Can I do it?

Can I do it?
If, after a year or two of having made the decision to set up in business, you’re still struggling
to make ends meet, it’s not surprising that you end up questioning whether you can do it.
This is a common doubt I’ve noticed in first-time entrepreneurs, and I hope that the following
points will help you address it. They summarise some of the common reasons for
experiencing that doubt, as drawn from my experience in coaching entrepreneurs.
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1. The standard: not good enough
Intellectually you know that you can deliver the services you offer, but somehow you are
suffering from some limiting beliefs about your ability to deliver them to a sufficiently high
standard. This undermines confidence in your ability to serve your clients, or even promote
your services, affecting your business from growing.
What happens next is that you start looking at other entrepreneurs or self-employed
professionals who are doing really well. And you somehow lose sight of what your business
is about as your focus is no longer on your clients and you serving them, but it’s on your
competitors doing well.

What could you start doing?
Embrace the ‘small start’! It’s not about being number one; it’s about delivering value to your
clients. And value can only come when you do your best at any given point. Will that ‘best’
continue to be better? No doubt, but you do need to already be delivering your current best
in order for it to be better tomorrow.
Start with what you know as opposed to continuously pursuing more improvement before
delivering. Continuous investment in growing your competence is priceless, but when it acts
as a deterrent to you promoting your business, it overrides its purpose.

Don’t expect to make one giant leap to the results you aspire to for your business, once
everything is perfectly in place. There is no perfect place in business; rather it’s a continuous
journey to get better every day at serving your clients and growing your business.
Finally, define the standards! In other words, what criteria are you using to measure if the
standard of your services is poor, acceptable or excellent? If your answer is “I just know”,
then sorry to disappoint you but you actually don’t know, at least not until you set out to
define the criteria you will use to measure those standards.
...

2. Not identifying with success
You know you can AND want to succeed with your business, but in your mind you might have
‘contribution’ or ‘making a difference’ or even ‘love’ as a value, but not ‘money’!
And more than the fear of success, you feel uncomfortable with the thought of having a lot of
money, regardless of how enticing this may appear at first.

Change your interpretation of what money is. Money is not a synonym for success. Success is
the outcome of what you set out to accomplish and could be a better lifestyle for your family,
more time to dedicate to your philanthropic aspirations, additional resources to pursue your
interests, or something else entirely.
Money in business (as in life) is a means of exchange. Clients exchange money with you for
the difference you make in their lives through your services or products. You exchange
money with your suppliers for providing you with the materials or complementary services
that enable you to offer a better product to your clients.

So, if money or even the word ‘success’ is acting as the deterrent to you taking consistent
action to grow your business, change the meaning you give to the word.
Ultimately, consider that your business is naturally built around your core values and that it
is on such values that you serve your clients and operate your business. So, be clear on what
your core values are and make sure your business is aligned with them.
...

3. No balance with life priorities
There is a common belief among first-time entrepreneurs that the required commitment to
their business will prevent them from spending time with their family or loved ones, thereby
neglecting them.
And such a belief affects their ability to take action and grow their business.

First of all, be clear about what your life priorities are. Your family? Your loved ones? Your
health? Your happiness? Whatever they are, those are your priorities. Anything else is a
means to serve them. And your business is part of that ‘anything else’ (unless your business is
your life priority).
So, it’s not about ignoring your life priorities. It’s about planning everything else around
them. And if you think, “That cannot be done with a business”, then that’s a choice you make
because anything in life is what you make of it.
...

4. Inefficient working practices
Lack of focus. Lack of concerted action. Procrastination. Distraction. Feeling overwhelmed.
Feeling like a hamster in a wheel, chasing the cheese but never getting to it!
Although there are various reasons that can lead to these types of scenarios, inefficient
habits and working practices are two of them.

DO NOT start with defining what to do; rather first define what it is you want to achieve and
why. It’s only thereafter that you can determine how to go about achieving it… step by step.
Have a better routine and rhythm for each day that will ensure you only do activities that will
bring you closer to your business goals, before you do anything else.
Finally, distil the complex down to simplicity for both yourself and your clients. Remember
that focussing on one thing at a time can prevent that feeling of being overwhelmed!
...

Ultimately, consider that...
Growth and success do not come overnight. As with anything in life, you have to learn to
crawl before you can walk and before you can run, and you do this with your business by
taking things one step at a time, while also celebrating those small wins every day.
It’s this approach that enables your mindset to grow from hesitation to certainty.
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Can I do it?

Can I do it?

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