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AFTER THE LEAP - GROWING
Get and stay motivated.
When you are working for yourself you don’t have someone else pushing you to make sure things get done on time. You have to do that yourself. Figure out what gets you motivated to complete tasks, and help yourself out. Don’t be afraid to spend money on things that get you to work. Reward yourself after a particularly difficult project or sale with a walk, a few hours watching tv, or by buying something you’ve been wanting.
Take action.
Ideas are great, but many people have them. The people who succeed are those who take action to implement their great ideas.
As an entreprenuer you are probably very good at coming up with new ideas. You may have developed quite a few when thinking about your new business, or you may take retreats to brainstorm. Now you must sift through these visions and execute the ones you think can help your company grow.
Make lists of things that need to be done (marketing emails sent out, cleaning out old files, redesiging your inventory space) so that if you ever need something to do, these items will be ready. If you never have free time and nothing on the list gets done, make time to take action. Taking action makes sure that things are changing, even if it is only in incremental, tiny steps. Growing must involve changing.
Get better.
We’ve all been in those stores that look like they haven’t changed in 20 years. We’ve all met those people selling the exact same services they’ve been selling for so long they’re no longer excited about what they do. Don’t be one of those businesses.
On a whole you should constantly be trying to learn more and improve your life. As an employee it is important to stay current in your industry. As a business-owner it is imperative. Take a class locally or online, read a book, read industry-specific blogs, attend conferences - there are a variety of ways in which you can become more proficient in your profession.
Once you own your own business however, there is more that you must take on. Not only must you keep learning about your industry, now you must also master business as a whole. You need to understand marketing, human resources, accounting and more on a new level. Thankfully there are numerous books, courses, and websites that can help you with this as well.
Get a life.
For me, the whole purpose of owning your own business is to be able to live your preferred lifestyle. That could be working all the time and making lots of money, but it’s probably not. You are probably wanting less stress, a comfortable income, and more time to do other fun things. Don’t forget this once you start working! If you end up working more than you did working for someone else, having more stress, and not getting to do the things you really enjoy - is your business really successful? Making money is not the only (or even most important) aspect of owning your own business.
I make sure to take time away (I have to purposefully schedule it) to pursue other things I love to do - running, biking, hiking, hanging out with friends.
It is also important to set boundaries on your work, before you get started. I try not to work too much outside of normal business hours and I never ever work on Sundays. You need to have time that is untouchable by your job.
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