Why Fear Is Actually An Entrepreneur's Best Friend (And Other Lessons I Learned From My Subscription Box Launch)
I've been working on the Bloom Beautifully box since November, when a casual comment from my blog strategy consultant got me thinking about what I thought women really needed. I put my head down, spent a ton of money on pizza in lieu of cooking dinner and launched my new business in mid-January.It's been officially one week in business and I'm so exhausted. Honestly, I'm writing this blog post and then I'm actually going to leave the house for a couple of hours. (Because I can't promote self-care and not practice good self-care while building a self-care business. Duh. Makes no sense.)But I woke up with a lot on my mind so I figured why not share it. Maybe it will help someone (the main reason why I write anything.)Here are a few revelations I've had in the past week as I launched my third new business in the past five years.
1) When your dream is just an idea, it's so easy to dream big and plot out your world domination when it's just you and a notepad.
The real test comes after you launch, and the execution is all on YOU. You must be prepared to sweat and worry and try new things and fail at those new things before you can say, "Ahh, I got it!" I've been sweating and worrying and trying new things and I can see it is paying off.
2) Your friends might not be your ideal customers.
Can I say it again? Your friends might be not be your ideal customers. Do not take it personally when people who say they will buy/support your business later don't. It is not personal. Your job is to figure out who your customers are and get them on your team.That's it. I feel fortunate that some of my friends have actually done what they said they'd do and they purchased a box. But for the ones who didn't? I am not thinking about it one way or another. The fact is, there are hundreds of thousands of women who fit my ideal customer profile. I'm prepared to do what I have to do to get in front of them—via social media, conferences, email marketing, one-on-one conversations, all of that.
3) Be ready to do the things you are not yet ready to do.
Entering small business competitions, hiring a fulfillment center to package my boxes, presenting at national conferences about my business --- these are all things I was prepared to do in 2017 but now I'm looking to see how I can accomplish that THIS YEAR.I keep seeing this quote float around: "Set a goal so big that you can't achieve it until you grow into the person who can." That has been resonating with me the past two months. I wasn't ready. I know this now. But the good thing is, I'm ready to do it afraid, to do it until I get it right. This is my "Year of Yes."
4) Fear is actually my best friend.
The single greatest lesson is that I do not run from feeling scared. I don't know if it's been my year of therapy or what, but now I'm more comfortable asking myself the hard questions.One thing that I've learned about myself is that I'm confident when I know my shit. Fear, for me, is rooted in a lack of knowledge. So now when I'm feeling scared about some aspect of my business I ask myself, "What don't I know?" And 9 times out of 10, I can pinpoint my area of ignorance and correct it. Being successful in business is all about knowing what you don't know, and then going to learn about it.So ask yourself, "What am I really afraid of?" Most of it can be broken down into actionable steps. "I'm afraid no one will come to my event" = "I don't know how to successfully market well enough to trust that people will 1) pay money and 2) leave their house."You can figure that out. There is a doable solution there. Figure out the barriers to people attending your event and leverage that against the benefits of them attending. Simple. "I'm afraid no one will buy my product" = "I don't know how to sell to people."Millions of people sell items every day. They're not necessarily smarter or savvier or more connected than you. They just got out there, made a mess and stumbled upon a formula that works. Get out there and find your formula. "I'm afraid of failing" = "I've never done anything like this and don't have a proven track record of success."This is the easiest one of all! Go do the thing and succeed! And then you will have a proven track record of success!Did any of this resonate with you? Share your fears, aha moments and challenges in the comments!