Home Business Entrepreneurship
Setting Expectations
When you get started in your home based business, you’re excited, or at least I hope you are! You have big dreams and big expectations. You’re thinking about all the possibilities for your life and what your business will do for you.
The freedom of time and finances like you hear about others enjoying may even keep you awake at night as your mind parades through the days ahead with visions of what your life will be like when you start generating that income.
And well you should!
I have found there’s no greater joy in field of working than for yourself! Being in control of your life, your time, your finances and your choices/options! The rewards of staying the course have definitely paid off for me and they can for you too!
I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone who truly believes they desire more than a boss orchestrating the quality and lifestyle of another.
The things you want my friend is all in your hands.
It’s in the decisions you make daily.
It’s in your thoughts and what you focus on.
I can help guide you through these things as we stay in touch.
And… I’m excited for you too! I’m a cheerleader for the self-employed, the freedom fighters and the rebels who say, “I can’t be chained!”
I’m excited about you going after what you want and letting nothing get in your way. I’m excited to watch you grow and start living the life you want.
This is why this article and information is so important to digest and understand. It really is!
Because when you can look past all the hype in the home business industry, you can then put your entrepreneur hat on, stand tall, and start putting one foot in front of the other on the journey of a lifetime.
- A journey that leads to everything you want in life my friend.
- A journey that will grow you into the best you, the most powerful you, the most amazing you, that others will respect, admire and be inspired by.
- A journey that will change thousands of lives by you changing yours because of the person you will become in the process of achieving your goals,
- A journey that is yours, yet wrapped in the greatest friendships you’ll ever know.
Having said all that, I want to share with you some very basic, foundational expectations so you can set yourself up for success. So put your entrepreneurial hat on, feel empowered and let’s talk about a few things.
THE RIGHT EXPECTATIONS
Put Your Entrepreneur Hat On
You want to approach your home based business as a REAL business rather than a network of emotions that run you out energy, focus and enthusiasm after the first couple of weeks which is simple to do if you don’t have the right expectations.
It’s my hope to help you stay full steam ahead and to understand the process of building your business, both internally (in your head) and externally in your actions.
Your home based business is not to be taken lightly. It’s the ONE endeavor in your life that will give you the freedom you seek. It’s not something to put at the bottom of your ‘to do’ list. You will get out of it exactly what you put into it.
You know, I hear lots of people say they tried a home based business in the past and it “didn’t work“. In reality, the individual didn’t do the work or spend the money and time on educating himself/herself on how to market the business or did do that but didn’t implement at all or long enough to get the desired results!
Your business is not a lottery ticket! It’s not a free ride to sit on the couch and watch reruns of I Love Lucy and think money is gonna flow!
If you truly desire to have a successful home based business, then you must put on an entrepreneur hat and start acting the part!
The Foundation Of Your Business
You know that journey I referenced above? It’s a journey that everyone wants to start, but only a few every finish. Why?
Because they never did the foundational work or they started, and then stopped.
Your foundational work is like building a house on sand. If the foundation isn’t strong, when the winds come, the rain pours down, the storms rise up, the house will cave in. Even as children through the story of the 3 Little Pigs, we learn that building a strong house will stand the test of those who want to come against us.
So what is this foundational work I’m talking about?
It’s the mindset.
It’s working on yourself harder than you ever have in your life.
What I mean is this:
=== You have limited beliefs based on past failures or ridicule or rejection that you may not even realize you have. They’ve got to go.
=== You have worries about what others may think of your new journey. They have to go.
=== You have insecurities that others won’t want to buy your products, work with you or otherwise suggest you’re not good enough. They have to go.
=== You have fears of failure, of success even, of making mistakes or looking foolish and getting embarrassed. They have to go.
=== And the crazy thing is you may not think you have any of these things… but deep inside, they reside and the secret to success is being able to acknowledge them and face them head on.
The mind is super powerful. It will make or break you. So make up your mind right now, that you will work on yourself and all the things that can sabotage your success.
I wrote an article about a 30/30/30 challenge to help you breakthrough the mental game…. read it here. I share more about how to start this personal growth process.
The foundational work is imperative to your success and guess what?
It’s not something you EVER finish! You will start your foundational work and then build on it your whole life.
If you will commit to building your foundation and then staying the course and never letting up, you’ll find that your entrepreneurial journey will be so enjoyable, even through frustrating and fearful days, and you will have the success you dream about this moment.
Prioritize (Serving vs. Selling)
Just about every new entrepreneur I’ve talked to has a priority of making money and making it NOW… or yesterday is even better, right? Even I did that when I first started! I signed up to be an affiliate for a company and my mind was ONLY on making money.
Now you may be saying, “Duh Debbie… that’s why you started a business, wasn’t it? To make money?”
Well, as I began to grow up as an entrepreneur, I discovered it’s not about the money. It’s about what money can do for you. And the way to get the money isn’t about trying shove products down people’s throats. That’s not the focus! And it took me about 10 months to figure that out!
It’s about providing a solution to a problem and giving people what they want. Plain and simple.
This is through awareness, giving value, building trust, listening to the needs of someone and providing that. It’s about servant leadership. It’s about asking what you can do for others rather than “hey buy this because I need to pay my mortgage.”
Make your priority about serving others. Wake up each morning and ask yourself who you can help that day. When you do this, the money comes.
Start At The Beginning
When you read a book, you start at the beginning and you don’t skip pages.
When you follow a recipe, you start at the beginning and you don’t skip steps.
When you start anything, you start at the beginning and you don’t skip steps.
Where is the beginning of your business?
Most of the people I work with in the home business arena are those who are not interested in creating their own products, so they choose a product that someone else has created and they offer that in their business. This is called affiliate marketing, also called network marketing or even MLM.
It’s an awesome business model and you’ll find the most wealthy and influential people are involved or recommend these models as a stream of income. Donald Trump has his own network marketing company.
So, let’s assume you do the same for the purpose of this article and you decide to market someone else’s product. You join a network marketing, MLM or direct sales company.
After you join your company of choice, make sure you take the time to start at the beginning. What I mean is this.
1) Go through the company website and get very familiar with where everything is at. Click on every button and gadget and see what’s what.
2) Get connected to any groups on social media where others in your company hang out at. They almost always will have a Facebook page these days.
3) Find out when the company (and your sponsor’s team) offers live training. These will be via conference calls, Google hangouts, live events and webinars. Make sure you make it a priority to be present on them.
4) Watch your ‘first steps’ training. All companies offer this kind of training. It’s usually recorded so you can watch/listen over and over at your convenience.
5) Do what the training is telling you to do! Commit to be an implementor, not just a student.
6) Buy all the products so you know what you’re selling in your store.
WARNING: With these 6 things I just listed, here’s the first opportunity to fall off the wagon!
Look at that list again… I want to help you be aware of your actions! I call this my “Go Figure” list. t’s a response to the six I listed above.
1) Most people will not explore the entire site and as a result, hunt down their sponsor for the “where is” questions that are not necessary. Go figure!
2) Most people will not connect. Go figure!
3) Most people will attend 1-3 virtual trainings and then stop attending. Most never get to live offline events. Go figure!
4) Most people will never watch the videos in terms of getting started. Rather, they want to hunt down their sponsor to ask, ” What do I do now?” Go figure!
5) Most people never do any work. NONE. To not implement is like gathering all the ingredients for a recipe, reading the recipe, and then never making it. Go figure!
6) Most people never buy the company’s largest product offering, but rather dip their toes and buy the lowest. Go figure! Would you open a bakery and only offer chocolate cupcakes? No!
So, after reading that… Who Does That Make Sense To?
Again, put your entrepreneurial hat ON and start thinking independently!
You want a business you can work from home that will give you the dreams, the lifestyle, the freedom you want. Okay, great! So position yourself to do that! Get the biggest package your company has to offer. Be willing to invest in your personal growth and your business tools, resources and products.
If you were going to open a brick and mortar, wouldn’t you buy everything you need? Of course you would! Your home business is absolutely, positively no different. Again, it comes back to treating and respecting your business as a business.
Be Patient With Yourself and the Process
Can you pat yourself on the back for the small things? If not, start doing that. Be patient with your growth. You are learning a new career, a new way of life, new concepts, a new business language, a new everything.
The biggest mistake I see are newbies thinking they have to all of a sudden know everything and be some super guru. Don’t put that kind of pressure on yourself. It’s no fun, it’s stressful and totally not necessary.
Surely you didn’t come into your business with the attitude, “I’ll give this 30 days and if I haven’t made money, I’ll quit”. If so, quit now and get it over with! I’m going to assume you are serious about your lifestyle change and therefore, have come into this with the ‘can do no matter how long it takes’ attitude. Therefore, learn at your pace, but be consistent in your application and implementation of what you’re learning.
I wrote an article on being patient with yourself if you’d like to know more about this.
Take Responsibility for Yourself
Your success is YOUR responsibility.
Throughout your journey, you’ll have systems, communities, sponsors, mentors and coaches who can help you but practice looking within yourself for success. Your sponsor is responsible for their success and is busy building their business.
Sponsors are not your bosses. And likewise, as you begin to build your business and become a sponsor, you are not responsible for their success.
This is such a big issue in the home based business arena and it stems from being conditioned to think like an employee. Employees ask their boss what to do and how to do it. They ask permission to take off work, to take lunch, to leave for the day. They trade time for dollars.
Entrepreneurship is a different animal. It’s a free spirit. You must always remind yourself that YOU alone are responsible for your actions, your thoughts, your work ethics, your education, your decisions, your approach, your time, your focus, all of which leads to everything you get/want in life.
SUMMARY OF EXPECTATIONS
I could write a book about getting started in business, but wanted to give you a few basic principles to help you with the first steps and expectations. In this article, I shared with you the following:
1) How important it is to come to business with excitement, certainly, but also with work ethic as you put your entrepreneurial hat on.
2) How important it is to build a strong foundation through personal growth and that this is a lifetime commitment, not just a temporary gig.
3) How important it is to get your priority straight in terms of how to attract the money. It’s more important to lead your mind with how you can serve others rather than how you can pay your mortgage. The money will come through serving
and offering solutions to people’s problems. All products solve a problem.
4) How important it is to start at the beginning. Don’t skip steps, follow directions and follow through.
5) How important it is to be patient with yourself. You’re in this for the long haul. Growth and go at your pace but be consistent. You’ll get there.
6) How important it is to know that you know that you know… that your success is your responsibility. Being a mature and serious entrepreneur is taking responsibility for one’s self.
I hope this has helped you in setting the right expectations as you begin your home business journey. I know for me, when I know what to expect, I handle situations better. I’m hoping that this article takes some of the pressure off and gives you a fresh perspective on your business. Because then it becomes fun.
I wish you all the best in your journey. There will be times you fall down, but your strength comes in getting back up and staying in the game. In fact, read my article on how success and failure go hand in hand. Embrace it!
Have an awesome day!
And hey… leave me a comment about your thoughts and ideas. I love to hear from you!
Debbie Turner
Your No Boss Lifestyle Coach
PS: If you want to know what I’m doing to create a full time income… part time, visit my website here.
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