Identifying a small goal, taking the necessary actions, and then celebrating your accomplishments, when repeated, gets you closer to making a dream a reality. In the age of social media, you can easily find support & accountability for your small goals.

What small victory are you celebrating today?

[image by aforestfrolic via flickr]

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}

this week was a complete whirlwind on scoutie girl. at the beginning of the year, i implemented a new editorial style to guide the direction of the blog & aid in my mission to tell the stories of crafters & artists and not just show pretty stuff. each week, i select theme and weave in & out of that theme with stories, art, and opinion. the first three weeks were pretty straightforward.

then, i got brave (or stupid).

this week, i selected the theme of “success.” i asked for people’s opinions, definitions, or measurements. at first, interest in sharing was hard to come by.

then one or two… then three or four. then i asked the fabulous – successful – and oh-so-insightful scoutie girl contributors to lend their personal take on success to the week’s posts. wow.

good stuff.

and what it made me realize was how much more there is to say. and i want to be at the nexus between creative people, beautiful stuff, and innovative thought. as much as scoutie girl is the perfect place to begin exploring that nexus, i want to include more people than artists, crafters, & designers.

so i’m creating something new. because ultimately, and i can tell you this because i trust you, my goal is to write & think for a living. it pretty much always has been. except for that time, in kindgergarten, that i told a lady i wanted to be a ballerina.

this something new will be a community-focused, user-driven blogging experience. i want to challenge people to rethink what society tells them about work, life, and play. i want to provide a place to talk it out, bounce ideas from one medium to another, and then receive feedback & support in a community of open minds.

i have more thoughts on the response from this week at scoutie girl – but they’ll wait til tomorrow. i’m just too excited to tell you about indieThink – because groupthink is so last decade. have a great weekend!

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