Are You in the Wrong Business?

If you’ve left a career to start your own business, you’ve made what likely amounts to one of the biggest decisions of your life, next to getting married or divorced, or having children. That decision is not made lightly, I know. It’s a frightening yet exhilarating time when most people think you’re crazy, and you have moments where you wonder if they’re right!

Fast forward to a few years down the road. You’ve gotten past the early phase where your number one concern is getting clients and making enough money to make it worthwhile.

So you’ve made it past that point, and what happens next? You may feel as if you’ve fallen into a predictable routine, except that you can’t seem to break past the plateau you seem to be anchored upon. No amount of muscling through or trying umpteen new ways of doing things seems to work. You start to get tired of doing the same things with the same type of client.

I can describe this so clearly, because I hear this all of the time. And because I felt that way at times, when I mainly did corporate consulting in the early years of my business. You’ve basically built a business that starts to feel like the job you left. But you feel trapped because you’ve now invested your life, heart and soul into getting to this point.

If you feel this way, know that you aren’t trapped. In fact, you hold the keys to releasing yourself, and the good news is, the decision is usually nowhere near the scale of the major ones you’ve had to make up until now.

When I provide small business consulting services to people who find themselves at this point, I always go back to the basics. Here are some things we discuss together to explore whether the business needs a slight adjustment, or merits a complete redo:

• What matters most to you?
• Why did you want to start a business in the first place?
• Who do you like to work with?
• What do you love to do?
• What would you do all day to make you feel giddy at the thought of actually being paid for it?

This may seem a little soft coming from someone who specializes in diagnosing what’s working and what’s not in people’s businesses, and strategizing all areas of the business to make it work better. But here’s why I LOVE working with small business owners who want to design a business that feels good to them and makes money: they are emotionally invested in their businesses. This means there is little or no line between what makes the person tick, and what makes the business thrive. So before we can get to the hard core business and marketing strategies around target market, pricing and packaging, best marketing approaches, and the how-to’s of marketing and selling, we need to look inside first! This is where the magic begins (and it is also why I love working so closely with entrepreneurs).

So if you are feeling a little lost in the business you built, go back to some of the basics of you. Allow yourself to explore if the reason the business doesn’t fit may be because it was built on the old you. Starting your own business involves incredible personal growth and challenges you in ways you can’t imagine when you’re not there yet, so it’s 100% normal to feel as if you’ve outgrown your business. Once you get a handle on what’s missing, you can look to your business with a more honest perspective and see whether you want to adjust it or transition into something completely new. Most of the time, there are assets (such as your brand, your contact list, your network) that allow you to transition in a natural, evolutionary way, rather than a sudden severing. Make sure you don’t abandon what’s good without at least looking at it clearly, and if you lack the perspective on this, get an outside opinion.

Whatever you decide, remember that it’s your business and your life, and it is entirely possible to build it in a way that makes you money, and brings you much joy.

Want to use this article? You can as long as you include this footer: Sherri Garrity is the Chief Corporate Fugitive and creator of the Five Keys Success System™  for ex-corporate employees and aspiring entrepreneurs who want to break free from the confines of their corporate experience and live outside of the ordinary. The Corporate Fugitive system demystifies the business of setting up, managing, marketing and growing a successful and extraordinary business. Visit www.corporatefugitive.com for information and step-by-step resources to take you from overwhelmed employee to extraordinary entrepreneur.