Ever watch the movie Jerry McGuire? Where Tom Cruise (playing Jerry of course) has a “nervous breakdown,” (although I’d like to call it more of an AWAKENING), writes a mission statement about the truth behind the sports industry and what he was going to do to make it better.
If you haven’t seen the movie, let’s just say it doesn’t go as smoothly as he had planned. I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t watched it, but there are a lot of twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time.
A must watch for all entrepreneurs in my book!
So why am I mentioning this movie? What does this movie have to do with a day in the life of the online entrepreneur?
Well the reality is that the life of the entrepreneur is not all bells and whistles. There’s almost always a lot going on behind the scenes that clients, associates, and leads do not see … the bare naked truth.
The only way for me to explain the bare naked truth is to go back … back into time. Share with you my struggles and heartaches and those of the COUNTLESS number of entrepreneurs and business owners I’ve had the privilege to speak to in-depth about the realities of starting and running a business.
I’ve been working on my business for over three years now; and anyone who’s ever told you that you can have a successful business up and running in six months to a year is either lying to you or are the VERY select few that managed to turn water into gold in that short period of time.
Reality Check: It can take YEARS sometimes for you to even begin to see some significant progress in your business. So if you’re just starting out, get ready for the ride of your life. And if you don’t have the stomach to stick it out, my suggestion? Get a J.O.B.
Here’s what it looks like for the typical online entrepreneur:
The entrepreneur has a general concept/idea that she gets excited about and feels she can turn into a viable business. If she’s lucky it’s a unique idea that someone else is not doing — but that’s not necessarily always a good thing.
Before testing her “idea” on focus groups to see if there is a real need for her product or service, she runs with it. She puts in the countless hours and butt-loads of money getting her business entity set up, filing for an EIN number, setting up a bank account for the business, creating a website (often having to hire a professional), and the various other activities that take up so much time and money.
She’s now in business. Her virtual doors are open … And she is waiting eagerly for the customers to start coming in (But they don’t).
After months of little traffic to her website, no new clients, and very few leads in the pipeline, she begins to get a reality check about her business. She needs to make a change.
She begins to fuss with the website. That must be it! The colors are off. Maybe change the header. Let’s change the “ethical bribe” yet again. That’ll bring in the clients for sure?!
Months go by and yet very little success to talk about. But she keeps on forging ahead. Persistence MUST pay off eventually. So she blogs more. Then she blogs less.
She continues to study feverishly on everything and anything she needs to know on how to grow her business online. Her days are filled with webinars, teleseminars, and offers! Oh my!
Her computer’s hard-drive is jammed-packed with ebooks, videos, and audios, (many which she purchased) as if through osmosis the knowledge contained within them will flow through the keyboard she types on into her fingertips and work it’s way up to her brain.
Eventually she figures out the the problem: lack of focus, clarity and consistency.
She begins to realize that trying to be everywhere and doing everything is not the answer. She must go lean and mean. She realizes she needs to focus on those few things she’s really good at, she loves to do, and that actually produces results!
So begins the transformation…
The old way of doing things no longer worked and new paradigms and systems are needed. New relationships must be formed and nurtured. More face to face marketing needs to take place. Rebranding occurs. A new website may be created. Maybe she hires a coach, realizing that she can’t do it alone.
After months or YEARS of blood, sweat and tears she begins to finally have hope. She feels something has shifted … A knowing is now in place that wasn’t there before.
She stops hopping from place to place, idea to idea, looking for answers, but instead starts looking within. She begins to realize the true importance of what she is “destined” to do — and that is to be of service to others.
She stops following those “bright shiny objects” knowing they will always be there when she feels like falling back into that old behavior of procrastination and self-sabotage.
She begins to work her business with a sense of ease that wasn’t present before. Things she didn’t get before begin to make perfect sense. Her business begins to flow.
Leads that were not there before begin to show up. Her communication has gone to a whole new level.
All the things she knew she didn’t know become clear for her and more importantly she begins to become acutely aware of all that she didn’t know that she didn’t know … And this changes everything.
What she begins to know:
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It’s all about relationships.
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Business will not succeed without sales … Sales won’t happen if you don’t ask.
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Consistency is the KEY factor in having the success she wants.
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Her “feelings” have nothing to do with anything … It’ all about continuing to take action REGARDLESS of her feelings.
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Much like the gestation period of seeds, business takes time to grow. You have to love and water it continuously.
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All the training in the world won’t matter, if she does not IMPLEMENT.
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Success is already hers for the taking. All she needs to do is claim it.
She still struggles at times. Things are not always perfect. She’s still learning. But the biggest distinction is that she’s learned that it’s only through consistent action, stubborn persistence and FAITH will she be able to continue grow her business and reach new heights she’s never reached before.
Never lose hope my friends. Because a miracle is right around the corner.
Love and success,
Michele