I regularly talk to entrepreneurs who have also experienced these 2 extremes to develop their business:
1️⃣ Either it's pure testosterone: "work harder and invest hard to grow", "work hard, play hard", and so on.
➡ Result: a few years later, I'm gradually learning that a huge number of them have "burned out" in one way or another (burn-outs, separations, etc.).
2️⃣ Either it's a case of "I make my services/offer available and the world will know what I do naturally", or it's a case of "I make my services/offer available and the world will know what I do naturally".
➡ Result: a few years later, I learn that the business hasn't taken off enough (due to a lack of customers and/or margins that are too low) and that many of these people have given up.
What if there was a third way?
It's a way of growing your business and making a good living out of it, without falling into the endless "more and more" trap that pushes you to constantly expand your team (to surround yourself with more and better people), to take more and more risks (to pay for this team and all the related costs), and so on.
But there are other ways to grow while contributing AND respecting your current needs.
The growth isn't just financial, it can also take place on several other levels:
- The pleasure of contributing (what makes sense to you),
- Life balance (having time for yourself, your partner, your family, etc.)
- Ease of delivering maximum value to customers with minimum effort (because it's a natural fit),
- etc.
This requires asking questions along these lines, such as:
- What can I simplify to reduce my costs while still serving my customers well?
- How can I increase my margins?
- What do I really need to be able to pay myself a salary of X?
- How can I acquire new customers without forcing myself, with an approach that appeals to me?
What have you done recently to move in this direction?
And if you'd like some support to speed up your transition to this third way, just contact me to discuss it.