For years you slaved away for someone else. It may have been a small business, a medium-sized business or even a large multinational.
You worked ridiculously long and stressful days, without any extra reward for overtime you did at the office. The more hours you spent at your desk or on-site, the more you watched your salary dilute.
You felt like just another cog in the machine, unable to bring your own personality to the services you were giving. Unable to put your own personal stamp on the product and truly call it yours.
Everything you did was to service the greater purpose of the company you worked for. The work you did and the way you did it needed to be in alignment with the company’s. The people who were your employers. Your masters.
Even though you were given plenty of applause and accolades, a full-time job was becoming an unrewarding experience. Disillusionment set in like heavy concrete.
The Big Idea
One day you were sitting at your desk, and a lightbulb went off in your head.
It was a big product idea. Or a business idea for a service only you could provide. Or a service that many in the market are able to provide but you’re confident you can do it better than anyone else.
It’s special. It’s unique. And it’s yours.
You quit your salaried job and put employment behind you.
Your Own Captain
As captain of your own boat, you started chartering your own course. You were ready to show the world who you really are, what you can do and what you can create.
You sat at your desk. You started working. Developing business plans. Costing your services out in spreadsheets. Brainstorming ideas for your products, how you’re going to develop them, who you’re going to sell them to. You’re planning world domination!
Working for someone else was truly behind you.
Cut to the Present
After working a while, you decide it’s time for a cup of coffee. You go out to the local café and have someone make it for you. No-one’s pushing you to do more work. You enjoy your tasty beverage, savoring each sip.
You get home. Hmmm, you wonder. What next?
The computer at your desk beckons. The notes on the walls demand your attention.
Work needs to be done to advance the business, but enquiries are slow. So you have a nice, long, shower. You spend time in the shower thinking about next steps.
You come back to your desk. Answer a couple of emails. Sort out some documents. Fire them off to your prospects.
That’s a job well done. Alright, time for another break.
You jump on Facebook. Laugh at some of your friends’ cat memes. Click through to YouTube, check out some of the latest cat videos.
You jump onto Wikipedia where you read about how cat memes and cat videos started. Then you jump onto Twitter where you start tweeting about cats and your own cat memes.
Before you know it, you’ve transformed into a cat meme expert. And then you remember, you’re meant to be building your business, not mastering the art of creating cat memes!
Does This Sound Like You?
It’s okay if it does. It happens to the best of us.
Everyone goes off track every now and again. As an employee there was a structure. You had to be in the office at a certain hour and you left at a certain hour.
Expectations were placed upon you by your supervisors and you had to fulfill them in order to maintain your job and be paid.
You can’t fault a person who’s played the role of employee for years on end and just wants to enjoy themselves for a little bit.
Before you know it, days, weeks and even months might have passed by. Nasty, unproductive patterns might have formed. Very little work gets done as your business capital dwindles.
When you’re just starting your business and the work is slow, when enquiries are few and when you have little structure to your day, bad habits are super easy to form.
It’s really easy to lose direction during this phase of your life. If you let bad habits take hold, your business and all your big ideas are going to go nowhere, fast.
You might end up in a swirling vortex of self-blame, lose your confidence, faith in your business, and perspective on the value you bring to the world.
Below are 8 ways to keep yourself on track.
1. Set Goals and Targets
If you’re going to succeed at running your own business, setting goals for the short, medium and long term is an absolute must.
Even setting goals each morning is important so you don’t lose sight of what you’re trying to achieve daily.
In the early phases of your transition, you’ll need to accept you’re small and you may not be able to achieve everything you set out to accomplish — but don’t use this as an excuse not to set targets.
Remember, every little step you take will move you towards ultimate success. Put one foot in front of the other, keep moving forward and relish the little victories.
2. Be Disciplined about Your Time and Boundaries
Managing your time and boundaries is the flip side of being disciplined about goal setting.
Continue reading %8 Ways to Stay Productive When Starting Your First Business%
by Andrew Lau via SitePoint
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