... or in bed socks as I recently discovered, but that's a whole other story.
Let me start at the beginning (not of the bed sock story), people start businesses because they love to do whatever they are going into business to do. But when it comes time to actually start a business, there are some handbooks or business plan templates out there to work with, but then you find they don't really work for what YOU imagined for your business.
That's because they are giving you a 'one size fits all' approach, and work on the assumption that all businesses operate the same, even if they are in different industries. Which, let's be real, each business is unique, because as humans we are all unique (insert inspirational quote about 'do your thang').
Now, I'll add here that I've not worked with businesses from the day they started, but I did start my business. And when we all start, we think we can do it all, we've got the idea so we're going to make it happen!
Some people when they start up, know they should talk to an Accountant, maybe get a website built if they don't have the time to fumble it themselves, start a Facebook business page or Instagram page (usually this will be on the platform they personally like to use), and then get to the actual doing of the business. Some people will also think about talking to one of those free business advisors that are out there because, you know, they are free and might help me. But I can promise you, most of those thoughts are coming after someone has 'opened the doors' to their business.
I didn't think about any of those things! When I started I went looking for examples and business models that mirrored what I kind of sort of thought I wanted to do with my business. But as time went on I realised I was picking a bit from here and a bit from there, and over the years have found other bits and pieces to keep my business evolving and improving. This also helps me pick bits and pieces for my clients when we work on their business strategies.
So, what do you do when you've started and reach a point where you can't grow, can't have work life balance and ultimately can't have it all?
My advice is to keep moving forward! Don't backtrack and think you've failed, in business we're going to fail (LOTS!), we're going to change and adapt things, and when the time comes, we're going to at least talk with some experts, consultants, coaches and virtual assistants (VAs) to find out if they can help navigate us from where we are now to where we want to be.
'If you're not failing, you're probably not really moving forward' - John C Maxwell.
For me, that point came when my business was growing at a rapid pace, I was also 6 months pregnant and didn't want to hibernate my business or lose clients while I took a few months off with my son. I talked to my Accountant, which led me to change my business structure from a sole trader to a company 2 years in and I grew from being just little old me, to having an incredible team thanks to the awesome VA community. (Disclaimer - financial advice and business structure for tax purposes advice can only be given by qualified people, do not take financial or tax advice from anyone other than an Accountant, Financial Planner, etc... you know the people I mean, the ones who have qualifications and financial services licences).
It's perfectly normal and actually a very exciting time in business to realise that you're on the move in your own business!
So if you're ready to start talking about moving your business from where you are now, to where you want to be, or if you've got a coach and don't have time to implement their recommendations, let's chat and see how OTA can support you to have it all.
