Have you found yourself making excuses as to why you shouldn't start your own business. Often, we tell ourselves, if only this was happening right now, if only I had the right skills, if only I didn't have a mortgage, if only I had more money behind me, if only....
We might sometimes look at a successful person and say to ourselves, "I bet they had money when they started out, I bet they didn't have the same worries as me, I bet they were in the right place at the right time. I bet that they were lucky.
Secretly we might be saying to ourselves "I wish I was like them but I could never be!"
You could be like them if you wanted to, seriously. I have read many examples of people just like you and I who started with nothing and now are where they want to be. They had the same negative thoughts as us, the same self-doubt, the same procrastination. But they did it regardless.
Want to know their single secret to success, passion.
They found something that were passionate about and that drove them to succeed. Passion will generate determination and overcome obstacles. Passion will overcome self-doubt. Passion will overcome procrastination.
However, passion may not always overcome negative thinking, and that's a good thing. Negative thinking can work in our favour if we use it wisely to foresee danger or obstacles. Negative thinking in a business sense allows us to manage risk, to find solutions before they arise.
If you have been thinking about starting your own business but have been waiting for the right time, here's a couple of tips;
- Find something that you are passionate about that is unique - it need not be new, just 'different'.
- Have a plan - not too technical, cover off the 'what and how'.
- Forget the 40-hour week - there is no such thing as standard hours in your own business.
- Make lists - have a spreadsheet of contacts, a list of tasks, a set of goals. These lists remain alive, they change as you move forward.
- Get familiar with being uncomfortable - always say yes, never say no, work on the edge, push yourself to the extremes, go beyond your previous limits.
Don't wait for the right time, because that never arrives. The right time is now, what are you waiting for?