I met a young lady the other day, let’s call her Sue. She had made the bold decision to make a major change in her life. Sue had decided to start her own business. An exciting adventure with so many possibilities and opportunities and a very tough path to choose.
For those of you who have already made that leap into the thrilling world of self-employment, who have shifted from their everyday comfort zone to the scary unknown, you know it takes huge amounts of courage and tenacity to make it work. However, besides courage, grit, funding (yes some start up capital does help) and a good idea which you need to turn into a profitable business, you also need a little something called support.
Sue had all the courage in the world, she was determined to make her business work. She believed in her abilities and also believed it was her time to shine. Unfortunately, her Achilles heel was the lack of support.
This is a vital component when it comes to building your own business or in fact if you are choosing to make any major change in your life. You need the support and encouragement of your nearest and dearest.
Sue’s family believed she was best suited to be in the home, looking after the children and cooking the dinner for her hard-working husband. Now as a coach, you should always stay objective, it’s part of the job description, but I can honestly admit that I found it very hard to keep objective in this situation. I had to check and make sure I hadn’t time travelled back to the 1950’s.
Without the support and motivation from the people around her, Sue was left on her own to try and juggle the daunting task of starting a business and at the same time running a household single-handedly.
I always like hearing about stories that have happy endings. Unfortunately I don’t know how this one will end. I can however draw a few lessons from Sue’s situation and share them with you.
Lesson #1 – If you decide to take the leap and start your own business like Sue did or you decide to make a life-altering change, ask yourself who will be your support network? Who will be your cheerleader, your shoulder to cry on, your confidante? Gather the support team around you from the beginning, they truly make your change journey so much easier.
Lesson # 2 – Think about the people around you. How many of them are going through some form of change? Is there a Sue in your life? Do you think you are providing them with enough support and encouragement? What could you do differently to make their lives easier?
And finally, when a person wants to make a change in their life it is their decision. It is not your place to talk them out of it and tell them what you think they must do, especially if they haven’t asked you for advise. Your job is simple, it is to support their decision and to perhaps make them a dinner once in a while.
Looking to add a coach to your support network? Contact Nicole at [email protected]
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