One way your business gets stuck in the mud

I see this all the time: someone learns a new skill or aspect of business, and they want to get good at it. That’s great, so far.

However, what I’ve seen is that they want to get really good at it. They may not name it this way, but some seem to be seeking mastery over this new skill.

In business, as in other kinds of projects, there is a really deep problem with this approach, and I’ll need to use an analogy.

Let’s say you are building a cart to carry a bunch of stuff down the road. You get out your jig saw and begin to shape a wooden wheel. You get it fairly round fairly quickly.

Now, you have a choice. Do you make the wheel perfectly round, or do you make 3 other fairly round wheels fairly quickly?

If you lean toward perfecting the first wheel, let’s talk about it.

What drives the desire to perfect the wheel?

I believe there are a few dynamics that can be at play, maybe several of them at once. Here are three of them.

One dynamic is the need for more comfort. It might have been a new skill for you to make a wooden wheel, and you did a decent job at it. It can feel really comfortable to keep working on the wheel that you know, rather than to start a new uncomfortable task.

Especially if it’s not necessarily another wheel, but you need to build an axel, or a steering system, and it’s going to take learning something new, which always involves some discomfort.

A second dynamic is fear of making mistakes. What if the wheel isn’t good enough? Even if you have proof that the wheel rolls, you may have some nagging (or stronger) doubt that there may be some situation that the wheel can’t handle.

So the thought is better to make the wheel perfect, before getting to work on the rest of the cart.

A third dynamic is lack of the whole picture. We humans love to indulge ourselves in the idea of a “silver bullet” single answer solution. That somehow this thing will finally be what makes all the difference. So, if I just keep working on this thing, the tide will turn.

How business really works.

A successful business is made up of quite a few different parts that all fit together, supporting one another. The more you put in place, the better it works. An initial marketing message, check. Craft an offer, check. Price it, check. Learn how to have heart-centered enrollment conversations with integrity, check.

Then craft a more detailed, in-depth marketing message. Put up your first website. Learn how to reach out to others. Check, check, check.

Unfortunately, you can’t put them all in place at once. They just take time.

If you get stuck trying to perfect one aspect of your business, you won’t progress, because it’s an iterative process.

Iterative?

It means that it is literally impossible to create a perfect business from the get go. It has to go through stages of development, and change and improve over time.

I see it working most successfully this way:

• Get as many pieces in place, imperfectly and incompletely, so that your business has four wheels, steering and can start to roll.
• As it picks up speed, you’ll see where it’s not running so smoothly. Piece by piece, you’ll improve and change out pieces.
• As you reach terrain you haven’t reached before, you’ll create more sophisticated and expansive elements of your business to help navigate those places.

Briefly: get ALL the basics in place, and don’t try to plan too much for where your business hasn’t arrived yet.

There is absolutely a place for that yearning for mastery. But you can’t attain mastery in any one part of your business isolated from the other. All the parts are meant to work together, so don’t try to polish any one part before you get the basics all in place.

With love and appreciation,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.

This month is the final price deadline!

I wrote about how the prices are changing on our two core programs (if you missed it you can read it here). The deadline to take advantage of the current pricing is Wednesday, May 30.

Because you may need a little time to discern what you’re really needing, don’t wait until the deadline to figure out or to ask questions.

These two programs, together, help you make money in a way that feels great. Specifically, we help you go from under US$10,000/year (including some who are at zero, or just a few hundred dollars) to get into the mid-five-figures or beyond. We are committed to any money you spend with us paying off in business development.

Here’s what June, a recent past participant, reported:

“I’ve gone from zero paying clients to three in the past month. Two of these came from heart-centered conversations. One of these came from the updated copy on my website based on an exercise earlier in the course when we stepped into our client’s shoes.  One of my clients even paid for what I thought was just a free initial consultation. Overall, I’ve made $867 selling three five-session packages.

“Wow! Four months ago I didn’t have packages or a price and frankly, didn’t really know what I was selling.

“I’m so busy with these new clients and an upcoming workshop (along with my day job) that I am now a week behind in the course, but confident I can get caught up after this busy weekend for me. Overall, I am learning so much from this course. I am very glad I’m taking it.  I’m learning lots.

“cheers, June Morrow”

Don’t struggle on your own. Get the help to make your business fly!

Please join us!

Both programs start the first Monday of every month, rather than us doing a big launch every year. This is because of our commitment to access: not everyone’s timing matches when a course starts, and it seems ridiculous to have to wait months to get the help you need.

If you’re in start-up, or your cashflow is very low, and need to bring in some clients and money then you want to join Clients & Money. Click here to check it out and register.

If you’re a little further along, and need to reach more people to fill your schedule consistently, then you want Expand Your Reach. Click here to check it out and register.

Unsure? Take our free Readiness Assessment and get a personal reply from us. Click here.

Okay, there you go! If you have questions, we’re here.