- April 24, 2018 -
Ever have those days when you find yourself fantasizing about doing something completely and utterly different?
Well, it's not like you can just stay in bed, close up shop and wait for a better idea to materialize out of thin air.
Most business owners at some point want to just start over. Design a different day job.
And it's usually because of boredom and/or exhaustion.
You've lost the excitement you had when you first started your business. The fire you used to have in your belly is going. Going. Gone.
There's no challenge anymore.
From talking with business owners who are frustrated with their status quo, here's how the progression usually plays out:
STEP 1. IDEALISM "This is without a doubt a perfect opportunity! I can't believe fate literally dropped this amazing goldmine right into my lap!"
STEP 2. FRUSTRATION "Damn, this is harder than I expected. Maybe I don't have the what it takes to pull this off. I'm overwhelmed and confused."
STEP 3. DEPRESSION "I can't get anything to work. This is hopeless. I hate owning a business. Life sucks and eventually you die. Maybe I should just find a tall building and take a flying leap."
STEP 4. Go back to #1, pick a brand new shiny object and START ALL OVER.
This happens all the time to beginners. We all know that.
Even successful entrepreneurs running perfectly good businesses - people who normally take things to completion - STILL get pulled into this trap!
Even when you're making a good income, it's easy to find yourself drifting into steps 2 and 3...and before you realize it, you've ditched your legit opportunity in Step 1 for something else.
One of our clients had grown bored with his business and was trying to sell it - his son didn't want it. I connected him with a previous client of ours on a whim.
They talked, saw the potential in a collaboration and teamed up.
That was three years ago.
They started hitting projection goals. Year three looks like there will be several record months.
They've re-invented their offer twice. Figured out how to streamline fulfillment time.
One of my buddies has a very "boring" brick and mortar service business that involves selling and service costly equipment in a "non-sexy" niche.
But he's kept production and overhead tight, and it would be very very difficult for anyone to put him out of business.
...if he keeps his head down and doesn't screw things up, I think someone will come along in a few years and make a bid to acquire the business for $10-15 million.
All he has to do is stay the course. And not get sucked into the cycle of entrepreneur ADD.
Even billionaires have bad days...
Mark Zuckerberg has had one hell of a month.
And remember back in October of 2014 when Coca-Cola stock plunged? Warren Buffet lost $2 billion in two days!
But I haven'y met too many folks who couldn't come up with a way to breath some life into their business.
They just needed to get out of their cave and seek some outside perspective.
When you do that, you slam the previous destructive cycle into reverse and get this:
1. APPRECIATION. "Holy Cannoli! I've got a great start to something special here."
2. VISUALIZATION. "If I just added a fresh coat of deck stain, upgraded my outdoor grill, built a fire pit, and added some lighting, this would be one cool Pittsburgh party house for me and my dog." Lol
3. ILLUMINATION. There is ALWAYS a path from A to B, even if it means embracing a new way of thinking that's way outside your comfort zone.
Did you know that Colgate started out selling soap and candles before it switched to selling toothpaste out of a jar at first?
And the clothing store Abercrombie & Fitch debuted as a sporting good shop.
So how do you invigorate your "boring" business?
See it for the very first time through the eyes of an OUTSIDER.
Need a second set of eyes? Set up a free consult with us.
I'll be back tomorrow 🙂
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