How Not to Overwhelm Yourself When Starting Your Business: 3 Things to Consider
Let’s just put this out there, starting a business (not to mention running it) is challenging (in fact, it is hard as hell). It doesn’t matter what your area of choice may be. From coming up with a viable idea, to getting it funded, to marketing and sales, operations and the myriad of other must-dos in between, this is no walk in the park for anyone.
With all of this, it is quite easy to suffer from overwhelm. To avoid that, here are three things to consider.
Don’t be afraid to start small
Let’s face it, to begin, you may not have a team of people to delegate your tasks to. It’s also likely that you’re not at the point in your business where you can afford to pay for a few people to help with tasks here or there. Many persons think that starting a business requires a large team, or a team in general, to execute their plan. That isn’t true.
Like many business owners before you, you are better off starting small. Making soap, clothes, jewelry, planning events, becoming a social media influencer; all of these business ideas don’t always need twenty people behind the scenes to make things happen.
Take the time to look at what you have, what you can do with that and identify ways to build up your revenue.
Starting small does not always lead to lower quality work. Instead it is a way to learn about your business; what you want to gain from it and what your audience or customers want. This will provide enough first hand information for you to develop from there.
Starting small lessens the amount you risk for failure; allowing you make changes without being overwhelmed. That is what this is all about, after all. Do what you can based on your resources while enlisting the support and resources of others.
Doing things in your own style is all you need to gain support. No one wants to see a new face doing the same thing that others are doing unless you’re doing something that hasn’t been done in your country/community before.. Your vision for the future will be what it takes to keep you motivated and pushing forward. So, don’t worry about how things turn out now, just keep at it until you figure out a process unique to you.
Think about the future, but plan for the now
This is similar to starting small. Don’t try to reach the end of the road when you haven’t even found the beginning. What does that mean? After you have plotted out the big picture, break it down. You want to lose weight and be healthier, don’t go on a diet. Change your diet. Stop eating junk and nutrient poor foods in small amounts, drink more water, exercise.
Similarly, if you want to sell clothing, take classes in merchandising, research popular designs, check out other clothing stores, ask your friends what their pains are when buying clothing and fill that gap.
If you’re going into content creation on social media, get into writing copy, photography, or digital marketing courses online. Entrepreneurship is a habit not a one time event. Do what is necessary to develop your skills and watch you business grow with you.
None of these things needs to be done all at once. Attacking them all at once will lead to burn out. Do one at a time, learn about yourself and slowly create a new habit. That’s how you move from a mere plan to action.
Make your business part of your life. Nothing is easy and there are no quick fixes that won’t result in disaster later. Take the time to systemize, putting the smaller bits and pieces together to strengthen your foundation for a beautiful outcome. The point is, start small. There is absolutely nothing wrong with making a few soaps a week for family and friends to start. As your market grows, you will be able to make more product to cater to your growing market.
Try to ensure whatever you do in your free time relates to your business idea…
Another way to help with getting you to starting your business without overwhelm, is to get information from those who are doing something similar to you. Don’t go to every seminar, talk, networking meetup you can find. This may land you in more woes than what you are trying to avoid.
Be very selective about where you get your information. Interact with those who can relate to your niche in a similar way. Avoid the temptation to think you are the only one doing something like this. Remember, there is nothing new under the Sun; everything has pretty much been invented, sometimes all you need to do is get those things ‘innovated’. And that could very well be what you are doing. Innovating. So ask questions, seek answers to avoid making too many rookie mistakes.
Do you have any other ideas to avoid overwhelm when starting a business? Share it with us.
