I was at a business networking event this lunchtime (woah – I’ve just upped my street-cred), where I suffered a wonderful presentation given by a business-woman who supplies live-in carers to disabled, elderly or bored people.
Now, I usually spend the entire duration of these presentations wondering how the hell the panicking presenter has managed to start their business, let alone how they’ve come to be lecturing others about their wonderful success – but, right from the start, this presenter was different.
And when this truffle of wisdom fell from her lips, I knew I was in good hands:
“Don’t jump in,” she warned us, “with all feets a-blazing.”
So here it is, the wisdom of Lee-Ann from Choice Homecare on how to succeed in starting up your own business.
How to Succeed in Business
As you may have noticed from the sentence above, Lee-Ann loves figurative language. Well, who doesn’t?
Not one for hyperbole, she describes her battle for self-employed success as like the battle between David and Goliath.
She’s David, by the way, and Goliath is the seemingly insurmountable difficulty of running your own business.
Persisting with the metaphor, David slew Goliath with five stones in his sling and so, for Lee-Ann, there are five ‘stones’ in her ‘sling-shot’. So far, so metaphorical. Here are those stones:
Stone 1: Passion
Your business must be something you are passionate about because nothing else will keep you going through the tough times.
Success or failure will be down to you, you can’t rely on others and nor can others let you down.
Stone 2: Planning and preparation
At this point Lee-Ann also trotted out a lovely little cliché: ‘Fail to prepare and you prepare to fail.‘
As an employee of a regular business, you never have to worry about what happens tomorrow.
As the owner of your own business, you will constantly be worrying about tomorrow. Equally, though, there is no cap to the possibilities of what you can achieve; it’s up to you what you plan for.
Stone 3: Priority
You’ve got to know what is worth doing and what isn’t. Don’t waste your time on trivialities.
Stone 4: Past success
Keep a record of your achievements, so that you can look back on them when you feel like you’re a failure.
The memory of winning her first client keeps her going when she is finding it tough to find new clients.
Winning that first client told her that all her hard work had been worthwhile.
Stone 5: Perseverance
Lee-Ann had many nos before she got just one yes.
It took her 15 months to get her first client and she only became profitable in her third year.
Ka-pow. Goliath is slain. But what do all those deadly stones mean for me (and you) as writers of serious intent?
How to Become a Writer
I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again because a dead horse is there to be flogged: if you want to write seriously, then make it your business.
If you start taking it professionally, then the results will be professional. So let’s have another look at Lee-Ann’s five stones from the point of view of writing.
Stone 1: Passion
Because no one else is going to tie you to your desk and only you can make this a success.
Stone 2: Planning and preparation
I personally don’t plan novels when I start them, but boy is there a lot of planning after the first draft. There’s also a heck of a lot of preparation involved in creating the right conditions for writing, i.e. a huge block of alone time, a typing machine, copious pots of tea, etc..
I guess I did a fairly lengthy apprenticeship in writing with my 18-year academic career as well. And the possibilities are limitless with my writing.
Stone 3: Priority
Er, like not doing yet another blog post when I should be writing my novel.
Stone 4: Past success
I will always have written one novel. I know I can do it and there is no reason why I won’t be able to again. I know what it takes.
Stone 5: Perseverance
How many nos will I have to hear from agents, from publishers, from editors before I get that one yes?
Right now I have no idea, but I’m going to keep going until I find out.