Today I’m going to share something you may have already heard. But if you’re like me, you’ve been ignoring it, or at least trying to.
How do I know? Because I ignored it for almost 2 years. And I know at least 6 friends who have ignored it, too.
When I was very early into my entrepreneurial journey–maybe even before I quit my corporate job to coach full-time–someone was brave enough to tell me this truth about business. And I totally ignored her.
Instead, I was driven to prove her wrong. But I didn’t… yet I did.
I’m going to share this truth with you today. You may know it, or you may not. You may be ignoring it, or you may be believing it so strongly that it’s hindering your success. Either way, knowing both sides of this business truth will allow you to see what is truly possible for you and your business.
I can’t wait to hear what you think. Hit PLAY below.
Your turn
In the comments below, I want to hear from you.
Tell me about your journey as an entrepreneur, specifically…
1. What advice are you glad you ignored OR do you wish you had listened to?
2. What lessons have you learned about what it takes to be an entrepreneur?
I can’t wait to hear your stories.
Jenny — fantastic video!
Thank you!
Thank you Jenny for the wonderful post and your authentic voice. I can tell you really care about who you are speaking to in your video.
1. What advice are you glad you ignored OR do you wish you had listened to?
I ignored people who told me it was silly to think I could make money writing and speaking. These are the two things I find fun and easy, so for others it didn’t make sense for my work to not feel like work.
2. What lessons have you learned about what it takes to be an entrepreneur?
Heres the thing. IT IS HARD! My journey has not been easy starting out, which is normal. My brother in law opened a store, which took time to grow. He put in so many hours without making much (he had to cover the bills), but he kept going. In a year he expanded the store and again had to work work work. A year after that he opened a second store, work, work, work. A year after that he opened up a third, work, work, work. Next year he opens a restaurant.
Here’s the deal. It’s going to take work, so why not work at something that is fun and easy. If I choose to do something hard, like styling people then it would be hard work and most likely I would quit. I may like fashion but its not easy for me to create outfits, for example.
It takes work. Work is work. WHAT you choose as the work will make it easier when it feels so hard. 😉
Sandy
It’s all so true, Sandy! Sounds like we’ve been down similar paths.
And I couldn’t agree more that if we’re going to put work into our businesses, we may as well LOVE it!! Absolutely!
I wish I had:
– gone with my core essence from the start instead of choosing what I thought would make money and having to start over now
– hired a coach back when I could afford it, and not waited until now, when I really can’t but had to anyway
– learned more about how to make my business successful before starting it
etc etc etc 🙂
I’m stubborn as hell, so I’m not quitting, even though I’ve had three clients this year, and the last one was in June.
Good ones, Linda! Love the honesty and the perspective. We don’t always know how much those things matter when we’re first starting out and I’m grateful that you’re sharing those here for others to learn from!
Thank you Jenny
This was extremely encouraging and just what I needed right now as I’ve been going through all the doubts you describe.
The best advice I’ve followed has been to speak to your target market. That has been the most helpful thing I’ve done to craft services that are useful, write helpful blog posts and sales pages that really speak to my ideal customer.
The best advice that I haven’t followed is to build my list. My passion is in creating things, writing guest posts doesn’t excite me, I’m scared to reach out to other bloggers and so put this off. Even though I know (from you and others I respect) that this is the number one thing I can do to grow my business.
I struggle daily with feelings of guilt that I’m self sabotaging my success.
Yes – speaking to your target market is KEY!! And building your list, is too! 🙂
I was talking with a client last week who was struggling to do the things you’re “supposed to do” to get your business going. She wanted to do only the things that felt fun. This put her at a difficult impasse. She asked for advice. What I told her was…
1. Sometimes the resistance to working is not about the work but about the fear of being more visible, taking risks, or going bigger in business. The not wanting to work can be the mind’s way of wanting to stay safe. First check yourself and your resistance here.
2. Consider what your goals are. If you want to financially support yourself, consider how important that is. How badly do you want it? How much are you willing to stretch yourself to make it happen?
3. Consider rewarding yourself. What’s one thing you want to do for your biz that you’re pushing against due to fear or it being a challenge? What’s a way you could treat yourself that you wouldn’t otherwise do that could be an incentive to get it done? I remember when I was making my big list-building push awhile back that for each guest post I wrote I would let myself buy a new piece of clothing. I was in desperate need of new clothes but wouldn’t buy them because I was keeping my budget tight. I could barley afford a few new things, plus I knew that list-building would bring clients. So that became my reward.
Do any of these resonate with you? (I feel a future blog post in the works…)
Thanks for being here, Djanira, and for being so open and honest!
Thank you Jenny
Your first point ” fear of being more visible, taking risks, or going bigger in business” definitely resonated with me.
And that video was very funny 🙂
Jenny – this is such an important post! When I enrolled in coaches training, the VERY same day I enrolled in an online business course (B-school for the win!). Because hello….you NEED business skills to run a coaching business – online business skills in particular. I was shocked to find out that not one single person I was in training with (almost 100 different people over 12 months) had taken or was planning on taking any kind of training. They just assumed they’d become a coach and people would flock for their services. Now almost 2 years later I have a flourishing practice and most of the coaches I trained with are either still working their day job or really struggling. I think it’s a real shame that there isn’t more awareness built around this within coaching schools. Maybe they’re worried that new coaches will be turned off by how “hard” it really is? I dunno…but knowing that it was going to be hard as hell going into it was the most important thing for me. It’s what allowed me to keep on trucking when I wanted to lay face down on the floor and raise the white flag. Thanks for this great video Jenny. Sharing!!
You nailed it, Heather!
I was one of those people in coach training you avoided learning anything about business. I was one of the ones who believed “I will coach and they will come.” Yeah, didn’t happen… until I learned about business… then, holy cow!!
Thanks for sharing your experience, here. It’s so important for people to know IT IS POSSIBLE!! Totally possible. Your passion + some business skills + killer determination = success.
Namaste,
Thank YOU Jenny for sharing your personal experience!
It makes me smile to hear the delightful Truth 🙂
In response to your questions: (i) The advice I should have listened to is to join a GROUP(eg. MasterMind, Entrepreneurs’ Networks, etc.). *My problem was that the ‘groups’ I initially knew of (in my city) did not share my core philosophy, ie. they ask entrepreneurs to look ‘Outside-In’ rather than ‘Inside-Out’ when developing their businesses. To me, this is devoid of sense. I now realize the importance of finding a group in order to share, to grow & to feel inspired!
(ii) I have learned many lessons! The most important one I would say would be to Honor & Respect Your Rythm. No matter how excited or anxious you are. Creativity & Inspiration cannot be forced upon. The mind is a brilliant network of neurones that loves to plan, calculate & think; it is an excellent strategist! But creativity & inspiration are limitless & fluid… They are unpredictable (I would even say), yes?
Abundance, Inspiration & Love to all!
Lynne
I hear you on the outside-in vs inside-out perspective, Lynne. It’s not always easy to find local folks who share the same philosophy. But groups are a great way to stay motivated and engaged!
And good one on the rhythms. You can’t force creativity, only open the space for it to emerge.
Thanks for being here!
Thank you Jenny! As always, your topics are spot-on and come to me when I need them most. Thank you for reminding me that the push – pull emotions of leaping are normal. Following our hearts will get us there, but it takes hard work and resiliency; a sense of humor and the willingness to rise.
Thank you!
If anyone knows about resiliency, it’s you, Michelle! I’m thinking there must be parallels between your healing journey and your latest online journey, yes? You did the hard one already. You can totally tackle this one 🙂
Thank you Jenny – another high energy, value packed message. It’s a good reminder to hear that you don’t have to take the advice – even if it’s from someone you think should have the right answers – over knowing your own truth.
I like the quote Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration – prepare to get sweaty! http://pinterest.com/pin/30047522485424360/
Yes! Listen for the advice that resonates and toss out the rest!! YOUR truth is the one to listen to, just like Lynne’s outside-in vs inside-out comment above.
Thanks Jenny!
So refreshing to watch this video and I would agree with another entrepreneur on here that the biggest hurdle I had to overcome within myself was not letting the “I don’t have the all the money yet” stop me from investing in a stellar business coach, a book keeper and putting online support systems in place to help me grow my business and streamline my efficiency.
When we invest in the right places, something happens inside and we step into our Sparkly place where we do our best work, we have time to balance our biz with a personal life and yes, the money starts flowing! It DOES take time like you said though and an unwavering commitment to KEEP GOING.
Thanks for being a rockstar and a fabulous coach to work with Jenny!
Love,
Diana
You are always a beacon of positivity, Diana!! (And super-fun to work with!)
It does take time and we must commit to keep going, if we truly believe we can do it. And you’re totally a great, shining, sparkly example of that!!
Hi, Jenny! I am just beginning my entrepreneurial adventure and am sure I’ll be referring back to this video for inspiration along the way. Thanks for sharing this!
You’re welcome! And thanks for being here!
Great video!
I’m glad that despite people telling me throughout my life that I can’t make money doing what I love (whatever that might be) that I’ve ignored it and tried anyway.
I’ve learned that its a lot more work than I anticipated. I knew it was a lot of work to begin with, but there were a lot of other things that I didn’t know about that I would need to do to help myself along and make my processes (like systems & marketing) easier.
Awesome, Aradia, that you keep at it!
And it is totally way more work than I imagined, too! I think most people don’t realize how much it takes! From what I’ve seen about you, you keep learning the things you need to learn to make it happen (marketing and systems)–so admirable!
I started my business as a hobby about 20 years ago, while working full time. VERY GRADUALLY, the hobby grew into something more… about 12 years ago, I gained some brand recognition and more people were learning about my products. Only this year have I gone full time on my home business. It had grown to the point that it was filling all my nights and weekends, so my transition from a full-time corporate job to my home business was timed well.
My word of advice — brand recognition takes TIME, and don’t expect it to be quick or easy to get the word out about your unique products or services. Keep your day-job as long as you can until you are so sleep deprived that it is a joy and a relief to leave the corporate world behind. I have never had so much fun in my life!
I love that you’ve been able to leave the corporate day job and go full-time with your biz, Ken.
Everyone’s business journey is different. For me, I couldn’t stand being in a day job any longer and had to make the leap to my own business–before I made a single penny. Having full-time to devote to starting my business made things ramp up faster, but it was a very risky and frightening move! It’s always good to hear someone with the opposite story, as each person needs to decide for themselves.
Thanks for chiming in here!
I love this video! One of my biggest fears is that once I leave my corporate job to pursue a full-time career in health coaching, I will not be making as much money as I am in my corporate job. Furthermore, I plan on moving to a new country and starting my business afresh in a completely different environment which is even more scary. I mostly worry about how I will handle those first few months and if I will be as great of a coach, since there are so many others.
One thing that I have learned about what it takes to be an entrepreneur is the fact that so many people will not truly understand what you are trying to do. Most people are content enough following the status quo that the idea of trying to do something individually or different is completely mystifying, which is why it’s so important to surround yourself with other people who have gone or are going through the same process so that you are constantly reminded that it can be done and that you will pull through as long as you remain consistent and true to what you believe.
Sending you oodles of good luck, Nancy, on starting your new business in a new country!
Two things I did that helped a ton with my jump from well-paid corporate employment to self-employed-and-not-making-a-penny were (1) I saved a ton of cash–over a year’s worth of living expenses–to get me by and (2) I cut our household budget in half–yes, half. I ran a tight ship financially and that bought me a lot of breathing room to get things up and going.
I love that you already know that people won’t all get what you do! When I quit my job to start my business people thought I was quitting to have a baby or be taken care of by a sugar daddy (my husband) but those were so far from the truth! Quit to enjoy my work? They just didn’t get it 🙂 You’re sooo on the right path by finding people who get what you’re going after and can support you along the way.
Good lucky with your next chapter!!
Jenny, your timing with this is spot on. I have been building my biz online for about 6 months now, and you are right, it is tough. Some days are great! Others are not so fabulous. Nobody tells you that when you start out. What has helped me most is building those online networks and support groups; connecting with others in the same situation or who have been there and can give you the advice, support or kickstart you need to get focussed again. Similary, when they are feeling a bit low, you can help them out.
Oh… and list building, list building, list building… wish I had done that sooner 🙂
Sounds like you’re on the right track, Jonna, especially if you’ve connected with online groups of people in a similar place to you. Good job there.
And yes, I’m a huge huge fan of list-building. It really, really, really does make a huge, huge, huge difference!
Jenny, I LOVE your messages! You are so in tune with sharing your truth so that we can learn our own lessons more easily :).
I’m in year one of my business, and there have definitely been moments of absolute bliss…and others of near-despair (I say “near” since my higher self is fortunately strong enough to keep me from plunging too deep!).
Best business advice is actually some of the best life advice I was recently gifted from the universe in a recent meditation:
Our souls crave 2 things…JOY (which we create!) and GROWTH (which we also create when we are able to learn from our challenges!). So I wouldn’t want life or business to ever be easy…or else my soul would get bored, and then where would the growth (and then joy!) come from?
So true, Sabrina! I used to think “I just want to get to easy,” but then realize that I can never stay at easy very long because I love a good challenge. Oh, the humor in being human!! 🙂
Whoo-boy do I have lots to share on this topic, lol. I had a build-it-they-will-come mindset for far too long and yeah…that didn’t work out so well for me, lol. I thought my years of expertise in strategy and project management at a billion-dollar company would translate to automatic entrepreneurial success and yeah…that didn’t work out so well either :).
What has worked is perseverance, accepting that I don’t know everything (prompting me to go learn), and planning in really tough evaluations along the way and then course-correcting.
Am I there yet? Nope. Will I get there? Yup :).
Love your honesty, Jen!! Sounds like we were cut from the same cloth there, but corporate success sure doesn’t equate to entrepreneurial success I’ve learned. They’re so so different!
Yes to perseverance, acceptance, and a willingness to learn. Yee-haw!!
I love this, and it’s something I often think about with my clients. A lot of them are new to business, and they have NO business training. It’s a fine balance for me to tell them the truth of how much work it really is, while also supporting them and helping believe that they CAN do it, if they want it enough.
I hesitate though to use the word “hard”. Who says it has to be hard!? Lots of work – yes. Lots of time commitment and dedication – yes. But hard? No – not if you have the training, the support, and the drive to make it happen! That’s when “hard” turns into “fun” 🙂