Dear Founder,
We wrote this love letter for you.
Running a business is a great adventure
Independence, the chance to make a real difference, the perpetual hopeful possibility that there’s something life-changingly great just round the next corner. Running your own business is an amazing adventure. You don’t get that doing what you’re told working 9-5 for someone else.
Optimistic, brave, pioneering, heartfelt, independent business owners, we salute you.
But it’s tough
But there’s a flip side to that. Running your own business is far from easy. And when you started you didn’t realise quite how tough it would be. You were prepared to work hard, that’s not the problem. It’s the self doubt, the money worries and fear that maybe you’re not making the most of the opportunities in front of you that can be crippling.
Doubting, under confident, just-about-holding-it-together people, we know how you feel.
Big ideas and self doubt. Expertise and lack of clarity. Strength and vulnerability. If your confidence swings between ‘I can do this’ to ‘I don’t even know what to say’ in a moment, we get it.
If you have the ability to diagnose and solve a client’s problem at twenty paces but an inability to apply the same rigour or kindness to yourself, you’re our sort of people.
Purpose and problem solving
We love you for your generous spirit and your work ethic – you want to make a real difference for your clients and your slice of the world. Whether you’re selling a service or a product, it’s not just about the money. You get huge satisfaction from solving a client’s problems and making life better in some way.
Profitability
But profitability matters. If you’re not profitable, then what you’re doing is a hobby, not a business. (And an expensive one at that.) You know you owe it to yourself and your people to make the business as profitable as you can – it will mean you can make more of an impact, and it will deliver you more of the independence and freedom that you want in your life.
Too many ideas
Visionary and imaginative, you’re fired up with big ideas, and that’s amazing but it can be a hindrance too. With too many ideas to process, and too many possibilities ahead of you, sometimes you don’t know which routes to progress and which to put on the back burner. There’s a line to walk between being focused and innovating, and sometimes that feels like a tightrope over a really big drop.
When is it the right time to keep to a steady course, and when should you seize the day and embrace the ‘next big thing?’ We know how that feels too.
We respect your expertise and your creativity. You know way more about your subject that than we do. Your take on it is unique. Your experiences have bought you to this point – this set of skills, these understandings, these ways of helping, these stories. Sometimes you find it hard to articulate that, or even to recognise its value.
We see our role in helping you to realise the true value of what you offer, and to find the words to tell the story that will connect with the kinds of clients that make you happy.
Happiness
Happy is a big word for us, and maybe for you too. You want a business that does more than pay the bills and keep you afloat. You want to feel fulfilled, in your zone, exhilarated, relaxed, confident, appreciated, energised, secure, content. You’ll have your own definition of what happiness feels like, and you’d like your business to create the conditions for more of that in your life. Not all the time – you know that’s not possible, life is full of ups and downs – but creating a business that’s emotionally fulfilling is an aim that you take seriously and we share it too.
Open
Lastly we love you for your curiosity and your openness to learning new ideas in new ways. You’re open to being honest about the bad stuff as well as the good, and you’re up for sharing the learning journey with others. You know that the path to building a business you love will be more enjoyable, more meaningful and ultimately more successful if you approach it with an open mind, an open heart and a generous spirit.
Good luck! We love people like you, and we’re with you every step of the way.
With love,
Sharon and Sonja
How we help
If you recognise yourself in this, then you might like the courses we run for business owners and marketers just like you.
Find out more about our content marketing masterclass AKA Pub School
Learn more about our online content marketing masterclass AKA Virtual Pub School
Thanks to Lizzie Everard for the heart image. We love you too!
Every now and then you write a blog that just seems to take the thoughts swimming around in my head, and simply organises them into a readable format.
This is another one of those…
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Thanks David, that’s good to hear. Doing Virtual Pub School, and encouraging you to think about your ideal clients and the shape of the business you want to run, is making us think hard about who we really want to work with too.