8 Steps to the Business of You
Are you starting out, starting over or stuck in a rut?
Wherever you are in life, an amazing 71% of people admit they are dissatisfied with that place. All too often we use quick fixes such as alcohol, food, shopping to mask how we really are feeling. Even riches are not the answer to happiness if you are unsure of who you really are and what you want in life.
The following 8 steps will help you clarify the business of who you are so that you can go forward confident that you are on track with your dreams.
Step 1 Find your passion. It really is essential to do what you love and love what you do. Take the time to think about the things or activities you are always thinking about, what you spend your money on, what you surround yourself with and what you always talk about. You’ll quickly see a common theme amongst these activities that can help you identify what you are passionate about.
Step 2 Beat the inner voice of fear. That voice inside that turns our thoughts to self doubt can sometimes be so strong that it will paralyse us with fear and stop us taking action. See fear for what it really is: False Evidence Appearing Real. Fear is an automatic response felt when you step out of your comfort zone, so take charge of these moments by seeing the situation, not as something to fear, but as an opportunity to learn from. If you are clear on what your passion is, stepping out of your comfort zone is not as difficult as you think it might be when you are passionate about what you are doing.
Human beings are driven by two basic things: the need to avoid pain and to seek pleasure. Common pain states are the fear of being laughed at, fear of failure, embarrassment or being judged. Pleasure states can be the joy of sharing your passion with others, getting over your fear, helping others get ahead and getting your own way. In those moments of fear, look to see how you can change the way you think about the situation to find pleasure rather than pain and you will be able to take positive action in your life.
Step 3 Clear out the junk. We’re all guilty of filling our day with junky tasks that do nothing to help us achieve our purpose and in fact can leave us feeling that were going round in circles and achieving nothing. Do things that you value highly and straight away your adding fun to your day. Value tasks are tasks that give you a sense of personal satisfaction, future career prospects, financial return, knowledge, helping others, family benefits, networking, health and fun.
Write down a list of regular tasks that you carry out each day and give each a number between 1 and 10 (1 being the task with the lowest personal value and 10 the highest). Spend as much time as you can on the highest value tasks (7 – 10) and look to delegate the lowest value task (1 -3) to others if you can or spend the absolute minimum amount of time on them. By spending your valuable time on the things you value, not only are you being efficient, you are also doing the things that you love and enjoy, making you feel good at the end of each busy day.
Step 4 Establish credibility. Steps 1 to 3 have helped you to identify your areas of interest and value. Do anything you can in those three steps to build your knowledge and credibility in those areas – it’s building on doing what you love and loving what you do, so it’s easy. Even if you aren’t yet doing your dream job or living your dream life, look to see what positive aspects you can take from your current situation to help you get the most out of it and fast track you to where you really want to be.
Step 5 Create your own personal brand. What is your brand? Just like branded products, based on your personal packaging, people will make judgements and decisions about you in the first 4 – 7 seconds of meeting you. First impressions really do count and your character, your dress and personal appearance, your business card and your email signature all reinforce your ‘brand’. If you’re not happy with your personal brand as it is now, you can change it to be the person that you want people to see you are. Important things to consider are your posture, your voice, your punctuality, your walk, your handshake and most importantly your smile: all aspects of you that are within your personal control and that you can take charge of.
Step 6 Get organised. Having now delegated the junky time wasting tasks from your day, use this time to get organised and promote yourself. Collect people and build your network and database. Remember basic etiquette of thank-you calls and notes to those that help you in any way. If you don’t already have a personal business card, have one designed and printed that promotes you, your ‘brand’ and present it to others with confidence when the opportunity for promotion arises.
Step 7 Advertise. The key to advertising you, is to let more people know you, who you are and what you do. Who are you and what is your story? People will ask so get it right. Write down a few lines as to who you are and practice telling your story. Weave a few interesting things about what you have done into a basic timeline and you’ll quickly have an interesting tale. People are always interested in other people’s stories so your story will always be of interest to other people.
Step 8 Use the magic formula. Start NOW! Don’t wait until your good enough to create your brand. See yourself now as you want to be and take action. When you are passionate about what you want, you will push past the fear, arrange your day to do things that you value and build your credibility as you do so. Feeling more confident, because you are doing what you love, promote yourself to others in a positive way and tell your story. Take action to be who you want to be and do what you say you will!
Currently building her own internet businesses, Joanna enjoys sharing wealth creation strategies with others so they too can create passive income and enjoy financial freedom. Her particular area of interest is mindset and how this impacts on your business success. If you enjoyed reading this article on being in business and would like to learn more about having you own internet business, please visit my website 24hourwebcash.com/judd3342 Wishing you all the best! Joanna
