SmallBusinessNewz

In the last couple years I've gotten really serious about growing my small business in new directions. Mainly because following the old pathways wasn't taking me where I wanted to go. In the past, all of my businesses had been service based, and I was the only one delivering the services.

Although in the beginning of each business my hourly rate looked awesome, after a while it became clear that I wasn't really making that hourly rate. Because there's lots of stuff that has to happen (like admin work, follow-ups, marketing, sales and bookkeeping, etc.) to keep a business running, and much of it isn't directly billable.

A few years ago I had the horrible realization that, when I divided my salary by my total hours worked, I was making less than I did waiting tables part-time in my twenties. And I had WAY more stress to deal with to boot.

It was clearly time for a change. And I was ready for it. I just wasn't ready for the amount of effort it would take, how scary it would, and how many mistakes and issues I'd have to deal with to get my new brand, products and services launched.

For awhile I really struggled with the fact that I felt "forced" to change my business again to achieve my goals. In fact, I kinda resented it, even though the choice was mine.

Then I bit the bullet, made the change and was better off in the end to be sure. Now I've realized that if you truly want to achieve your business dreams you're probably going to have change things and add new products and/or services regularly.

I've also realized that it's likely to be a bit scary, messy and uncomfortable every time I head into new, uncharted territory. So I can't let that stop me. If I do I'll never have the business and life I've been dreaming of and working towards for so many years.

Thankfully, most of what once seemed scary has now become second nature. Mainly because I've already made the big mistakes, dealt with the inevitable problems, and figured out systems I can replicate moving forward.

Sure I've had a few things fail to achieve my intended goals. But rather than get frustrated when that happens-or let it stop me-I take what lessons I can from the experience so I can do better next time.

You need to learn to do the same. And the only way is to get out there and start making changes in your business. Yes it will be scary. Yes it will take effort. Yes, you're likely to create a huge mess that you'll have to figure out how to clean up. But in the end both you, and your business, will be stronger as a result!

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