Your business is YOUR baby. It doesn’t matter if you are in your first, second, or third trimester. It doesn’t matter if your baby is 0- 3 years old or even 10+ years old, you are responsible for the health and wellbeing of your business. You must nourish it, care for it, and protect it, just as you would a growing child.
My business was born January 1, 2010 and my human baby was just 3 months old in 2015!! One day, as I was driving down the street, I started to reflect on my experiences as a new mom and how much life with my 3 month old reinforced so many business building lessons that I have learned and taught over the years.
So what can a 3 month old teach you about business? Well, I’m glad you asked…
1. It’s about endurance not speed. Never Give up.
There is no better example of endurance that I have seen like that of a hungry baby. Well, at least that’s the case for my baby. Once, at his doctors appointment, I got caught unprepared during “feeding hour”. My son, in his discomfort (hunger), cried until I satisfied his need. He didn’t care what I needed to do, how I needed to do it, who was looking, or what they thought. All he knew was he had a need and he wasn’t backing down until it was satisfied! He is CONSISTENT with this practice, letting us know every time that we need to get familiar with his needs and move quickly. He won’t give up. He makes sure his need is satisfied.
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When it comes to your business, are you aware of what needs to be done in order to meet your need for growth and success? Are you consistently working a plan of action to combat the discomfort that comes with being a business owner (ebb and flow of client numbers, sick days, need for vacation, savings, etc.)? OR Do you give up easily, as you grow tired of feeling uncomfortable while parenting your business.
2. You may control things on the front end but you won’t always have control of the outcomes…learn to deal with it.
Do you know what has been my best “internal peace building exercise” to date? Driving anywhere with my 3 month old. I was suppose to have breakfast with a colleague and I was bringing the baby. We were only traveling 12 minutes from the house, so things could run smoothly. I woke up on time, got the baby ready, and even got him to nap soundly. All was going according to plan until he was in the car. What seemed to be a sure shot routine turned into a major schedule change and that 10:30am meeting time went BYE BYE!
What was I to do? The other person was already there, waiting for us. Well, I took a deep breath, brought the baby back into the house, laughed at myself for trying to predict newborn behaviors, contacted the person waiting, and tried again.
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You may have the best laid plans for helping more clients, creating workshops, offering trainings, etc. Sometimes you will do everything you were taught to do, to make your business run well. However, there will be times when things don’t go according to plan, and that’s putting it mildly. Don’t let that deter you.
Take a deep breath, assess the situation, laugh when possible, make decisions to help yourself handle the issue, and try again. That’s life and it’s okay if it’s not perfect.
3. Get clear on what you are here to do and do it.
I love spending time with our baby. He has a spunky personality, he talks all the time (baby talk that is), his smile is heart warming, and it’s a joy being in his presence.
However, spending time with him means I have to be laser focused about how I spend the other time I have in my day. Otherwise, my work could be negatively impacted. So I have to know what my mission is and do what I need to do. When it comes to work, if it’s not associated with helping people through counseling or helping therapists through business consulting, then I have to assess whether I need to be doing it at this time.
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If I asked you to create a simple pie chart outlining how you were spending your time each day, would it reflect clarity or chaos? Do you know who you want to serve and how to go about doing it?
Which lessons apply to you and your business?
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