I’ve noticed recently that I’ve been feeling a lot of “have to’s” in business. I have to do this event. I have to pitch for more speaking gigs. I have to…
Have to is a trigger for me that lets me know I’m not doing business my way. When you have a job, you have to follow the rules and processes the way the company has laid out. The beauty of being an entrepreneur is that we get to create our way of doing business. And when I start thinking in have to’s, it’s time to make some changes.
There are certain rules of business. You have to sell. You have to market. You have to build processes. But there are many ways to sell. May ways to market. And many different types of processes. Whenever I slip into have to’s, I’ve stopped asking myself “How do I want to accomplish this need in a way that really works for me and makes me happy?” It’s such an important question if you want more joy in running your business!
A couple of weeks ago, a past client reached out to ask me a question. Because of the success of their YouTube channel, she is getting a lot of requests to mentor and coach. She doesn’t particularly want to mentor and coach so she called to ask me how much she should charge for a one hour session. My answer was, “One million dollars because you will absolutely hate doing it!” If you don’t want to do something, you don’t have to just because people ask you to. So instead of figuring out an hourly rate for something she didn’t want to do, we thought of ways that she can fulfill those requests, while maintaining what she values most, time with her family, flexibility and freedom. Instead of one-hour individual appointments, she is creating a course that answers the questions she gets from others that can be sold and delivered through automation. It fulfills the need in the business in a way she wants to do business.
When I was just starting my business, I knew that I loved to speak. I knew that I wanted to speak. I also knew that I had a newborn, an 18 month old, and three little elementary children. I felt like I had to leave my house and drive to go do speaking gigs. But it didn’t really work for my situation. So instead of doing it because I felt like I had to, I got creative. I started doing webinars and a radio show. It allowed me to fulfill my desire, but I did it differently than most people who consider themselves speakers.
What do you feel like you have to do in business? And why does it feel like a rule? I’ve observed in life that we have a tendency to look at successful people, observe a portion of what they do, and create rules to live by. I did it with parenting and marriage as a young wife and mother. My stepmom made lunch for everyone each day. So I created a rule that I had to make lunch for every member of my family, each day. My Grandma was a great seamstress and made quilts and blankets for each of her grandchildren. I felt like I had to do the same. But my value doesn’t lie in quilts and sandwiches. I just needed to spend some more time figuring out how I wanted to leave my legacy. I spent the first few years following other people’s rules before I really settled into my own pattern. And once I did, it was so much more fulfilling.
I encourage you to find your way in business! Get creative. Really think about your values and how you want to do business!