7 Mistakes Pioneers Avoid in Business…
Mistake #1: Not starting your business in the first place
There are numerous reasons that people want to start a business yet don’t:
• Fear of failure (or success!) and how that would feel
• Lack of clarity about what you want to do. This could be because you don’t know yourself well enough or recognise your true gifts and talents. It could be because what you want to do doesn’t fit into an existing or traditional business model and you’re confused as to why you’re drawn to certain areas but then are put off doing them as a business. The answer is probably that you’re a pioneer and actually could be creating something new, different and exciting!
• Not enough self belief
• False optimism – believing things will get better on their own
If you don’t start it how will you know? Often a business idea can be explored and even tested part-time…
Mistake #2: Not recognising and valuing your talents
In our society, when something comes easy it tends to be undervalued. A talent can be as simple as you looking at the world, a situation or a person your way and seeing something different. You don’t have to have gone to university to study it. It might not be something you discussed with your career advisor in school. Does that make it any less valuable? No.
Ask your colleagues, friends and families what they most appreciate about you and you might be surprised at the answers…
Mistake #3: Not having a longer-term vision and dream
The trouble with many business ideas is that they’re too small. As somebody said,
“If you’re going to bother thinking, you might as well think big”.To get up off your behind and keep going requires excitement, passion and a sense of purpose! Develop your idea until you can see, feel and taste what a big impact it could have on your customers and on your life. Give your idea some TLC:
• Time – time to give it some attention, to work on it and allow it to incubate
• Love – some positive energy to feed it and allow it to grow
• Creativity – yours and others (if they’re the right kind of positive people) to generate ideas, additions and tweaks to truly develop your idea
What if you could see the impact this dream could have in five years, in ten years? Not just on you but on the numbers of customers that would have benefited too.... Would that inspire you to take action?
One client came to me with an e-book for a particular market. By the end of the first session they weren't just thinking of how best to launch it, they had in mind a whole business model that included other activities (using their talents) in the short to medium term and in the long term included them being a major influencer to government policy. Now that's what I call an inspiring dream with a lot of meaning!
Mistake #4: Waiting until an idea is perfect before taking action
There’s nothing like a bit of perfectionism to encourage procrastination! The fact is that it will never be perfect, yet it can be perfect right now... Your business will probably never stop changing and evolving. Something I say to all my Pioneers is that
Mistake #5: Listening to the wrong people
There’s a heck of a lot of people out there who love to give advice. Believe me, most of them don’t know peanuts about setting up and running a business – particularly when they’re friends and family. Yet the fact that they’re in your life makes them think they have the right to tell you what to do and not do. That’s them being in YOUR business.
If there’s a pioneer inside you (and I believe there is with most people, even if it’s deeply hidden!) then don’t be put off by other's opinions. When you are concerned with other's opinions of you, you’re being in THEIR business.
The best way to make your life (let alone a business) work is for YOU to stay in YOUR business!
Mistake #6: Not being a pioneer on the inside first
The fact is that if you want your life to change, you have to change. There it is, I’ve said it - please don’t shoot the messenger! The responsibility for your life and happiness is yours, nobody else’s.
For you to own a successful business, you need to become the person that is capable of owning a successful business. For most people that is a journey of personal growth as well as whatever business learning is required.
The great news is that this journey will most likely have a positive impact on your personal life too...
Mistake #7: Not following your passions and purpose
Ask most people what is a ‘good job’ and they’ll probably answer being a doctor, solicitor, accountant, or a celebrity of some kind. Our conditioning by society means that many people believe that to have done well in their career that they have to go to university, get a degree and get a job.
• Love – some positive energy to feed it and allow it to grow
• Creativity – yours and others (if they’re the right kind of positive people) to generate ideas, additions and tweaks to truly develop your idea
What if you could see the impact this dream could have in five years, in ten years? Not just on you but on the numbers of customers that would have benefited too.... Would that inspire you to take action?
One client came to me with an e-book for a particular market. By the end of the first session they weren't just thinking of how best to launch it, they had in mind a whole business model that included other activities (using their talents) in the short to medium term and in the long term included them being a major influencer to government policy. Now that's what I call an inspiring dream with a lot of meaning!
Mistake #4: Waiting until an idea is perfect before taking action
There’s nothing like a bit of perfectionism to encourage procrastination! The fact is that it will never be perfect, yet it can be perfect right now... Your business will probably never stop changing and evolving. Something I say to all my Pioneers is that
“You’ve got to do it, to evolve it!”The temptation though, is to wait until you’ve got that next bit of inspiration, until you have others’ approval, until you know 100 per cent that it will work exactly as you planned it. Trust me, that will never happen. The outcomes of our actions are out of our control. Taking action though, is our responsibility…
Mistake #5: Listening to the wrong people
There’s a heck of a lot of people out there who love to give advice. Believe me, most of them don’t know peanuts about setting up and running a business – particularly when they’re friends and family. Yet the fact that they’re in your life makes them think they have the right to tell you what to do and not do. That’s them being in YOUR business.
If there’s a pioneer inside you (and I believe there is with most people, even if it’s deeply hidden!) then don’t be put off by other's opinions. When you are concerned with other's opinions of you, you’re being in THEIR business.
The best way to make your life (let alone a business) work is for YOU to stay in YOUR business!
Mistake #6: Not being a pioneer on the inside first
The fact is that if you want your life to change, you have to change. There it is, I’ve said it - please don’t shoot the messenger! The responsibility for your life and happiness is yours, nobody else’s.
For you to own a successful business, you need to become the person that is capable of owning a successful business. For most people that is a journey of personal growth as well as whatever business learning is required.
The great news is that this journey will most likely have a positive impact on your personal life too...
Mistake #7: Not following your passions and purpose
Ask most people what is a ‘good job’ and they’ll probably answer being a doctor, solicitor, accountant, or a celebrity of some kind. Our conditioning by society means that many people believe that to have done well in their career that they have to go to university, get a degree and get a job.
Newsflash! Times have changed. If your passions and your purpose mean that’s the path you’ve taken or plan to take then great. Many of you though may have taken that or a similar path and found it to be barren as a dessert, devoid of any meaning or lasting excitement.
What’s interesting is that you could even be using your talents but just not in a way that is pioneering for you. I used to work in public relations and I also worked in managing change in large organisations. I was pretty good at it but I didn’t get the same fulfilment that I do now, helping people to be pioneering with their start up businesses or in larger organisations. Now I get to mix my talents and gifts and interests in a way that works for my clients and works for me.
The wonderful news is… you can too!
Would you like to overcome these mistakes before you make them? You don’t have to do it on your own…
Contact Una now on Una@BusinessPioneersProfit.com or 07766 917890 to discuss your situation and what might be the best solution for you. Options available include workshops, a group coaching/consulting programme and one-to-one consulting.
What’s interesting is that you could even be using your talents but just not in a way that is pioneering for you. I used to work in public relations and I also worked in managing change in large organisations. I was pretty good at it but I didn’t get the same fulfilment that I do now, helping people to be pioneering with their start up businesses or in larger organisations. Now I get to mix my talents and gifts and interests in a way that works for my clients and works for me.
The wonderful news is… you can too!
*******
Would you like to overcome these mistakes before you make them? You don’t have to do it on your own…
Contact Una now on Una@BusinessPioneersProfit.com or 07766 917890 to discuss your situation and what might be the best solution for you. Options available include workshops, a group coaching/consulting programme and one-to-one consulting.
