Creating momentum in your business

Transcript

Now,  I know it’s usual to do an introduction to your host at the start of a podcast, but actually, if you want to learn a little bit more about me and what I do, you can jump on my website clarewood.com.  What I wanted to chat to you about today is about momentum. 

When I first got started in business, I spent a lot of my time in a state of paralysis.  I overthought everything.  I made excuses for why I couldn’t do something done.  For example, when I was first getting started on video, I said to myself “I’ll film my first video when I have a tripod” (but then of course I got eventually got the tripod and there was just another excuse I was hiding behind).  I didn’t have that momentum to get start

Fast forward a few years, and I am regularly filming videos for my business.  So what changed?  Momentum. 

The key to creating momentum in any part of your business

Today I want to share with you how you can create momentum in any part of your business. 

The key?  It sounds so simple, but it really is as easy and as difficult as this.

It is to start.  To take big, bold action and keep doing it consistently even when it’s tough.

Letting go of perfection

A big part of this is letting go of perfectionism. 

When you are a high achiever, (which I’m guessing many of you are) this is really challenging. 

My business massively propelled forward when I just started doing things to a high standard.  Now, I’m not saying you should do things half ass, but so often perfectionism can hold you back from getting things done.   I now post videos where I stumble over my words, and say ummm and aahhhh… once I did a live video, and then afterwards I realised you could see my PJ bottoms (yep, I was wearing a business top and PJs at the bottom, let’s be honest, we’ve all done it).  Anyway, so after I filmed the video I realised you could see my boxers.  The old me would have deleted it horrified.  The new me?  I just left it up.  I’m really THAT committed to getting things out there.

How perfectionism can hold you back in business

Perfectionism can really hold you back in business. Have you ever had the experience of working on something and you are working away, working away getting it just right and then boom- your competitor launches exactly what you were about to launch?  Geez it hurts, doesn’t it!  But you kinda have to own it really.  Because the longer that you sit on something, the more chance that someone else will swoop in and do it first!  Or, that simply, you will just never get it done.  Hands up if you have a folder of half written blog posts that have never seen the light of day?  Or what about some videos or social media posts that just never got finished?

See, That’s why DONE is better than perfect.  Because once that post is posted, or the email is sent?  Well, it’s done!  A good way of thinking about it, is realising that if you have knowledge/ content/ a lesson that you want to share with people and you ARE NOT getting it out there to people who NEED this information of could benefit from it, it means that you are really doing them a disservice.

So we’ve spoken about STARTING.  And the trick is to just start.  I want you, right here, right now to think of something that you

The thing with momentum, once you get started on something, it’s so much easier to keep on going.  Has anyone ever had to help push start a car?  Basically what happens is that you take the handbrake off, and everyone jumps out and you push this thing that weighs a bloody ton and you think it will never move and then it sort of starts slowly moving and then eventually everyone is getting faster and faster and  you are all kind of running with it and then you quickly jump in?  Well it’s the same with taking big action in your business.  The first step is the hardest, and from there it gets easier, and easier.

Let me share with you something.  I used to have a phobia of Instagram stories.  No joke.  I would take a photo on my phone, I would write a comment.  I would think that’s not very funny, or no-one cares, or I’d have a closer look at the picture and realise you can see my laundry pile in the background and I’d delete it.  Even though I knew Instagram stories were a great way to share and connect with my audience, I wasn’t using them because I was afraid.  So how did I get over it? 

Well, a business buddy of mine challenged me “you have to do an Instagram story every day for a week”.  And I just cringed.  But I did it, (because I love a challenge) and as the week progressed, something funny happened.  Firstly, even in such a short period of time, I started to notice results (more people engaging with me), but even more exciting, I started to enjoy it!  I realised it was kind of fun to share quirky things that happen to me in my personal life, but also it was lots of fun to share snippets of business advice in a quick, easy to digest way.  Now, I am a regular on stories (come have a look at clare_wood_coach remember clare is c-l-a-r-e).  When I first used to post stories, I would do one a day.  I would think heaps about it, draft it, analyse it and then finally, eventually, post it.

Now, it takes very little effort.  Sometimes I post a story in seconds.  It’s not that the quality has decreased, in fact, my posts are now much better than they ever were.  It’s because I’m in a place of flow…

You can translate this momentum across to YOUR business too!  Just get started and once you’ve started, just like jump starting a car, or me with my Insta stories it gets sooo much easier the more you do it!

Continuing momentum once you’ve gotten started

The other thing about momentum, is that once you get started, you might, in fact, you WILL have failures.  Hmmm you are probably thinking SO You are telling me to get started on something, get over my perfectionism, put myself out there, and I still might get no results?  Yep.  That’s exactly what I’m telling you.  But trust me, this is a good thing.  Let me take you through this a bit more. 

Getting past fear and getting results

When you are doing something, anything, you start getting feedback. And real quickly.  So last year, I decided to run a retreat.  I thought, what an amazing way to connect all these amazing women that I know, we can all do our annual goal setting together, hire a beautiful house and have a few nights away outside of business to connect and build relationships.  I sat on it for AGES.  It kept eating away at me, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.  I kept finding myself googling beautiful houses we could hire, imaging all the laughs and learnigns we could all have together, so I did it!  I found this amazing massive house on the water with a hot tub and a swimming pool, and I wrote the framework and I had a beautiful invite designed with great copy, I set a really reasonable price for it and I sent it to about 35 of my closest friends and clients in business. I only needed 8 to attend, I thought it would be a sell out in 10 minutes.  So I excitedly sent it out… and… crickets…. I then followed it up with further emails and personalised contacts and I didn’t get one person who booked in.  I’m not going to lie to you.  It hurt.  Buuutttt the great thing was, guess what?  I realised, people don’t want a retreat at this time, in this format from you right now.    And that meant that I could stop wasting my brainspace on it and focus on what people WERE wanting from me which was my one-on-one coaching. 

So, making mistakes, is a great way of getting feedback.  Because if you aren’t trying things, you don’t know what is going to resonate with your potential clients and what isn’t.  So trying things is a great way I start learning what connects with your audience and what doesn’t.  

If you want to be a leader in business you need to take risks, put aside fear and take those chances.  IN fact, part of being an entrepreneur is getting used to failures

But a great way of looking at mistakes or failures is that they are bringing you a step closer to success!

So to sum up today.  The most important step is to get started… then once the momentum is going, keep trying new things, keep taking chances and remember that every failure is a lesson that is bringing you closer to your dreams.  So be so grateful for anything that doesn’t work!

Well that brings us to the end of today.  Please come and say hi over on Instagram to learn a little bit more about me and how I help business owners to grow their businesses with less stress.