“When you come to the edge of all the light and are approaching the darkness, faith is knowing that one of two things will happen – there will be something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly.” Unknown
“Jump, or you’ll spend the rest of your life being pushed.” Sam Bishop, I have to tell you honestly that when I heard this quote from Sam recently, I immediately got goose bumps. This profound statement is so true, especially in the lives of entrepreneurs. I mean we start businesses jumping in the deep end because we can’t stand being pushed by a boss and told how to perform, what to say and when to say it.
Sam’s quote also got me thinking about those people who are afraid to jump into living their dreams because of the economy, fear of losing security and knowing where their next paycheck is coming from. While I don’t judge the latter, I know that it is possible to take a calculated leap so you can build a business that will allow you to live the life you desire for you and your family. Many of you are looking to transition from being pushed (Full-time job) to jumping (entrepreneurship) and I understand how you feel. I made the leap 7 years ago and it was the best leap I have ever made to live my best life. While I learned a tremendous amount of stuff in my corporate career, I always knew that one day who I was would be too important to sit behind someone else’s desk and it was then that I started to prepare my transition plan so that I can jump ship from the financial services company where I was employed at the time.
Here are my strategies for JUMP-ing into building the business you were born to run:
J – judge the quality of your business idea by the universal law of business – “Find a group of people who have the problem that you solve that are ready right now to pay for a solution to that problem.” When your business idea solves a distinct problem that currently exists in the market place, it will be viable if your solution is robust and can be marketed to the people who are looking for it NOW.
Ask yourself:
- What problem could I solve for others easily and effortlessly out of my unique gifts and talents?
- What have those that I have helped in the past told me that I helped them to do? Do other people have the same problem?
- What could I create to be a solution to that problem for other people?
U – understand your reason why you’re starting the business AND be sure that it connects to your core values and life vision. Entrepreneurship is not easy. It requires discipline and desire to keep moving in spite of the obstacles which are destined to arise. In order to make it through, you’re going to need to be crystal clear about why you are starting the business now and why this business is important. Its success is non-negotiable so when you hit a rough patch, you’re reason why can carry you through. Hint: your reason why isn’t about you and it’s seldom as superficial as making money. While we all go into business to earn income, it is not the sustaining force. The income is the vehicle through which we get to live our dreams out on a daily basis.
Ask yourself:
- Why would I want to start a business?
- What would doing this work to help others do for me?
- Who would benefit the most from me if I do this work in the form of my own business?
- What is my ultimate vision?
- How could this business help me to fulfill it?
M – master the mindset shifts that accompany productivity to increase your businesses success. Your thoughts and feelings equal your beliefs and your beliefs affect your actions and ultimately your results. With the average person having 60,000 thoughts a day and 57,000 of them being subconscious, it is essential that you master how to tame the fear beast within. While most entrepreneurs will never let fear keep them from living their dreams, they take steps each day to keep their roaming thoughts, doubts and fears in check. I recommend starting with a journal, visualizing what you desire and then writing it out in positive, present tense and reading it back to yourself each day. I also recommend creating a deck of goal cards and reading through them each day as soon as you wake up because you’re still in your alpha waves state and can alter your subconscious mind.
Ask yourself:
- What am I really afraid of?
- Is there any evidence to support that fear right now in my life?
- What would I be able to do if I wasn’t afraid?
- What do I truly believe about my abilities to build a successful business?
P – prepare for your dream business with a full blown business and marketing plan. Prior planning prevents poor performance and it is no secret that what gets written down is more likely to manifest itself. So plan it out. You can get tons of resources to help you write an effective business plan using sites like www.sba.gov. I recommend taking the time to develop your business plan, hiring a coach or mentor and validating each step in this process against your ultimate mission and desires.
Ask Yourself:
- What resources do I have access to right now that could help me build my business plan?
- What do I know about marketing and how can I use it to create a marketing plan?
While I agree that you should JUMP, I also agree that you can take a look around and make sure that the way is clear and your landing solid so that as you jump, you are landing in the place that will best serve your goals of building the business of your dreams.
So if you know that you’ve been pushed for the last time, starting running, build up your momentum and prepare to JUMP, those you were born to serve with your problem solving business are waiting on your to help them in a big way.
©2012 by Darnyelle A. Jervey. All Rights Reserved. Darnyelle A. Jervey, The Incredible Factor Business Mentor and Coach, is the founder of Incredible One Enterprises.com and the Leverage Your Incredible Factor System® a proven step by step program for turning your passion into profit. For more information and a FREE audio download “How to Use Your Incredible Factor to Attract MORE Ideal Clients”.
