For months now I’ve been struggling with what to do for a business. I mean a real business…not the monkey business I’ve been doing without strategy or marketing or cultivating clients or accounting or anything like that.
Then today I realized I haven’t been struggling with what to do for a business. I’ve been struggling against what to do for a business. I know what to do, I’m just scared to do it. And my Inner Me is fighting against the change and risks inherent to doing it. A little woowoo, but there ya go.
Not Good Enough
But this is better than a few years ago when I wanted to do it and believed I:
- Didn’t know enough to do it,
- Didn’t have the right tools to do it,
- Didn’t have the right skills to do it, and
- Couldn’t afford the time or money it would take to do it.
Simply, I didn’t believe I was good enough for what I wanted to do.
Sidenote: I was wrong about that, by the way. When it’s time to start, whoever we are and whatever we have on hand is enough. Think: MacGyver. (And thank you for the reminder, Cath!)
So believing (wrongly) I needed a ton of stuff I didn’t have, I started collecting articles, subscriptions, books, domain names, degrees, and whatnot…lots and lots of whatnot. And I had NO idea how much I’d accumulated until I took inventory today.
Yup, inventory
I so love my Magna Cartas that I made more lists. This time I took stock of what I have on hand to build a business with, willing to be surprised with the answer. What was on the lists was not surprising…what knocked my socks off was how much stuff I’ve got to work with:
I only listed things I like and I marked the stuff I really like. And I forgot to add my certs: Microsoft Office Instructor and Master’s in Instructional Design for Online Learning, and the Master’s degree that’s on hold for the mo’. I also left off my favorite vendors, some apps, and some equipment (printers, etc.). And also resumé-type hard- and soft-skill stuff. So as long as those lists are, there’s more.
Wow.
Looking over my Whattayas, my experiences have prepared me for it (Yes!). I have super-specific formal education tailored to it, some terrific books, the best tools, and the necessary skills…and a few skills that are irrelevant but handy (Yes!). I also have cash to cover the bills for a month or two, a clear calendar, and a husband who thinks it’s a great idea (Hell, Yes!).
Roll up all those Yeses and you get a big ball of GO!
Right?
Err…did I mention that I’m scared to do it?
And have you noticed there can be 2,546 Yeses push-pulling you forward, but it only takes one or two fears to hold you back?
But fears are so Thursday. Today is about taking inventory—
Whattaya know? Whattaya have? Whattaya want?
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Whatever it is you want to do, you probably have plenty work with. And however much you have on hand, it’s enough to get started. If you’re not sure what you have (and even if you think you’re sure): take inventory…and be willing to be surprised.
When we know what we have, we draw more lines in the sand.
And we can’t unknow it. We can’t undraw them, either.
So make your lists, k?
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See you Thursday,
Photo credit: calculator by ansik
Bacon & eggs WHILE modeling nude? It’s a niche, right? Can we get paid for that?
I think we would ROCK at that!
Love, love, love your lists. You have totally inspired me, Crystal. Thank you!
Laurie Foley´s last blog ..If Goldilocks Ran Her Own Business
Love, love, love this! Kick the fear in the knees and get started already!! I so know your predicament. I kept holding off on forging ahead with my business b/c it wasn’t “perfect yet”. Luckily I had a friend that said to me…”You’re stalling. What are you scared of? It’s never going to be perfect anyway — always a work in progress.” It was fear of imperfection that was holding me back. Once I recognized exactly what I was fearing, I decided to give it a little bitch-slap. Now I own the fear.
You’re right…Degrees, contacts, ideas, and gadgets mean nothing if we don’t actually put them to use! Get on with it already! State your fears aloud to friends and family so that you start to own it. Soon your fears will seems silly. If you keep it a secret, it owns you.
Keep us (at least me) posted. I’m always intriguied by this stuff and I think you’re fabulous already.
Lisa ´s last blog ..MyBusyBabe: Who knew?! RT @GuyKawasaki Why Global Warming doesn’t have to limit your footwear options http://om.ly/TGAH
@Laurie — LOL! We would indeed rock that…but what the heck would we do for an encore? Or an upsell?
And thank you, ya know?
@Lisa — Woohoo! Go, You! Own that fear!…and what a great friend you have. And how cool to share that wisdom with all of us. And you musta peeked over my shoulder when I was writing the next post
(And thanks for seeing me as fabulous…that’s so nifty to hear)
I used to have many doubts… But then I also used to live in a phone box!
“Ya can’t make money and excuses at the same time…”
…Tough Love…. from Brye… x
Encore??? Pancakes while streaking! I never run out of nekkid ideas.
Laurie Foley´s last blog ..If Goldilocks Ran Her Own Business
PS – You gotta come to ATL. I’ll take you to the Varsity for a chili dog where every server is yelling out “Whattayahave? Whattayahave?”
Laurie Foley´s last blog ..If Goldilocks Ran Her Own Business
You’re not alone in wondering how best to start a business and what to actually do, making a list is a great idea but there are some who say, entrepreneur don’t stop and think, they just do.
You can often talk yourself out of even the best ideas if you think of everything that could go wrong,
bristol jobs
Hi,
Loving your posts, they are very inspiring. I am in a job I am not sure about at the moment and feel like I am at a crossroads, so these posts have been encouraging.
Food for thought.
Darren
Ive got to piggyback on what John Richards said up there.
Lists are great for brainstorming, but the reality of it is that success comes about from more or a
ready
shoot
aim
kind of approach
FOR ME- I had to just kind of take a leap and then deal with the consequences. But like many I spun my wheels and thought about things for a while. Im glad I somehow found the gumption to just grab at something and go.
Good luck!
drop shipper´s last blog ..Using A Drop Shipping Company
Ever since I was 16, I have been coming up with ideas for businesses and had the fear of not succeeding and that I wasnt good enough as well. I can not count the number of ideas that I did have. I believed in them all at one point, but once I got a new idea, the old idea got pushed to the wayside and so on and so on. Eventually, I graduated high school and joined the military which I am currently serving in. In 2004, I started getting business happy again, It is almost OCD for me. I had scribbled down a few ideas and was actually about to pursue it, but then I got scared that I wasnt going to be able to make it, partly because that I am in the Navy and was going to be gone for 6 months due to a deployment and partly because I didnt think i was good enough. Actually looking back 6 months would have been nice to develop some articles and start generating some traffic for my website but anyhow, I never did that business idea. Following deployment, I just wanted to jump into the online world and hopefully make some money, if not at least I could get some more experiance with website design and gain some confidence. I did a little research and actually purchased 2 established websites. One was a Professional Fantasy Sports website and was a Gay Viral Video website which I was a little leary on buying in the first place because I was not gay myself. The fantasy sports website actually did okay but only had it for one football season before I decided it wasnt for me. The viral video website was actually making me descent money, I was getting $50 checks in the mail at least every week which was okay for me. Well, time went by and I decided to sell that website as well despite the fact that it was profitable, I realized that it just wasnt for me. Deep inside, I think that I owed it to myself to give some old ideas a chance. This is where I am today. I actually just finished working on it in the last month or two but it is finally ready to go. My fear has gone away! =)
This was a great article. It is amazing how much we hold ourselves back because of fear or self doubt. One of the most important things in business is to truly believe you are capable of success and that you are actually going to succeed in your business.
Now I only wish I could perfect this myself.
Good Luck
And so….
the new business is?
did I jump in the middle? I’ll go read for more info, I can hardly wait.
Good to be here Crystal, I have been away from the blogging world a bit myself working behind the scenes on life a lot this year. Happy to be able to get back in the swing of things and glad to see that you are marching ahead with your goals! I have every faith in you. And as soon as you do…you are gonna kick some serious behind!
Good post! I always think it’s not so much about the actual idea for a business as the implementation. Lots of good ideas don’t work through poor implementation, and lots of poor ideas make money because the founder is really good at sales or marketing.
Trust your abilities and go for it…
Ben
Ben Fletcher´s last blog ..Effective communication for improving team performance