Two weeks is a long time for three teenagers to be out of school. We've rented movies, played board games, video games, had friends over, had parties, celebrated Christmas, went to the movies, went to parties, played cards and there is still a week left until school starts again. So...I bought a 1000 piece puzzle. Working on this puzzle is reminding me of starting my business. Looking at the 1000 puzzle pieces scattered all over the table is what it felt like when I first started my business. So many options to choose from with so many different directions I could take. Do I start with the edge pieces and make the frame first or should I start with the dolphin in the middle? Decisions, decisions. Should I do a little "research" first and start sorting the edge pieces from the other pieces?
Like starting my business do I just jump right in and try to get that first client or do I first work on the "frame" (the business plan). So many ways to go. I could join online networking groups to meet others doing what I'm doing and learn from them. But there are so many. Which one should I join? VANA, IVAA, the VA Revolution... or maybe all three? I could hire a coach or sign up for VA Training. I could spend months researching the Virtual Assistant industry online or I could learn from someone who has already done the research and get the Virtual Toolkit. I could read blogs and purchase ebooks. Do I need to start a newsletter? This list of options goes on and on. One could get stuck in the research stage and never get to the actual starting your business stage.
Starting your own business is a lot like starting a 1000 piece puzzle - overwhelming. Think how many rejections you get before that one successful yes! Those first two pieces that fit together (that first client) feels so good you have hope that maybe one day all the pieces will fit together and you will have a beautiful picture (a successful, thriving business).
Happy New Year!
4 comments:
What a great analogy!! Good luck with the puzzle.
It takes one piece at a time.
Wow. 1000 pieces. That's a little overwhelming! Can we all pretend business ownership is one of those 20 piece puzzles made for little kids with really big, obvious pieces?
Yvonne is right, it's an amazing analogy...Happy New Year!
Jen - I wish business ownership could be one of those 20 piece puzzles. Unfortunately, many people believe it is and that is why so many businesses fail with in the first year. When I was writing the post I actually thought about saying it was more like one of the 5000 piece puzzles.
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