Going into business for yourself, is a journey of personal transformation.
Along that journey, your business is going to change. It’s going to evolve. It’s going to take different forms. As you yourself evolve.
When that happens… the first thing we tend to do is “re-brand”. Scout f’or new colors, the right words for your message, get busy in creating a swanky new website that reflects the NEW YOU.
With me so far?
Nodding along?
In the years since you first started your own business… you’ve re-branded, haven’t you?
Catch is.. with this new found ‘idea’, ‘path’,
It is easy to get caught up in ‘you’. What YOU want. How YOU want to grow. Where YOU want to be. How YOU want to show up in the world.
It is easy to get caught in the busy work making mood boards in Canva and fiddling with copy and scouting for a new web designer.
But the thing is ..
Business is NOT about you.
It’s about your Clients.Your Customers.
The real work would be going out there and finding the right kind of audience for your new work. The kind of audience that’s willing to pay what you want to charge.
Most folks skip the real work, in favor of the busy work. Creating mood boards. Playing around with color schemes. Looking up a gazillion images to find just the right one. It’s easier to justify that kind of work. You see something tangible taking shape as a result.
The real work is harder. You have to get into your clients/customers head. You have to put yourself and your own ego aside to think about what they want. You have to shut up that voice in your head – the one that calls your bluff about just wanting to be of service to others (“You know money doesn’t matter, this business is just about following my passion!“), while you’re struggling with “OMG I can’t keep running this business if I only charge $10/hr” & “OMG no one’s going to pay me even that much!”.
But when you focus on the busy, and avoid the real work…another 6 months down the line you would’ve put in a ton of effort ‘re-branding, being the new YOU… but you’ll still be looking for clients, you will go through another identity-crisis, and you will jump into yet another re-brand.
When you re-brand.. don’t get caught in the busy work. Focus on what really matters. Your clients. Their needs. Their wants. Their hopes. Their dreams.