Sigh. My goal of getting this blog up and running to help small business owners has been waylaid by the necessity of helping my real-world clients. To get caught up, I thought it might prove helpful to cover a few of the issues that have filled up my days and weeks.
Who Am I?
I think this question, almost more than any other, trips up my clients and small business owners in general. When you start your business, you’re often so busy wearing all the hats (e.g., bookkeeper, owner, employee, janitor, etc.) that come with a small business you don’t have time to define your identity.
As I’ve discovered, you don’t have to do it all at once in order to have an impact. To make the process manageable, I suggest setting the goal of making a decision a week, based on priority. For instance, it’s probably more valuable to clearly define your service and/or product before you stress about what colors to include in your logo.
My Budget is Small
Going small can lead to big results. Unlimited budgets (not that they really exist) can result in missteps and wasted energy because they remove the impetus to focus. Working with a small budget can lead to options that you might otherwise overlook. For example, a client’s small budget for web design led to customizing an existing template, which meant the website went live much faster than if we had gone the custom route.
I Don’t Know Where to Start
You’ve created a list of projects, but how do you decide which one to do first? The desire to do everything all at once can paralyze the small business owner into accomplishing nothing. Recognizing this reality can go a long way towards helping you check some things off the list. Think of your projects in terms of hours. What can you accomplish in one hour?
Make the Choice to Act
As a small business owner, you have a choice between acting and freezing. There will always be a reason to not do something. You can’t afford to wait for perfect circumstances. While not every small business has the same problems, they do have the same goal: success. Often the difference between success and failure is choosing to act. What will you choose?
