Getting Started

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Recently, I was asked to speak at an event where young women from age 10 to age 20 were attending a retreat at a local camp site facility in the Black Hills.  They wanted me to speak on leadership and entrepreneurialism.  The presentation went fairly well, but the best part was the inquiries that came from the crowd.

I was asked some wonderful questions, like "What was the hardest part of starting your own business?", to which the answer was easy; "Getting started".  As with anything in life, the hardest part is when the page is blank.  Before any ideas come, when it's just you and a notion to do something is the easiest time to quit, and that quality makes it the reason many people do.  

Throughout so many seasons in life, there's times when we have the urge or the passion to start something new.  Especially in business ventures, those seasons come with a lot of emotions: excitement, nervousness, uncertainty, worry, and anxiousness.   Starting a company or growing a small operation to the next level can seem a daunting task when you're just getting going.  If you're in business for yourself, you've already conquered many of those initial issues! Often we don't take time to celebrate the victory that every day we're still in business is another successful day.  Some of our favorite tips to overcome the unease of starting something new:

  • Talk it out: Chatting with a friend or mentor about your idea or project can help ease the uncertainty, and makes the idea seem more actionable.  Just make sure you're not telling too many people- studies show sharing an idea with a large group can give you feelings of satisfaction as if you'd actually completed your concept, making you less likely to actually do it!
  • Brainstorm or journal: Getting actionable items down on paper might help you get going, or show you flaws in your plans.  Having a black and white synopsis of your concept can make the next steps seem clearer.
  • Plan, and outsource: Setting up a clear plan will help you feel more prepared to get your company or project going.  Write up a business plan, spell out your processes, plot out your timeline! Showing a professional in your contact sphere your plans will help work out any kinks, and bring another level of expertise to your ideas.
  • Take the first step: Just get going already! After you've started your plans or projects in motion, it's incredible how much it changes the way you think about the process!  Along with flexible yet prepared systems, and a team of support around you, you'll be on to the next steps in no time!

If you're in a season of growth, expansion, or just getting started, know that this is the hardest part, and will be for a while.  After you get started, or launch those new facets/features of your company, you'll find yourself more and more confident everyday that you can do this.  Remember if you're just getting started, this is the hard part, and if you're running a small business currently, don't forget to celebrate the small things and enjoy the seasons entrepreneurialism brings!  

And if you're feeling like you need to outsource some of your workload, don't forget that you can always schedule some face time with a company that Consults with Care!