What’s this self-employment thing all about…really?
Whether you have already started your own business or are on the verge of doing so, it has surely hit you that there is a lot that goes into this self-employed entrepreneur thing. A bunch of moving parts, like marketing, finances, legal issues, customer service, sales, product development, technical infrastructure, physical space, software, supplies, and so on. And on and on.
Stepping out into your company is exhilarating and scary. Some days go great, others not so much. So many solo business owners flounder…I can’t think of a better word. That’s when the FUD factor takes hold.
Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt. The FUD Factor.
What if I fail? How can I learn everything I need to? How can I accomplish everything that needs to get done? What products and services are best for me to offer? How will I sell them?Can I get the clients I need to succeed? Will they keep coming?
The FUD questions go on and on.
The FUD factor stops progress. It puts you into a continuous loop of activity that doesn’t move you toward your goals.
The FUD Factor is what motivates us to:
- Buy business books, e-books, DVDs and CDs that we either don’t read or listen to, or we spend too much time poring over.
- Sign up for programs that are too time consuming and too comprehensive to give you an acceptable return on the time and money invested.
- Hang on the words, tweets, and videos of self-proclaimed business gurus, hoping that some of their success will rub off on you if you spend enough virtual time with them.
- Acquire artificial ADD, as we jump from activity to activity and strategy to strategy, trying to figure out what’s going to work (and not giving anything enough time to work!).
- Plan ourselves silly, create a 3- or 5-year plan so that we can control our direction, only to have the plan go out the window in less than 6 months.
- Think that the next thing we learn or the next idea we have is the thing that’s going to put us over the top.
The FUD factor is what makes us overspend, overplan, overcomplicate and overtrain. It makes us pay too much attention to the titles of programs and the people who offer them. It’s also what makes us spend more time than we need to coming up with catchy phrases and labels that will set us apart from our competition.
None of this activity, none of the things in the bullet list above, will get you where you want to be.
How can you get where you want to be? What needs to happen?
Here is the truth, and it is no secret:
Business success happens when you make things happen.
As in, produce results.
Are you good at producing results? What kind of results?
Actually, the statement is incomplete. In reality:
Business success happens when you make the right things happen.
As in, produce results that align with your objectives.
So tell me: Are you producing the RIGHT results in your business? You will know if the answer is “yes” if you see steady progress and growth. If you are not progressing, if you are spinning your wheels or can’t get traction in your business, you aren’t producing the right results.
I know how to produce results. And I know how to figure out what are the “right” results for you.
All of my programs are about results. No gimmicks, no catchy titles. Just results that move you forward toward your goals.
Whether you take advantage of one or more of my self-study modules, get proficient at buying or selling on Elance through my workshops, or step up to get grounded in the strategic and tactical issues that will allow you to GROW FAST (in sweatpants), the one thing you can count on is that you will come out the other side able to produce better, more on-target results.
Forget FUD.
Forget all the books, programs, “gurus,” and ideas that just keep you stuck.
Let’s get you moving forward on and on and on—in the RIGHT direction!
I invite you to look around here. Check out my offerings and the resources that I recommend. Sign up for my contact list and get my ebooklet, “The Sweatpants Manifesto.” Follow me on Twitter, invite me to your Facebook or LinkedIn network. Listen to my radio show on BlogTalkRadio. Contact me directly.
