Are you a bit stuck in your business growth?
- either working with the same clients you have been working with for years
- in a transition a bit longer than you had planned on (without clients)
- simply can’t figure out how to land ‘ideal’ clients?
If you just answered yes to any of these three questions there is a good chance it’s time to get real about your virtual support business!
When chatting with virtual support professionals I am always so surprised at how many feel they should not really have to ‘build’ a business. As if the clients are supposed to just show up and beg them to work for them. Often the resistance to market, sell, promote themselves (or services) is so strong that they literally shut down in their ability to grow.
In my mind I am thinking, ‘what is going on here… this is business, you must market, promote, sell, how else does success happen,’ then I am reminded that because the product is the actual person, they must first deal with their own sense of worth or value before they can begin to see how to develop their business. Essentially: they must develop themselves then move into developing their business! This, I totally get 😉
Promoting myself has never really been an ‘issue’ for me (lol those of you who know me, know I love to talk)…. but there are MANY other personal development lessons, tests and obstacles I have had to be purposeful in hurdling to ensure I continued to grow my business and develop what I truly wanted from my business. On several occasions, I have had to have a pep talk with myself that sounded something like: “it is time to get real about my business AND get real about who I want to be as a business owner”, for me this looked like:
- becoming more disciplined in my time management ensuring I was successful in accomplishing not only what my clients needed from me but what my business needed from me (time investment)
- taking a training or getting coaching around something I wasn’t as efficient in as I needed to be (financial investment)
- even making changes in core characteristics of my personality or habits, likability plays a part in connecting with people 😉 (personal investment)
Regardless of the area time, money or personal there is always an investment that needs to be made when the decision is to get real about my business.
When I say REAL, I mean: get clear, get purposeful, get committed, make the hard decisions on what I must do to go to the next level and then put an action plan to ensure I can get there. Every step, I have had to get to this place of being ‘real’ with myself and what I want before I could move into the next level of business development.
When I am chatting with people about their business and I find them resistant to the development or investments needed to go to the next level I am reminded that not everyone enjoys the journey of getting ‘real’. Some want what the real folks have but don’t want to do the work (personal, sacrificing, time-dependent work) that the others have done! I love this quote:
“Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t”
To be successful in building your virtual business there is a resolve needed of being willing to do, not only what others won’t, but more specifically what you do not want to do 😉 That way you can push through those uncomfortable moments of promoting yourself or selling your services. This is what it is to start getting REAL with your commitment to what you want your business to be. What you are willing to do to make it what you want it to be and what you are willing to invest to ensure you have all you need to see it become that!
My question to you today is ARE YOU READY? It’s time to get real about your virtual business!