The Question
I received an email today from a reader – Helen, from Numsi – with a great question. She asked, “How do you know when you are genuinely ready to take a big step forward in your business?”
She’s considering doing a trade show in the fall – a major investment of time and money – and she’s not sure if her business is ready. She also asked an insightful secondary question, “Is it like having children- if you wait for the perfect time it will never happen so may as well jump in when you feel you can cope?”
It’s Your Own Answer
One thing I’ve learned from brainstorming with creative business owners, is that you often know the answers to your own questions. My job is to actualize those answers for you. Tell you it’s okay to consider success beyond your wildest imagination and help you realize that failure doesn’t look a whole lot different from where you are now, just with more experience.
I like to think big (you may have noticed the changes around here…). I like to take risks. Of course, I do so with calculation & consideration so that I have the confidence to step out & succeed. My answer is yes, Helen, it’s just like having kids. And the thing is, most people can cope with having a child at just about any time. A lot of times it’s not an ideal situation, but we tend to rise to the occasion.
I think small biz owners are much the same way. If we take big risks, big steps, we rise to the occasion. Without stepping out, without challenge, we shrink into the background. Our skills are never stretched.
My Risk Formula
If you need more of a formula for taking risks than my unapologetic heave-ho, weigh the investment (your time, money, resources) with the possible positive outcome (dreams coming true, anyone?). Then measure that against the possibility of failure. This might be a futile exercise, though, as I tend to always consider success worth the risk of failure.
What could you possibly lose if failure is the actual outcome? Money. Time. Resources. Momentum. Energy. The thing about all of those things is that there is more. They are either renewable or you’re constantly being given opportunity to find more, create more. Are you ready to hold you business back because you might lose something that you can get more of?
If your concern is more if you can handle success, consider for a moment what resources you’ll need when your dreams come true: hiring an assistant, childcare, an office, new equipment, new marketing materials, etc… Since my dreams have been coming true in 2010, I’ve had to procure each of those things. Let me tell you, spending time & money on my own success is about the most fabulous expenditure I’ve ever made.
So – are you ready for a big step forward in your business? Are you ready to make your dreams come true? Are you ready to risk failure for the big prize? I am and I hope you are too.
{image credit: lachlan hardy via flickr}
Tara, This is great, thanks so much for taking the time to write this. I agree 100%, it’s time to jump in feet first- after all there is everything to gain!
your welcome, helen! thanks for asking!
This is something that I’ve been thinking about lately, from perhaps a slightly different angle! My business is taking off, and at the moment I can handle it fine… but I’m planning on working while I travel (the joys of a campervan) – and part of me is slightly scared that I’ll become too successful for my curcumstances, if that makes any sense!!
However, my strategy is to build up my business now while I don’t NEED the money to live on, so that when we settle down, I’ll be established enough to make a good living from it.
A successful crafter once said to me – make sure to prepare for success, because that can be the hardest part!
jess – i totally relate to you there. a “minimalist” business can quickly grow out of control as you soar towards wild success. i think putting systems in place to anticipate growth (email management, a virtual assistant, production help, etc…) means that your growth & success will be sustainable.
i tend to tell myself something like this:
a year from now, i will be a year older….whether i attempt something great or not. So would i rather be (36 for me) and same-old, same-old…..or 36 and that one experience BETTER, WISER, MORE CHALLENGED, SUCCESSFUL.
nothing is worse than letting the time pass you by.
it may be cheesy….but i always hear that bully joel song in my head “sometimes it’s so easy, to let a day, slip on by…without even seeing each other at all”……..works the same for biz and creativity. sometimes it’s just easy to let day after day slip by without trying, b/c it’s easier to stay the same…..not as rewarding….but also not as scary.
scary is kinda fun and exhilarating though….i’d rather be ehhilarated.
so true. i have big plans for myself & my family for when i’m 30. if i don’t act on them now – i only have less time to achieve them.
I’ve also struggled with this same topic in the past few months and finally came to the same conclusion Tara has- that the rewards of possible success far outweigh the risk of possible failure. Thanks for the enlightening and encouraging post!
you’re welcome!
Can I just say – No risk, no fun?
(more or less, this is my philosophy – I can lose much more if I don’t even try, not to mention struggling with regrets and such. Living the whole life in a fantasy – is scary. Living the whole life the same way – also scary. Really, what can you lose if you try?)
yes! you can say that! agree wholeheartedly.
“Are you ready to risk failure for the big prize?”
A lot of people are not ready to take risks because they’re afraid to face what they call failure. What is failure?
For me, failure is not learning from your experiences.
This means learning from the “good” ones as from the “bad” ones.
Did you ever notice that a “bad” experience turned later to be a “good” one because you learned a lot and moved forward faster afterwards?
Did you ever set up a goal, reached it, just to discover it was not really the thing you wanted? (or you don’t like the consequences of reaching it? or something similar?)
If you don’t achieve your goal (“failure”!) that means you still have to learn something. Are you ready to face that? Are you ready to go back and learn? To put more energy in that? To re-think everything, really everything if necessary?
Again, failure is not learning.
Nice kick in the pants post! It comes at a good time for me, as I’ve been thinking a lot about this exact topic. My family usually acts as a good cheerleading section and helps me to dream bigger, but forging ahead with those dreams before everything is “perfect” has been a struggle for me. I worry about biting off more than I can handle and then get bogged down in the details of planning for future growth…”can’t see the forest for the trees”, I think it’s called.
Thanks for the nudge.
you’re welcome, anne! i think considering the details of future growth is really important. but they should be welcomed as “happy problems” and not worried about! easier said than done, i know…
good luck with your big steps forward!
Tara, I really enjoyed this post. Mostly because this is my new favorite line,”failure doesn’t look a whole lot different from where you are now, just with more experience.”
I am about to do my first trunk show @ a bazaar with 40 other vendors. Everyday as I sew sew sew away and create more inventory that I could just be stuck with…how boring it would be if I decided not to participate.
I have been enjoying Scoutie Girl, but I am glad I found this blog! Keep up the good work!
Great post, Tara!
Goes right along with my new empowering way of thinking. I’ve set my intention to move forward and create the business I’ve been dreaming about but too afraid move forward with. Thanks for the extra kick start I needed!