The Fierce Business Babe Podcast Ep 145: Biggest Business Secret
Today, I am going to be sharing with you the biggest business secret. This secret is something I have used repeatedly in my business to move the needle forward and I know you can do it too. I am going to be diving into the biggest secret in business and how you can use it to move the needle forward in your business too, along with so much more.
Biggest Business Secret
By: Melissa Lin
Today, I am going to be talking about one of the biggest things that has truly supported me in my business, has helped me in continuing to just really grow each year, both in my personal life and in my business. When we step outside of our comfort zones and you know, we try something new or maybe we share with somebody that we want to do something like start an online business, or maybe you've already started and you want to double your income for next year or triple your income next month. Like, it's our hope that everybody in our lives fully supports us or that everything's going to go exactly how we hope it and exactly how we have it mapped out and exactly how we have it planned, and the easiest route and reality is that it doesn't always go that way. So what I'm going to do today is share one of my biggest, biggest, biggest secrets with you.
My biggest tips that will support you even when things aren't going exactly as planned. So if you have ever had a moment in your business when you've wanted to just give up, put your hands up and just give up, throw papers in the air, right? It's like one of those TV show episodes, where you’re just throwing everything and you're just letting go and saying quits, which really is every entrepreneur. It is normal to feel that at some point in your journey. You know, if you've wanted to throw in the towel, because you were, maybe you weren't seeing results as quickly as you wanted to or you're overworking right now and still not seeing the results you wanted to. Maybe you downloaded a business checklist from somebody or somewhere on Pinterest or Google and did everything on that checklist that you download, but it still isn't working. Don't quit.
Everything Is Figureoutable
Now, what I want to start with is to really share with you that it is okay, 100% okay, not to have it all figured out on day one. It is 100% okay to not have it figured out today, no matter how far in business you are. It’s 100% okay to not know everything before you get started. Start anyway. You know, I've been running my own business and really running my team as well for years. Your day one will not look the same as somebody else's year one, or year two, or year three, or four or five. So this is your permission slip today to really give yourself some grace. If you don't have everything put together and figured out or ready day one, or again, even if you're year one in year two in, year three in, give yourself some grace and look at how far you've come and really celebrate where you're at today. For example, if you're about to announce the launch of your offer and you don't have as much ready as you had planned, it's okay. if you had somebody reschedule or cancel a sales call that you had put time aside for again, it's going to be okay. Your business will not be burning down. You definitely don't need to quit right now. If someone doesn't show up for a sales call, and it might sound silly, but like in the moment when these things happen in business or happen in life, it feels like your world is crumbling around you. I've definitely had my moments in business where I thought it was going to be the end. I thought I was going to close the doors. Like things just felt so hard in that moment and it’s going to be okay. Does it mean it's going to be easy? No, not always, but know that it's going to be okay. Everything is figure out-able.
I think back to times when I'm starting something new, which recently, I feel like it's been very often, especially in my personal life, I'm doing more and more and really stretching and stepping outside of my comfort zone and doing things I haven't done in the past, which is super exciting, just thinking back to, you know, starting something new. So for example, maybe your first day in school, you know, your first time swimming. For me these past few years, I learned how to ski for the first time so it was my first time skiing. I also learned how to sail, so I had my first time sailing and got my sailing certification two summers ago. I'm also thinking about Ryan. My boyfriend's gonna love me saying this and hearing this, he's been wanting someone to go scuba diving with. So, I’m going to be stretching and, you know, learning to get my scuba certification and get that training. I have been doing a lot of things out of my comfort zone, because I want to learn new activities. I want to do these new things. So anytime we do something new, for example, my first time skiing, I hadn't spent much time prior to that in any kind of snow activities besides maybe throwing some snowballs and building snow people. So the first time I went to the mountain and down the bunny hill, they gave it a grownup name, they call it the discovery slope, it was scary. It really was, but guess what, the second time we went down, it felt easier. Then the third time we went down I fell, you know, ran into a thing or two and it felt hard again. It's just like the entrepreneurial roller coaster, up and down, up and down.
Keep Going
The key here, big secret here, I want to share with you, and it might seem simple, but it's something that I want you to hold on to your entire entrepreneurial journey. As you're starting and growing your business and continue to scale and continue to create this huge impact in the world is to keep going, keep going, keep going. It's like, again, learning how to ski or learning how to swim. You get to start and you get to really practice at it. I mean, I was in weeks of swimming camps as a kid and some classes as a kid and it doesn’t come overnight. You know, it gets easier each class you go to, just like your business. Take it all one step at a time and set yourself up with some daily goals, some weekly goals, some monthly goals, some quarterly goals.
This is something that we do inside of our programs with our clients, always setting goals and creating an action plan to go with it to reach those goals and having a plan and actually sticking to it, having people in your corner to hold you accountable to them, you know, those daily items you're doing. They're helping you get one step closer to more of what you want in life and more of where you want your business to be. So don't quit right now, you are on the verge of your next breakthrough successes, right around the corner for you. One thing I can say about entrepreneurship through my own experiences, that there will be highs. There will be lows.
Surround Yourself With Similar People
Now surround yourself with others who are on a similar journey. I did this as early as I could and I'm still doing it to this day. You know, group coaching programs, masterminds, for example. Find other people who are doing things like you were on a similar journey as you, and you can really relate to. They can be that support system for you in times when it’s starting to feel hard because there will be times where things are feeling hard, you know, have a container or somebody to really lean into in those times. I want you to be able to achieve your dreams and build the business and the life that you've always wanted, because it's so possible for you. You are more than capable. You have everything inside of you to do so.
Learn From Your Experiences
So when this time comes, and again it happens to every single one of us, when you're wanting to quit. You're wanting to throw in the towel and things are feeling hard. It could be a moment that happens every single day for you. It could be something that happens weekly for you, could be monthly, quarterly. I know for me, when I first started, it definitely felt like a daily thing and that again, as I got into more of it, further into my business it turned into kind of a weekly feeling and then a monthly feeling and then quarterly feeling and then so on and so on. Don't quit. Dig back into your why. Go back to your vision and shift closer back to it. What I want you to do is reflect back on your purpose. What was it that pushed you to start your business in the first place? So if something is feeling hard, Keep going, keep going. And let's also take an opportunity to learn from this.
So if something is feeling hard, ask yourself, how could I learn from this? Ask yourself, “How can I grow from this experience?”, ask yourself, “How can I shift my perspective on this?” If something is feeling hard, you know, why is it feeling hard? Is there something that I can add to my life or to my business? To help keep from feeling so hard. Can I add in some kind of system I can lean into, so it's not feeling as hard? So ask yourself some of those questions. There have definitely been many, many, many, many, many times in my 30, soon to be 31 years in life that I've honestly wanted to quit, you know, getting my chemical engineering degree years ago before I even started knowing about entrepreneurship or businesses. Like I definitely had moments where I wanted to put my hands up and walk out. There've been times where things just felt so hard, I wanted to stop at that moment. And that's me being very honest with you. There will be times and things feel very hard and just keep going.
So for example, you know, I can think back to the first time I had to fire a team member. The first time I had to fire a client, you know, I almost gave up, that was the first time I had done something very different and very new and I didn't like it. It wasn't fun at that moment, even though I knew it needed to happen, I almost gave up. You know, years ago when I did my first few sales calls and maybe I feel like a lot of people have this experience with sales calls, their very first one or two as they start to get more and more into it and practice a little bit more. You find your flow and things feel easier. You've got a script and things like that, but I know, you know, my first few sales calls, I want to say it wasn't my first or second, maybe my third sales, or even fourth that I ever did. I had a no-show so they never showed up to the call and I wanted to quit. Like it broke my heart. I was so sad and I am so happy I didn't quit. I'm so happy that I kept going, because if I hadn't, I wouldn't be here in my chair, in my office right now. I wouldn't be helping you and supporting you today and moving the needle forward in your business. I would not be creating the impact that I am today in June 2021 if I had quit. So keep going, keep going, keep going. You know, if something in life, if something in business or something in your relationship just feels hard. Know it's normal. Know it's normal. You're human. Keep going, keep showing up, keep hopping on those sales calls. Keep adding value to your audience. Keep going until it all works out because it will all work out. The universe already has its plan for you and it's going to work out exactly how it's planned to, keep going.
Celebrate Your Wins
Now, something that I absolutely love doing, and I want to share this with you too. It's something I love doing and we share this with our clients and we do this in our programs as well. Celebrating each little win. It might sound silly, but every single win in life. All wins get to be celebrated. And another source of gratitude, the small wins count too. Right? Even if it's, you know, you checking something off your to-do list for the day, that's a win. We get to celebrate those because of the incremental progress, like that is the name of the game.
So, let's go ahead and start with what's feeling hard right now at this moment. One problem at a time, right? Let's take it one step at a time, one day at a time. And what happens is when we focus on one thing at a time, we tend to be more productive and move through it. So if you want to be able to do 10 different things and your first month in your business, right. Focus on priorities, do one thing at a time and prioritize what's most important. Determine what task, what problem, what goal is your priority right now. And then move on to the next, one at a time, and really stick around. Stick around playing the long game, build a lasting business. We want you to succeed. We want you to be able to create your impact and share your gifts with the world because so many need you. So continue to believe in yourself every single day, surround yourself with other like-minded entrepreneurs. The challenge that you're feeling right now, whatever is feeling hard right now. Somebody else has gone through it. So it's all figure-outable. It's all doable, all fixable. Every single business owner that I know, every entrepreneur, they have felt some sort of self doubts. So those that have succeeded, guess what? They're the ones that kept going. So keep going and be open to change.
Be Open To Change
Be open to pivoting and be open to shifting. I know over the past year, 2020, it was a big year. Lots of changes going on. Lots of, well, actually I guess a lot of nothing because the world shut down with COVID, but a lot of us had to pivot. A lot of us made some pivots in our businesses. A lot of the small businesses in person also made pivots, you know, a lot of in dining and went to take out only and moved into like door dash and Uber eats and things like that, everyone pivoted. So be open to change. Be open to pivoting, be open to shifting and biggest of all, keep going, babe, keep going, keep going. It's so worth it and everything that you're going through right now, it's all figure out-able. I promise that as long as you keep going, everything will work itself out, because it will work out.
So today we have touched on how to shift when you feel like quitting, our biggest business secrets, keep going when things are going hard, when things are feeling hard. It's normal and you've got this. I would love to hear your biggest takeaways today. Feel free to tag me or DM me on Instagram @TheMelissaLin. I am always going to be your biggest cheerleader so you taking the time out of your day to spend with me truly means the world to me. I’ll see you next time.
Topics we cover include:
Everything is Figureoutable
Keep Going
Learn From Your Experiences
Celebrate Your Wins
Be Open To Change
And so much more!
Times to check out:
(8:22) Everything is Figureoutable
(10:24) Keep Going
(15:49) Learn From Your Experiences
(19:33) Celebrate Your Wins
(22:14) Be open to Change
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