I feel extremely blessed to coach entrepreneurs of all races, backgrounds and economic statuses from all over the country. Each of my clients brings their own unique perspective and preconceived notions based on how they grew up. Some clients have a poverty mindset that they have to overcome, while others lack faith in themselves due to the stories they were told as kids that they still believe to be true (i.e. “You’ll never be good enough,” “That’s a dumb idea,” etc.)
Nothing is more satisfying than bringing these entrepreneurs together through group coaching and creating an environment where everyone understands each others’ fears and where they’re coming from. They lean on each other, pray for each other, cheer each other on and offer each other an amazing support system. The truth is, entrepreneurship can be a very lonely job, especially if you’re a solopreneur in the beginning. It’s hard because you don’t have anyone to bounce ideas off of or to tell you that what you’re doing isn’t working and you need to pivot.
I feel like God has called me to be that person for the entrepreneurs I coach – the person to help steer them in the right direction and provide unbiased advice. I’m able to see things they don’t in their business and guide them along a path to success, no matter what their goals are.
All of the entrepreneurs I work with are different and face unique challenges in their life and business, but they all have one thing in common: They are action-takers. These are the people who really act instead of just talking about what they’re going to do. They may not always have the right answer, but in my opinion, imperfect action is better than no action at all.
I’m part of a personal branding coaching program and we vet the entrepreneurs who are interested to see if they’re a good fit for the program. One of the very first things I look for is whether or not someone is an action-taker. Has this person spent 20 years thinking of their business idea without taking action, or have they taken imperfect action along the way to see what works?
Recently, I had an inspiring phone call with a potential personal branding academy member. She was a 26-year-old former Division I soccer player who became a personal trainer and nutrition coach. At the time, she was working at a gym making $15 an hour and living in a crowded house with her family that was taking a toll on her mental health. Her car was falling apart and she had very little money to spare in that moment, but knew that she wanted to make a big change in her career and in her life. Despite not having a lot of spending money and not knowing how she was going to pay for it, she was so excited to join our personal branding academy because she knew she had to take serious action to turn her life around. I knew in that moment that she would be very successful.
The way that she took action and made a big commitment by joining our program lit a fire under her to succeed. She already had so much drive and passion, and by joining our academy, we gave her all of the personal branding tools she needed. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not telling you to go into debt or spend money you don’t have, but sometimes you have to take a risk to succeed. If that client hadn’t taken action, she would probably be in the same situation two years from now.
I’ve always been an action-taker and when I made the decision to commit to my new career path, a fire was lit under me. It was incredibly scary to leave my stable job (and six-figure salary) in television behind to become an entrepreneur. I knew once I took action and committed, it was sink or swim. At the time, I was the breadwinner in my family and we were in the middle of building our dream home. The only way we qualified for the loan was by using both of our salaries, and I had just left mine behind. This meant there was no time for sleeping in and no time for slacking off – I had to make money, and make it quickly.
What in your life do you need to take action on? Is there something you’ve been thinking about for years but never started? Maybe it was starting a business or starting or weight loss journey or even creating a garden in your backyard. If you want a different result in life, you have to change what you’re doing. However, it’s important to remember that nothing happens overnight.
Taking action by taking small steps every day will result in massive momentum over time. I’ve gone through this process many times in my life, and it works. I used to hate running, but I would make myself do it a couple of times a week until I became better at it. I’m not a marathon winner by any stretch, but I know for sure that I can run a 5K at any time and feel great doing it. All it took was me changing my mindset around running and deciding that being a good runner was something I could accomplish. Then, I worked at it little by little until I got there.
The same goes for nutrition. When you first start trying to eat better, it seems impossible to eat only the healthy foods your body needs. But by taking small steps every day, over and over, your body will slowly get used to your new diet and actually start to crave healthy food – plus, you’ll feel so much better along the way.
Business and entrepreneurship are the same way. What is the thing that makes you uncomfortable but you know you need to do? For me, it’s accounting. I’m a terrible accountant, but I made myself learn. I had to because my business depended on it. Now, my business is thriving, and it’s because I made the decision to step out of my comfort zone and take action.
I want you to choose one thing you’ll take action on starting this week. Write it down and come up with a game plan of what steps you’ll take each day to achieve your goal. Set a timeline and reward yourself when you reach your goal. There’s no time better than right now!
