You know the old saying, “you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs”? I always thought it was stating the obvious - surely everyone knows that?
I think people often respond the same way when they hear me saying, “you can’t grow your business without growing yourself!”
Of course! You’re stating the flipping obvious there Liz!
So why is it that so many of us are reluctant to really commit to personal growth?
The power of personal growth
Speak to any entrepreneur and they’ll tell you that if you want to grow your business you need to be prepared for personal growth. They might even throw a few quotes at you from the recent Steven Bartlett podcast.
There are literally thousands of books you can read and MILLIONS of podcasts and videos you can watch on YouTube about personal development.
It’s a HUGE industry and never more so than since the launch of the podcast which seems to be an ever evolving industry.
Learning vs doing
Learning is certainly a key factor when it comes to personal growth and the best way to learn is whatever method works best for you.
Decide on a topic, tap it into Google and take your pick - blog, video, book, webinar…. the opportunities are endless.
Maybe you’ve bought bestselling business books by Oprah Winfrey, Mel Robbins, Dale Carnegie - one day you’ll even get round to reading them! But only a small percent of you will actually APPLY what you have learned.
Remember: Knowing and doing are two COMPLETELY different things.
If you really are serious about growing your business it’s not enough to expand your knowledge, you need to put in the work, start some serious study and have the courage to change what you DO as well.
How to become bolder
I do understand change can be scary and it feels vulnerable to take a risk and put yourself out there - what if it doesn't work? What if you fail?
Have you ever considered that it could be the best thing you ever do? I absolutely love this quote by Erin Hanson:
"What if I fall? Oh but my darling, what if you fly?!!"
I'm incredibly passionate about helping you to be BOLD to grow yourself and create sustainable change for your business. I've seen for myself the impact of personal growth on achieving business success and I want the same for you too.
Here are 4 ways you can be BOLD to grow your business:
1 - BUILD SELF BELIEF - Ok I know, you’ve read all the books and been to the seminars, maybe you splashed out thousands of pounds attending Tony Robbins events and been all fired up after doing a fire walk.
Then came away, got busy with your business and absolutely nothing has changed. This is my problem with motivational speakers, the motivation is short lived.
Developing self belief is not a quick fix, it’s a habit. If you want to transform your business, I urge you to go beyond your comfort zone.
Pick up the phone, make the call, have the difficult conversations, go for the bigger client, say yes to the speaking opportunity, share the video, go live on Facebook!
Because each time you do you’re taking two steps away from your fear and one step closer to self belief.
Belief is built on evidence, the more your brain sees you doing something, you’ll believe you can do even more! So if you want to believe in yourself start doing the things you don’t believe you can do.
Prove to yourself you can make positive change.
2 - OWN YOUR GOALS - what do you mean own them?? I mean really commit to them.
Don’t just have them in your head or in that journal you bought in January and stopped after 2 weeks…
If you’re not serious about your goals how can you seriously expect to achieve them?
The difference between a dream and a goal is ownership. So how do you own a goal?
1. Write it down - whether that’s electronically or the old fashioned pen and paper, it doesn’t matter. As long as it’s permanent and somewhere you can refer to. The act of writing it down is the first step to owning it.
2. Make it SMART - there’s a reason everyone refers to this acronym, because it works. So be specific about your goal, make it clear exactly what you want to achieve, make it measurable so you can track your progress. For example, By end of next quarter I will have 1 new client spending £xxx per month with my business.
3. Share your goal - this is the highest level of accountability for two reasons -
a. Saying it out loud makes it real to you and more likely you’ll achieve it, and
b. Sharing with someone else means they can now hold you accountable too if you choose.
This is a bold move and I promise you it’s what makes the difference between success and failure. For me, being accountable to my coach to make changes to my business has been a game changer.
3 - LEAD WITH CONFIDENCE - Please don’t switch off at this point, stick with me. I know you don’t have any staff so you THINK you don’t have anyone to lead…. think again!
You have to lead yourself, your clients, your suppliers, your followers, anyone that’s key to your success.
Share your vision, show where you’re headed, inspire them to follow you. Be courageous with your communication and show your knowledge and belief. Most importantly be proud of your success and celebrate your wins.
4 - DO THE WORK - It’s true that nothing will change unless you do. So make sure you follow through on your promises to yourself.
Take on the challenging opportunities.
Make the improvements to your business processes.
Be more present on social media.
Make the change you need to achieve your goals.
Yes it’s hard, I know, I’m going through it myself every single day.
But it is worth it, when you start seeing the results that come from you making bold moves you’ll be inspired to do more and more and more…. It becomes addictive!
As a female founder you had the courage to start your business on your own and now you need to dig deep and find the untapped potential within you to take your business to the next level.
Focus on your personal growth so that you can:
Grow your mindset
Grow your skills
Grow your opportunities
Grow your business
Grow your bank account!
Don’t worry you don’t have to do it all on your own!
Check out our Events Page for details of the next Bold Moves LIVE! Event which are all focused on helping you to become that bolder version of you that I know is simply bursting to be discovered.