Feeling Foggy? Seeing Through the Uncertainty as an Entrepreneur.
One of the primary questions I field from new entrepreneurs is how can you be so confident about your ability to earn income tomorrow. How can you get rid of the fog?
The “fog” is the uncertainty and lack of clarity that entrepreneurs may experience about the future. One of the primary questions I field from new entrepreneurs is how can you be so confident about your ability to earn income tomorrow. Operating in the fog creates stress and anxiety, similar to driving a car when visibility is extremely limited. If you can only see 3 feet down the road ahead of you, you don’t know what’s going to happen. You may hit someone. Someone may hit you.
It is the same when operating in the metaphorical “fog” as an entrepreneur. When you don’t feel confident that your business has a future or can’t predict where your business is headed, you are prone to feel unnecessarily stressed and anxious about bumping into obstacles as you attempt to operate your business.
How can I get rid of the fog?
First, you must have an inspiring destination in mind that you are driving towards in your business. It is easier to persevere through foggy or rainy driving conditions when you know there is a cozy fireplace and hot cocoa or a birthday party for your best friend waiting for you at your destination. In the same way, you will naturally persevere through more adverse conditions in your business if you have set a motivating and positive goal for what your business will achieve. This goal could be a level of income ($) you wish to generate, a number of clients you wish to serve each month, or another equally measurable end output of your business efforts.
Then you must practice executing on simple actions that drive you towards your goal. The work it takes to get you to your goal can be defined by a few key performance indicators (KPIs). Business is simple (not easy), and far too often entrepreneurs turn a simple two-step into a complex salsa dance. A few daily activities ultimately determine the revenue generation of most entrepreneurs:
How many people are you (or your systems) going to make aware of your business today? Or invite to learn about your value proposition?
How many people will you provide the opportunity to make an educated buying decision about your products and services?
How many referrals or repeat customers are you generating daily?
When you set your sights on a motivating goal and know what you should be doing to get there, the fog, fear, and distress begin to disappear. If you know your destination, your confidence begins to grow. If you know your KPIs, your results become predictable. You can better gauge whether you’re doing something wrong, or perhaps not doing enough.
Reaching your business goal becomes akin to turning on a shower knob. If you want more goal achievement, turn up your KPIs.
Are you looking for more ideas about how to reduce stress, anxiety, and distress along your entrepreneurship journey? Hear from The Grow Givers Project team in our article titled “Overcoming Stress, Anxiety, and Depression in Entrepreneurship.”
Overcoming Stress, Anxiety, & Depression in Entrepreneurship
No one is immune to the stressors and anxieties of entrepreneurship and daily life. We all get our turn with negative situations like haters, negative environments, mishaps, death, disability, financial challenges, closed doors, or experiential deficits.
The world around us wasn’t built by the exceptional. It was built by everyday people who were willing to do exceptional things. Go build something.
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