There is so much information out there about how to market your business, but what happens when you don’t actually know what your real business is all about. I don’t mean the one you’re in and just not feeling, or the j.o.b. you’re itching to escape.
When I talk about business sweet spot, I’m talking about that special place in the world where you get to do what you love, have a hell of a lot of fun doing it and make a profit.
Now this doesn’t mean I’m going to show you how to make a profit from drinking cocktails and eating cheesecake (mmmm cheesecake).
I want you to be creating a business that truly makes you come alive, one that encompasses all that you’re about and all that you want to create.
The biggest mistake you can make when starting a business
A huge mistake I see people make is building a business around the career they’re trying to escape. It makes sense on paper to continue down the same path, and use all the skills you’ve built up over the years, but there’s a reason you’re feeling the need to run.
Just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean you have to continue to do it.
Rather than looking purely at your experience I encourage people to take a different approach. When I coach people through discovering their business sweet spot, I look at 3 main components.
These steps have allowed me to go from a 15-year career in Financial Services to the Discovery Coaching that I do now, proof that a massive stretch is completely OK.
- Your Story
Your story is what binds all of your experiences together and allows you to have such a unique perspective on life that no one else can match. This is where the gold starts to form.
Take some time to think about the journey you’ve been on and what grabs your attention. What are some of the common themes that keep popping up for you?
What’s the daydream that won’t leave you alone (the one you keep thinking about even if you haven’t said it out loud yet)?
- Your Style
Next, we look at style. This isn’t necessarily about the clothes that you wear; it’s about how you like to work. This is where you start to think about your perfect work day, the types of work you like to do and the types of clients you like to work with.
This is your chance to do what you want to do and what comes naturally to you, rather than what you’ve been told to do in a job, or what people expect you to do.
- Your Experience
You’re not here to create a business around what you can do. You’re here to create a business around what you LOVE to do.
Think of this as a mini audit of your career so far. Look at the skills and expertise you have in your toolbox. Then work out which ones you want to take with you and which ones you’re happy to leave behind.
You can learn more about this process in this short video series.
Remember, this is a process. Some people have come far enough down the path that the answers are nice and close to the surface. For people who are just starting out, there will be steps you need to take to figure some of this out along the way.
My tip here is don’t try and figure this all out in your head. That’s a big mistake I made and wasted so much time and caused me so much anxiety along the way.
Our logical mind does not have the answers we seek. If it was that easy, everyone would be out there doing work they love and feeling totally fulfilled.
Once you start to get an idea of what your business sweet spot may be, be brave enough to start taking steps toward that. Each step you take will give you more of the answers you need.
To wrap up there’s one piece of advice that I love to give as it opens up a whole new world of opportunity.
Just because a job doesn’t exist, doesn’t mean you can’t create it.
Imagine the sense of fulfilment once you’ve created your business your way, one that lets you work on things you’re good at as well as what you love.
Sounds perfect. “But how do I do that?” you ask.
Be true to who you really are.
