What did your friends and family say to you when you told them you were off to start your own business?

And how did it affect the way you went about creating your business?

When I first started telling colleagues and friends of my plans to start my own life coaching business back in 2004 [this is where I started 5 years ago], I remember all too well the sucking of the teeth and the “you’re very brave” comments.

Everyone around me told that going freelance and becoming self-employed was all very well but beware the feast and famine.  Working for yourself may give you control and freedom to do what you want, but clients come and go like a roller-coaster ride.

The first few months, I would have to spend all my time marketing. I would then get some clients and then the work would dry up. And I have to do a few more months of hard marketing all over again.

But the reason I decided to start my own coaching business was because I wanted to work part-time.  I wanted to create a new career around my children’s school terms so that I worked when they were at school and took my foot off the peddle when the holidays came around.

And if I was to be faced with a feast and famine roller-coaster ride, this just wouldn’t work.  I wanted to be in control of when and where I worked in the business and didn’t want to fall in to this trap that was being described to me.

So, although I listened to their advice and kind thoughts, I secretly challenged these opinions and decided that it didn’t have to be that way.

Five months later and I was contemplating going back to corporate life.  They were right!  It was tough out there and my marketing was getting me nowhere.  I hadn’t even experienced the feast – it was just famine all the way!

I had hit rock bottom and fortunately the only way was up.  Which is exactly what I decided to do!

I am sharing this story because I firmly believe that it doesn’t matter how great your business idea is, how brilliant your business plan is or how unique your product is – if you haven’t got the right business attitude, there is every chance you’ll fail.

Sounds dramatic, doesn’t it?

But let’s flip this over the other way.

It doesn’t matter how competitive the marketplace is, how average your business idea is or how inadequate your business plan is – if you have got the right business attitude, there is every chance you’ll succeed.

And probably succeed beyond your expectations, too.

Give me a great business idea or a person with a great business attitude and I’ll put my money on the attitude any day.

So my tips for you today is to surround yourself with people who support you and believe in you, be clear on your “big picture” and go for gold.

Because with the right business attitude, you’ll win every time!

Got a comment to make?

How would you describe the “right” business attitude to have to make your business a success? Leave a comment here with your ideas.

Earlier this week I found myself driving round a roundabout 5 times.

My sat nav was telling me to take one exit and yet my gut instinct was telling me to take the exit before.  I was running late for a networking event that I was speaking at and rather than risk being even later, I decided to follow my sat nav’s advice and ignore my gut instinct.

I should have followed my gut!

My sat nav, like all good sat nav systems, took me the long route round, sticking to the bigger roads.

The good news I wasn’t too late but I did make me question why I decided to base a decision on an electronic device rather than my own instinct.

Our gut instinct is an incredibly powerful force. And especially so in our own businesses.

Our gut instinct can kick in when we meet someone for the first time at a networking event.  You can’t quite put your finger on it, but there was something about the way they said your name, you didn’t like.

Our gut instinct can kick in when you speak to a prospective client for the first time.  It may have been the way they answered the phone or the off-the-cuff comment about their business partner that just made you squirm in your seat slightly.

When you get these gut instincts it’s important to sit up and take notice.

You don’t need to act on it there and then.  I certainly wouldn’t recommend you make your excuses and hide in the toilets for the remainder of that networking event. Or complain of static on the line and put the phone down on your prospective client.

But listen carefully to what your gut is telling you.

If the person you met at that networking event approaches you the next week with a business opportunity – think carefully and remember that initial reaction you had.  Is this someone you can trust and do business with?

If the prospective client becomes a client – perhaps ensure you have a clear objective and agenda for working together so that there is no room for any misunderstanding to happen.

Just because you may be hungry for business and desperate to generate some cashflow, don’t just take what is offered to you there and then.

Trust your intuition.

You could just end up going round and round a roundabout, confused on which exit to take.

Got a comment to make?

What are your thoughts about acting on your gut instinct in business? Leave a comment here with your ideas.

Are you feeling that everything that you do in your business is hard work at the moment?

You wake up in the morning thinking “I’ve got to get some writing done and get my newsletter out” and sigh heavily as you drag your body up and out of bed.

You stand under the shower going over your mental to-do-list, not noticing that your heart beat has started to get a little faster and signs of stress are showing as your shoulders tense up.

You start to get cross with yourself as you make that first cup of tea because you didn’t get half what you meant to do the day before.  You even feel guilty because you shouldn’t have crashed out in front of the TV last night and instead should have worked past midnight catching up with your accounts.

There’s a lot to do when you run your own business.  And especially so when your diary is quieter than you feel it should be. 

If you’re not working with your clients, you are spending your time trying to find new clients.  And when you are not trying to find new clients, you are keeping up with your admin and trying to empty your inbox.

OK! Stop already!!

Running your own business is hard work but it shouldn’t be that kind of hard work.

Sounds like you need to put the breaks on and take stock.

You see, when you fill your head full of “should be doing thats” and “got no clients” thoughts, your whole attitude to business changes.  Business becomes really hard work.

Do you remember the buzz you had when you first decided to go in to business for yourself?  It felt a little scary, no doubt, but you dared yourself and thought “let’s do it!”

Do you remember the passion and inspiration you felt when you worked all the hours you had, in between the day job or the family, but it didn’t matter how little time you had. You always made the time.

You were on fire!

So, if you had this fire once, what has happened to it?  Why has the passion gone and the drudgery of ticking off to-do’s taken over your life?

You need to get back to the place where life and work is synchronised.  The juggling balls are flying all over the place but they all land in the right place, all of the time.

If you want to get your passion back so that business stops being such hard work, try one of these simple strategies:

1. Success Diary:  At the end of each day, write down 2 or 3 positive things that have happened.  It may have been an out-of-the-blue call from a potential new client or securing a big contract.  It doesn’t matter how big or small it i; start writing down your achievements every day.

2. Read yesterday’s successes:  As you start your working day, remind yourself that you are achieving and that good things are happening in your business.  Stop beating yourself up on what you haven’t done and start believing that you can make great things happen.

3. Ask for what you want:  If you want a new client to call you up, say out loud “a new client is going to call me today”.  Smile while you are saying this. Really believe that it can happen.  And call me when it does! I love it when the universe gives out what we ask for

4. Start the day with a thank you: You just can’t start the day in a bad, stressed-out mood when you decide to be thankful for what you have already.  I dare you test this out!

5. Remember your passions:  Stick to what you love to do. If you hate doing your accounts, there are bookkeepers out there who can do this for you. If you love to stand up in front of an audience, why are you getting stressed about writing new articles and not out finding more speakig opportunities?  If you focus your marketing activities on the skills that you love to use, then your marketing will always be a fun and enjoyable part of your week.

I hope that one or more of these suggestions helps you today because I want you to have fun in what you do. And the more fun you have in your working week makes all that hard work much easier to do.

How do you handle the times when business is hard work?  Take a second and submit a comment below.  Your thoughts and ideas are much appreciated.