Most of the time when you make an appointment with someone really important - your boss, your best friend, an important client or customer, you don't cancel it. You don't just not show up right?
If Matt Damon (or insert your favorite celebrity here) made an appointment with you, would you cancel on him? HECK NO!
So why is it OK to cancel on yourself? You are a VERY IMPORTANT PERSON. If you have made an important appointment with yourself, whether it's for your workout, or to work on your business, you need to SHOW UP.
Telling yourself you are going to do something and not doing something is lying to yourself - you also wouldn't lie to those other VIPs in your life either right?
Treat yourself as if you are important and worthy of the time you have set aside to get you to your goals. You deserve it.
So you want to start your own business, or have started your own business, but one problem - you haven't told anyone about it! This happens with people in my business all the time. They don't want to put themselves out there and "go public" until they have success either with the products or with the business, and then they feel like they can announce it. Some people are also nervous about what other people will think, or if they will be judged (I know I was!)
The problem is, if people don't know you have a business and that you are a resource for a product or service, they don't know to come to you (and buy from you) or to recommend you to their friends. You are delaying your own success. Not to mention, having the extra accountability of people knowing what you are doing will push you to have more success. And people are going to judge you no matter what you do in life, what's important is that you learn to not to take it personally and realize that only you can determine what you want in life, and how you want to go about doing it. I've learned not to worry about other people. Most people who are judgmental or rude are unhappy in their own lives, and there's nothing you can do about that! As they say, haters gonna hate. :)
So my most important advice is - don't wait until you feel like you are READY to talk to people about your business. Be honest and share your story - the easiest way to start is on social media - and include the following and be authentically YOU:
- why did you decide to start a business?
- why did you choose the business that you did?
- what do you have to offer people? Products? Parties? Coaching? Support group while using the products?
- how can they get in touch with you?
One exception: if you have a full time job now and you have to keep it under wraps so that your current employer doesn't think you are on your way out or are not serious about your current career, be very careful what you post and who can see it (you can restrict co-workers from seeing certain posts or block certain people).
The kids are back to school and I now have a window of about 3 hours to get the bulk of my work done (they are both in half days). Since people often ask me what I do and how I fit it all in, here's how I'm doing it:
7-8:30am - get the kids up and ready, and walk them both to school
8:30-9:30am - workout + Shakeology
9:30-11am - POWER HOUR (and a half) this is where I do all of my core activities which includes checking on my current challengers (those actively doing a fitness program in one of my groups), adding people to my network, emailing new customers, inviting people to my next fitness group or to join a business opportunity event, and scheduling social media posts for the day.
11-11:30am - Snack, quick shower and off to pick up the kids from school
Our current plan is that 2 days a week my husband or a friend will watch them for 2 hours in the afternoon so I can work on bigger projects like training, recording videos for my team, working on my blog and other social media activities, research, creating graphics & visuals for use on my blog & social media, and whatever else pops up.
The rest of the week, if I can, I will check in 1-2 times (early afternoon and early evening) to see if I have any urgent messages that can't wait. (often times during one of the kids activities when they are in a class)
After the kids go to bed at 8pm, I will catch up on anything I didn't complete and respond to messages.
I also do Personal Development for 20-30 minutes before bedtime.
This is something I hear a lot specifically in my fitness business but can also apply to many other businesses you may be considering starting. Maybe you are selling cooking products or cutlery but you are not a great cook yet? Make-up rep but you don't always have the perfect face on or know the right techniques? Weight to lose but want to work in fitness?
DO NOT let this be a reason for you to put off starting your business. Any business takes time to grow, and if you wait until you are "perfect" to start, guess what, you will never start - and you will never achieve the goals you have set for yourself.
It's crucial that you use the products your business sells, but you don't have to be the PERFECT example of them yet. What's most important is that you are willing to learn (how to apply make-up, how to eat better and exercise, whatever) and you want to help others do the same.
TOP REASONS WHY YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE YOUR AFTER PHOTO YET:
- It's OK to be on the journey with your customers. People connect with others who are like them.
- Especially if you are working full time now, with a future plan to work your new business full time, you won't get to that point if you don't start building your business. Even if you have very little time to dedicate to it, do something every day so you are moving in the right direction
- You get a discount or wholesale price on buying these products yourself (which gets you to your goal or the skill you want faster!)
- In any network marketing company, the sooner you get in the better. While position in the organization isn't everything, it is a benefit to you.
I also blogged about this on my fitness site HERE
