Recently, a prospect of mine told me how much she was impressed by how I knew my business' services and agendas inside and out despite it being a newborn business. I giggled a little and commented back after a thank you, "It was always inside of me, I just know what it is now."
It is surprising to me sometimes that a few hours poring over a composition notebook evolved into an already thriving business but to me I see is as a business that was always within me but didn't have the allowance to speak. Throughout my consultations recently, I have seen the same aspects screaming from my prospects. To begin the pathway for their dream message however, starts like every other life change with a few questions to yourself and being honest when you answer.
Do You Really Want To Work For Yourself?
While I call myself an accidental entrepreneur, I love that I am one. However, working for yourself is a struggle as well as a service to yourself and others. That being said, I always make sure any prospect I work with truly wants the responsibility that comes with the freedom of being your own boss.
Do You Love Your Business Today?
Believe it or not, I have had many clients who have a thriving business but, to be blunt, they hate it. They dread waking up in the morning as well as serving their clients. Money is needed in a business but what is needed more...passion for the cause you serve with your offerings. My husband likes to say that with the economic era we are in, our generation will probably work for our entire lives or at least most of it. With that in mind, I try for myself and my clients to assure that passion always comes first and to remind them that with passion...there will always be profit.
What is the One to Three Services You'd Do For Free?
This question is important for two reasons. One is that when you first start a business, until you get the right message and marketing agendas, you will be doing your services (both for visibility and practice) for a low-cost if not free. I personally have many blogs on the World Wide Web and press releases in newsroom files that I did not get paid for or was paid less than what I charge today. The other reason this is an important question is that while profit does come, it should not have to come as a result of any struggle within yourself. The best services come from those who are happy to give them, not the ones giving them only for a paycheck.
Do You Have a Plan To Check In on Yourself?
One of the first blogs I wrote was how your blog can actually tell you how in love or out of love you are with your business. While this is a great thermometer to use, everyone in business for themselves must have some aspect of their daily or at least weekly lives that is made just to check-in and make sure your business still speaks your voice as well as what you are attempting to say. For me, it's journaling the answers to questions such as this as well as asks for reviews from coaches and consultants I trust to review recent actions I have taken and agendas such as this blog. This keeps my business in check and makes sure any changes or evolutions that are needed occur immediately and strategically.
In the end, the only person that can really make or break your business is you. Because of that, you have to serve yourself before you can serve others. That is why before I work with anyone I have them ask questions such as this; not only does it make sure they are really hearing the whisper within but also the screams which in the end can either evolve into a business they truly desire, or finally closing a life chapter and going back to their own drawing board. Either way, if the questions are answered honestly, the new chapter they enter is always one of passion, profit and as I say to my clients...their own monetizing movement.