Maintaining your sanity, focus and reason for being in business is a challenge that at some stage you will face. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not wishing this upon you, far from it. My motive is more as a friend giving you advice that will prepare you for what is ahead.
If I’m a little late to the party and these feelings have already arrived it will be OK I promise, but not without change. If you haven’t arrived at this point pay attention to this article, as sadly at some stage most lose their mojo in business. It’s normal, you’re normal, you just need change.
So let’s get started…
1. Investigate all that contributes to these feelings. Are they founded or is your imagination getting the better of you? Be honest with yourself as clearly it’s hurting you right now. We need to stop this.
2. Stop! Stop everything and slow it down! If the business feels overwhelming it might be the time to stop the clock. Not forever, just a day or two at the most. Let’s be practical – you may be in the thick of it right now. More days than one or two maybe too fanciful. All you need is peace, recovery and often sleep.
3. A problem shared is a problem halved! Too many travel alone in business for too long! You need to be listened to, by ears and a mind you trust. Seek the right person, I’m always here, only ever a click or call away. Distance is so short thanks to the internet.
4. Remember it’s your business and you control and have the permission to be the master of all within. Even the clients you serve. Break the business down into the good bits and bad bits. Let’s start with the good; protect the good, it might even hold the clues to what you need to be doing more of. Then, the bad bits need to be eliminated just like all well executed operations; carefully and sometimes at the right pace. This is not about throwing the toys out of the pram. This is about protecting you and all your previous hard work.
If you don’t feel ready, start getting ready, all businesses need managing. You need to manage it rather than it manage you. The moment you decide to manage the businesses challenges it changes everything. It changes you, the challenge feels rather liberating in fact it can bring smile factor.
Throw your energy always at the solutions not problems, the problems will just drain you, feeling depressed is never good for a creative. Your creativity is designed to solve problems so get solving! You solve problems all the time through your lens, see your challenges like creating a picture. This will be far more liberating for you.
A game changer can be the design of the business, have you got it right? Is the business needing a re-design?
It should work around your life and making you happy and of course the money too! Happiness can’t pay the bills, yet happiness keeps you going, the stuff that you leap out of bed for is the what makes you happy.
Rules…
Design the business around your life
Make sure you’re creating what makes you happy. This will excite you.
You need to earn a living! Make the money
Create a game plan…
1. Create new rules of trading
2. Become the guardian of your lifestyle and what you do with your time
3. Have a weekly agenda; if you don’t have one, ask to borrow mine willingly shared
4. Surround yourself with contributors
5. Be true to yourself
6. Say no more to all that’s holding you back
7. Remember the bad phases do not last forever if you take control change
8. Wake up each day and gift yourself the day to shoot what makes you happy
9. Plan a plan no more drifting, if alone join the Aspire Knowledge Gallery
10. Smile and be giddy though out the madness of grown up life!
If you follow my Knowledge Gallery, you already know I hold the job of your mentor as you had a ‘Situation Vacant’!
Best wishes
Catherine, Your mentor
Photography by Jenny Heyworth, mentor on the Little Rascals course at Aspire Photography training Photographer at White Feather & Co.
