I should write that promotional email.
I should post twice a day in Facebook groups.
I should keep pushing through even though I want to have lunch in the sun and relax for 30 minutes.
Sound familiar? There are so many "shoulds" when it comes to business. We're so inundated with advice from books, features and articles (just like this one -- sorry not sorry) that it's easy to lose our way in business, particularly when we're starting out.
There's one main reason this is happening to you.
You're trying to find a shortcut.
In the spirit of saving time, I'll give it to you straight -- there isn't one. The only result you'll receive from absorbing everyone else's "How To Guide" is that you'll end up doing it their way.
And yeppers, I'm saying this from experience. After two years in business, I've realized one big fat truth -- I can do whatever the hell I want. I can say what I want. Work when I want. And work how I want.
And you can, too. If you've fallen off track and feel totally confused with what you're doing and why, here are some prompts to get you started:
- Why did you start your business?
- Who are you here to serve?
- What are your goals?
- What feels good to you? (Do more of this.)
- What makes you feel like you're turning into someone you don't recognize? (Do less of this.)
If this is resonating, I'm going to make an assumption -- you're less than 12 months into your online business. And that's all good, it wasn't too long ago that I was in that very same place and I remember it well. I remember side-hustling my ass off at my day job and feeling totally out of whack because while my brain wanted to focus on building my empire, I had a team who constantly gave me tasks: "Cheryl fix the printer. Cheryl order catering. Cheryl book a meeting room."
There are numerous reasons why I worked a day job as I built my business -- explained at length in this HuffPost piece -- and it was a smart decision. But it also played into the should-ing phenomenon.
Could I be an assistant by day and an entrepreneur by night?
I felt like I was living a double life.
It made me incredibly susceptible to taking advice from those who had attained the elusive "full time in my business" status. Because they knew what was best, right?
Wrong. They knew what worked for them. But it didn't work for me. Of course it didn't -- I was taking scheduling advice from a mom of two. Look, if you're a mom, you're a hero in my eyes and that sentiment quadruples if you also run a business. But that's not my reality. I'm in a fortunate and blessed position to have no dependents, meaning I have total control over my time and I don't have to work around anyone else.
And if I want to take a day off on a Thursday and work all day on Sunday? I can do that.
Remember you are the boss. You make the decisions in your business, regardless of whether you're starting out or if you have several years under your belt.
But for the love of all things holy, it's time for you to stop should-ing all over your business.
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