market yourself, to talk about your programs, products, and services. They ALL work. They just might not work for you.

You need to find YOUR way. No matter what people say about what is the BEST way to create your business or promote your business, it won’t work for you unless it feels ease-ful, makes sense to you, and is how you want your business to look and flow. Once you can trust yourself to create it your way, the “making it happen” part becomes so much easier.

ACTION ITEM: Write down how you WANT your business to run, what it looks like, how you serve your audience. Forget the trends and choose what feels good and right for you.

2. Keep it Simple

You don’t need to work 24/7 to have a successful business. You need to choose how many hours you wish to work and then put all your efforts into the revenue generating activities that will bring you closer to the clients you want to work with/buy from you. Everything else is fluff!

KEEP IT SIMPLE. ONE offer, ONE type of client, ONE way to promote your business, ONE Price point.

I wish I would’ve started my business this way. The “noise” will tell you it’s easier to do XYZ, or to be on all social media platforms, or start a podcast, or have a Youtube channel, or have a low, mid and high end priced offer. Put the blinders on and build your confidence around ONE offer/product/service. One promotional platform. Until that just feels SO ease-ful and you have enough of a system and flow in your business that you then have the capacity to add more elements.

ACTION ITEM: Download this basic business plan and stick with it/go all in on it for just 90 days and see what magic happens!

3. Get Comfortable with being Uncomfortable

You aren’t going to feel confident or comfortable about 99% of the time. This is a tough pill to swallow. You are embarking on a new adventure, learning and using new skills, going after a new dream, and the older, inner version of you is looking for the safety net, the proof you can succeed, so you are going to feel uncertain. You are going to feel like an imposter. You will fear you are doing it wrong, fear others know more than you, fear that people will realize you’re faking it and a fraud. Welcome to starting a business.

When you can accept that this is normal, but not permanent, then you can start to work through it. This is why working on your mindset is so important. When I work with my clients, who are all newer entrepreneurs, 80% of what we work on are the fears, limiting beliefs, and old conditioning that creep up whenever they take action, or things start working out, or they don’t see results just yet. The key is to find a way to not let your mindset sabotage your dream and stop you from taking action.

Hiring a life, mindset or business coach is a great way to get the accountability and mindset shifting support to make your dream happen. 

ACTION ITEM: Ready to work through your limiting beliefs and fears so they don’t hold you back? Book a free 30 minute MOMENTUM CALL with me and let’s chat about taking your business confidence and strategy to the next level!

4. Business is about relationships

The best, most sustainable business growth is really about relationships. It’s not about your website, your business cards, your LLC, your lead generation funnel, or your social media posts. It’s about trust and relationships.

My dad had a construction business for over 40 years and he never had a website, email, social media. He had a landline phone (our HOME phone number), his truck, and pieces of paper. My mom, sister and I were his “secretaries” taking messages (I thought that was totally normal growing up!). My mom wrote his contracts. And he networked, met friends of friends, clients referred him to their contacts because he was reasonably priced and honest. Every client was a referral from his network.

So, let people know what you do. Get to know more and more people. Focus on the connections, and watch your business grow. Social media is great, but it takes A LOT longer to build relationships. It’s a long game filled with a lot of noise and people with short attention spans. Networking, collaborating, meeting more and more people is the best way to grow a sustainable business. 

ACTION ITEM: Grab your pen and journal and write down three ways you can start connecting with more people this week. How can engage with your current network and how can you meet new people. Make it a goal to tell at least 3 people what you do in our business and how you help people.
 

5. It’s not the quantity, it’s the quality

I remember a story of an influencer who had millions of followers. She decided to promote a t-shirt that was raising funds for a non-profit. She promoted the t-shirt on social media and only around 30 people bought it. Social media touts having all these followers and having all these email subscribers, but let’s be honest – they aren’t all interested, paying attention, or the right fit. 

Numbers don’t mean a thing. As I learned in my graduate school statistics class – Numbers aren’t people! 

The right people are what matter. The people YOU want to help that are the right fit for you and your services/products.

But also, if you had a million people want to work with you, could you help all million people right now? Probably not. You have a capacity limit. We all do. The only thing that matters is that you build relationships. Your most loyal clients/customers are your best marketing strategy, because they are going to refer people to you. They are going to come back for more. Same with your audience.

You don’t need thousands of unengaged, “sometimes paying attention” type followers. You want only the people wanting to learn from you, wanting more information, trusting you.

If your capacity is 10 clients per month and you are getting referrals and your past clients want to work with you again, you might already have your capacity tapped out. Focus on helping the people you want to help, nurture those wanting more from you. And trust that the people you are meant to help will always find you. Remember that! 

ACTION ITEM: Ask yourself if your marketing strategy is based in the mindset that you need ALOT of eyes on you, or is it tailored to focus on connecting with the people YOU are MEANT to help. And then adjust your plan accordingly.

5. It’s not the quantity, it’s the quality

Let YOUR voice be louder than everyone else’s by staying true to you. Toxic marketing is everywhere. Great marketers know how to play into your dreams and fears so you buy from them. And, with social media being so prevalent in everyone’s lives, you will be bombarded by this messaging. This is why you have to put the blinders on. It’s ok to unfollow people. 

You want YOUR voice to be louder. Your inner guide/intuition to tell you what the right next step is. Learn to trust yourself over what you hear from other entrepreneurs. Don’t adopt anyone elses’ definition of success or strategies. Create your own. 

A million dollar business may not be right for you. You may not want $10K months. Success is what you define it as. So, first define success for YOU then create YOUR roadmap to get there.  STAY IN YOUR LANE. TRUST you will get there and don’t let your fear or imposter syndrome influence the decisions you make in your business. 

ACTION ITEM: Press pause on your lengthy to-do list, grab your journal and pen, and start reflecting on what YOUR definition of success looks and feels like in your life and business. Try to avoid considering things you feel you SHOULD desire or FOMO. 

In a nutshell, what it all comes down to is that business can be what you want it to be as long as you are true to you. Trust yourself. Keep it simple. Don’t get distracted by all the ways to do business, or by all the noise. Decide what is best for you FOR NOW. You can always tweak along the way.