You have a business idea! You get a shiver of excitement (or is that anxiety)? You go on the internet, start searching to see if anyone else is doing what you want to do. The conversations start with family, tell them what you are thinking of doing.
‘You’re going to start a business? Are you mad or what? Sure aren’t you getting weekly money on the social welfare and you have to do nothing.’
It’s true that as an entrepreneur, it’s very likely that you will be working more than 40 hours per week. You are always ‘on’ ….You will most likely have to start working at home. Not as lovely as you think because your family just see you sitting at your laptop. They think you are chatting to a friend on the phone, not a big corporation wanting to get a sale over the line. The dogs don’t care that you are working from home either. When jasper the cat from next door walks on the garden wall, they are going to bark like mad while you are on that important skype call.
You sign up for the next ‘Start your own business’ course. Your friends who are in their 9 to 5 job will think you are bonkers. They understand what stress their own boss is under. So they just can’t quite understand why you would want to put yourself through that.
‘Why would you want to put yourself through all that stress’
‘If you sign off social welfare, it’s much harder to get back on it after being self employed.’
‘The children ..what about the children, ah sure if you’re working from home I suppose you are at least there for them. You can make their dinners etc’ (I don’t know how many times I have burnt the spuds, when a call comes in that I have to take).
But you know you want to do this. Ok so you go for it. There are all kinds of obstacles standing in your way. The bank won’t give you a loan. (Well you don’t exactly have a great bank balance after being on social welfare). The back to work enterprise scheme has a 3 month waiting list. Someone bigger who has a marketing budget could steal your idea in the meantime, so you become a bit paranoid wondering who you can trust.
You are bursting to tell others about your idea but you are afraid that someone will steal it. You have to do market research they say, so you do your research which means talking to people about your idea. You need to move fast and claim your web domain and trade mark your brand. ..In the meantime you can’t start until the back to work enterprise say you can…but you have to wait.
Us Entrepreneurs don’t have a lot of patience. You are like an elastic band pulled and ready to fly..but you have to wait….the powers that be seem to be trying to keep you in check. It’s like they are trying to dull your sparkle and your spirit as you go from one meeting to the next having borrowed money to put petrol in the car.
You go to networking events and you feel ‘Oh my God, look at their clothes,’ You don’t understand the lingo. MOQs, Strategy, CIOs, CMOs, you think about why you are here. You want to make connections but again, you can’t really tell many about your idea until you get approved for your back to work enterprise allowance. You get ignored by some of the people at the event. You are terrified and feel out of your comfort zone. You feel like a fraud, wonder if your friends were right. There are groups of people laughing but you don’t know who they are and they look so well dressed with their suits and heels. You wonder will you just walk out and go home. (With our events you will want to stay….we understand the fear that is why it works so well).
These are all fears that have been told to me through my Women’s Inspire Network. I created the network because I knew there were others out there just like me. So here are some tips to help you keep going when you feel like all of the above.
1. Remind yourself of your end goal and your ‘why’ for doing it – Dolores Andrew Gavin
2. Focus on your end goal so much that you believe you are already there – Daniel Serpico
3. Pay attention to detail…red tape loves detail…and organisations cut through it – Kerry Manning
4. Remember that no one is perfect. Stop comparing yourself to others in business – Linda Flynn
5. Try to create multiple streams of income – Martha Fraser
6. Create a vision board …look at it daily – Tina Henry
7. Don’t worry about what others think of you. ‘If your why is strong enough, no one can tough it’ – Pauline Harley
8. Find positive people to talk to that you can trust. People who will give you honest feedback not just tell you that you’re great. They might have to point out a few faults but let you get on with it and support you.
9. Don’t let your bad awful day make you feel bad and awful about yourself. Everyone has bad days. Everyone. – Orly Zeewy
10. Create a ‘win’ jar. Collect all the positive achievements and good stuff and write it on notes ..put it in your jar for those dull days. – Barbara Franzoni
11. Red tape is just business it’s not personal. Keep focussed. Use positive language. – Jagdeep Sahens
12. Surround yourself with positive people who ‘get you’ and what you do. I always say this …it’s so important to have a support network, that is why I created the Women’s Inspire Network.
After the huge success of our October event, on April 5th 2017 the Women’s Inspire Network has a one day event full of speakers, workshops and networking. Come along and meet others just like you. Let’s succeed together and support one another. Book your ticket HERE.
Contributor: Samantha Kelly AKA @Tweetinggoddess
http://www.tweetinggoddess.com
@tweetinggoddess