01/05/2021
Growing your business - protecting the future. Chris gives some tips to be on the right track ! Enjoy
Welcome to a new series of articles all about business growth. Over the last year or so we have all been focused on Covid-19 and the challenges to be faced over the years ahead. It has not been a particularly happy time for many. While some businesses have had to close or reduce staff, many have kept going and there are new ones starting most weeks.
This series is all about the future and the optimism that comes with growth. Let us remember that starting and growing a business is as much about the innovation, drive and determination of the people who do it as it is about the products or services they sell.
It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.
To grow your business, you first of all have to grow yourself and that will be the focus of this article. You will need confidence and courage, skills and knowledge and, above all the ability to think and work smarter not harder! Growth often means going into the unknown and you will need to be prepared for the unexpected!
Keep watering yourself. You are growing! The more you grow the more you become aware of your potential. Your confidence will increase as will your self-belief and trust in yourself.
Here are a few ideas for growing yourself.
Keep learning, in any way you can. Use the internet and social media, talk with others, read books and newspapers, go on training courses and workshops, read articles. There are endless ways to learn.
As you learn a new skill or acquire some new knowledge then practice. Try it out on others and deepen your knowledge and skill base.
Build your confidence through contact with others. Find opportunities to network and collaborate with others. Join groups for discussion, creativity, sport, fun, community work. As you help others you will also be helping yourself.
Take care of your health and do your best to eat well. If you can, get advice and maybe join an exercise group or go regularly to a gym or for a swim or walk. It is hard to feel good about yourself if you do not feel well or are badly overweight or worried about your health. Try to find someone to give you a relaxing massage and take some time out every day to reflect on how well you are doing. Mediation can be done under a tree or at home, just for a few minutes everyday.
Your own attitude will have a great impact on how well you can grow yourself. If you always see the glass as half empty, then you are likely to take a pessimistic or negative view to what is going on around you. A glass half full attitude will point you towards the stars!
Stop procrastinating! Make a list of what needs to be done and work though it. Every day, do one or two tasks you are not looking forward to, before doing the things you like. Do these tasks when you are feeling freshest. If you know there are things wrong, then try to fix them. Ask for help when necessary. Doing tasks that you are not looking forward to with the help of others is always more fun.
Seek out someone to help you – a mentor or coach. Someone who will be prepared to push you forward in a loving manner! Find someone you admire and talk with them. Try to find out tips on how they grow themselves.
Treat growing yourself as a major project in your life. Make time for it. Plan, act, and review and be prepared to make changes if something does not seem to be working. Whatever you do, just keep moving forward!
Ask yourself this key question, ‘when was the last time you did something for the first time’? Try something new every month, or even every week if you can. It can be anything as long as it is new. The more you challenge yourself the faster you will grow.
I know that doing new things on your own is never easy, especially if you are not feeling all that confident. So next week I will focus on collaborating with others and growing through networking.
Remember, before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. Jack Welch
Onwards and upwards.
As always, please contact me if you have an interesting story to tell and are happy for it to be told.
