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Why you don’t want to be on Oprah! (at least not yet)

Do you know the story of the birth of the Greek goddess Athena? She sprang full grown from the head of her father, Zeus. Aside from Zeus’ unreal headache, it was a pretty quick and easy pathway to adulthood. Boom! There she was!

Having a business isn’t like that. Sure, there will be a few headaches along the way, but they don’t result in the materialization of a full-grown business.

Thank goodness!

Now, you might be saying, “Seriously?! I’d LOVE for my business to be done! To be mature with all the clients I need, the systems in place, the team put together – the whole thing!!”

I know that sounds really good, but think about it. Is that really what you want?

Picture getting up one day, answering the door and, Surprise! There’s Oprah saying, “You did it! You won your dream business. Here are the keys to your new office. Your staff of 10 highly qualified and talented folks is there waiting for you. You have appointments with 10 really high-level clients over the next two weeks – and these folks are paying you a fortune! And you need to write a talk because you’re speaking at a conference in three weeks to an audience of 1,000. Have fun!! Oh! And I’ll see you on my show next month.”

Are you ready for that? Do you feel big enough to run that business?

If you feel ready, then you’re probably well on your way to building this very thing. If you don’t feel ready, then you’re in good company. And it’s okay.

You see, you’re not meant to be ready. You become ready through the process of developing the business.

18453274_sI work with clients all the time on their procrastination about building their business. There can be lots of factors in this, but a very common one is the fear of success. They visualize their business as they know it can be, and then get scared because it feels too big. They don’t know how little ole them can be in charge of something that … big.

They don’t see that it’s a process of becoming. They will become the person who can run that business through the building of it.

It’s the reason children come into the world as babies rather than teenagers. Raising the baby teaches you how to parent a teenager. You become that parent.

It’s the same thing with your business. Every time you write a blog article or work with a client or create a sales page, you grow. You get more clarity. You’re better able to articulate what you do and how you help people. You’re more clear on how what you offer is special and who you best serve.

Become a student of marketing and you’ll see that the people who charge the most are the ones who are the most clear. Being clear is one of the greatest factors in being effective and in reaching other people.

Think about it. What if Martin Luther King, Jr. had said, “I have a thought of something that might be nice. I mean, I think it’s a pretty good idea. You know, people getting along better.” It would be hard to get behind that, wouldn’t it? What he said was, “I have a dream!” And he clearly described that dream, inspiring people like few others have done.

Your clarity may not inspire millions or even thousands of people. And it may. What it will do is inspire the people who are ready to work with you, who need and want what you have to offer.

One thing that will really boost your clarity is problems. Dealing with a client who won’t actually do the work may be super frustrating. It’ll also teach you what you require from your clients.

You’ll create systems and materials to support your clients with implementation. You’ll talk to prospective clients about these expectations and set them up for better success – or decline to work with them because they aren’t really committed to change.

And by doing this, you become more effective, more valuable in your work.

As a business owner, your clarity is everything.

When a problem comes up in your business (or, heck, in your relationships!), know that there is a gift of clarity in it for you. This is a chance for you to get even more clear about who you are, what you want and what you have to offer. And what you expect and require of yourself and others.

This “problem” could be a key to your future success. It’s helping you become the business owner you want to be.

What’s something you’ve gotten clarity on recently – for yourself or your business? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

Comments 1

  1. Sara I loved this. And perfect timing of course. Yesterday I cranked out a first quarter plan for next year. For the longest time I haven’t planned, rather I’ve just been “winging” it not sure where I was going. When I put the plan together yesterday it was like everything I have been working on finally fell into place and made sense. Your article clarifies for me that I wasn’t “messed up” but I was “in process”. Of course I continue to be in process and now I can be a bit more gentler with this understanding you’ve shared.

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