Why are you pursuing a life as an entrepreneur? Is it for money?
How about freedom? The ability to set your own schedule?
Or is it about working on a problem that's important to you?
Whatever your reason (btw, we get into our own answers to these questions in the show), is it taking you too long to get there? Is your life as an entrepreneur showing signs of wear and tear on your relationships? How would you know if it's not working well enough?
These are the questions we get into in todays episode in response to Mark's question (written below).
This episode will help you get into why you're doing this work, what the purpose of the effort is. Remembering your WHY can be enough to completely open up the future for you and your project.
Enjoy!
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“Why do you pursue life as an entrepreneur? Here’s some help thinking about it”
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Mark’s Question:
I find myself with the usual set of dependencies, house and car payments, a chunk of credit card debt and student loan, and a fiance and 2 kids under 3 to support…
I know I need to do something to help our current situation and try and get some semblance of a life without having to worry about bills and money…
I have been researching a business idea for a few months… It’s affiliate marketing at it’s core with many possibilities for growth…
The thought of blogging, doing videos and podcasting and maybe even writing a book is what I now daydream about…
I spend every spare minute working, be that at my day job shift working or on my side project, and that is the problem, I hardly spend any quality time with my family and that’s what I’m supposed to be working for…
I know if I pursue the former the latter will come in time but I don’t know how long before I start to see results….
My question is how do you know when it’s time to quit trying something? When is it time to just throw in the towel on an idea because it’s affecting other aspects of my life.
Show Notes
Know When to Quit, Pivot or Persevere (FS017)
Entrepreneurial DNA. Do You Have It? – Gary Vaynerchuk
Mr. Money Mustache — Early Retirement through Badassity
Learn how to set goals that actually stick!
The Top 10 Mistakes in Online Business
Every week we talk with entrepreneurs. We talk about what’s working and what isn’t. We talk about successes and failures. We spend time with complete newbies, seasoned veterans, and everything in between.
One topic that comes up over and over again with both groups is mistakes made in starting businesses. Newbies love to learn about mistakes so they can avoid them. Veterans love to talk about what they wish they had known when starting out.
These conversations have been fascinating, so we compiled a list of the 10 mistakes we hear most often into a nifty lil' guide. Get the 10 Most Common Mistakes in Starting an Online Business here »
I’m not gonna Tony Robbins you….good phrase!
I love the realness of this conversation, when Steph spoke up, I completely identified with it, you need “this true desire to serve” for you to stick it out or she said “not be unhinged”. It’s not about income, entrepreneurship doesn’t give me more time on the reg … there’s lots of perks and cool things and the end game will provide flexibility, and free time, and income etc…but it’s not really about that. It needs to not kill you or drive your family and wife away, but it’s not about the fastest income possible.
Relevant, when Corbett spoke up about that concept of saying no to friends or other things for a short time, I was chuckling, as I just wrote about this calling it “The Entrepreneurs Dilemma” this http://thelifedesignproject.com/the-entrepreneurs-dilemma/
It’s a tough road, great points on setting expectations, and the work that gets to progress, and learning, and how it can look invisible for three years to everyone before something catches or produces.
sidenote: oddly, just listened to a podcast with Tony where he said his biggest pet peeve is when he’s called a motivational speaker! go figure
Man, this weeks episode had me feeling all the feels. I can so identify with Mark and I appreciate the vulnerability in this convo. Something I’ve always come back to is that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Sure, there are a few really great sprinters in the entrepreneur world, but the majority of us have to run the full marathon. So buy a couple of pairs of shoes, eat some carbs, and rest up. It’s gonna be a long one.
Barrett: the end there, where you talk about what drives you, was the most passionate I’ve ever heard you. I felt it in my bones and could hear the sting in your heart with what you said. Keep it coming, buddy.
“just in time learning vs just in case learning” and “work until you accomplish this weeks goal” was FN awesome Barrett! I loved this episode. As all others.
“just in time learning vs just in case learning” and “work until you
accomplish this weeks goal” was FN awesome Barrett! I loved this
episode, as all others.
business vs family at http://areapribadi.blogspot.com/2015/08/api-cintaku-padamu.html
Having been there and I still visit that place I’d have to say, that urge you have isn’t going away. I spent 10 years dabbling on the Internet and regret not persisting with it as a full time career.
Sure family get’s in the way, but if you are miserable at home because your alternative is a 9-5 job then it’s also impacting your family life. Push through, get a coach, learn how to hustle. Eventually, you’ll outlast the ones that reached this crossroad and just gave up.
There are another 3 billion people coming onto the internet in the next 5 years. Being in a 9-5 job will be a missed opportunity.
Me personally I’m back this time for good and am going to make it work regardless, and I know it’ll take time.
Man, do I know this dilemma! I’m a stay at home dad, and I have to also contribute financially to the family so we can have that modest but comfortable and happy life.
It’s all about priorities. My first one is time with my family. My second one is making money doing something I enjoy enough, and that I can be proud of.
There is a huge problem that you guys speak about all the time, but it is REALLY HARD TO LEARN: You have to become a good business person to succeed. If you avoid that, you will waste so much time spinning your wheels.
However, doing so DOES NOT make you a bad person or mean you’re selling out. Nor does it mean that you will lose your passion and creativity. In fact, I’ve had to be more creative and passionate getting to cashflow on minimal hours a week than actually having the initial ideas for my business.
No matter who you are or where you are in your business, reading the introduction and first chapter of The Four Steps to the Epiphany is the best thing you can do. It will take you 30 minutes.
Here’s the link to the PDF: http://web.stanford.edu/group/e145/cgi-bin/winter/drupal/upload/handouts/Four_Steps.pdf
My comments are with the caveat that I don’t know Mark’s experience or expertise.
It sounds to me that Mark needs to plan his business/project. Whilst we’re waiting for the Team at Fizzle to release the Roadmap, go listen to the episodes about the Roadmap again. Take notes! They give a good framework, with concrete steps.
I would treat it like a project, where I plan and map out the business. Put timescales against key stages. That will let you know if you are hitting targets. For example, at date ‘X’ I will have 200 email newsletter subscribers. If you don’t have that, then evaluate why not. Was it lack of effort, time or something else? You have to be honest with yourself though.
I agreed with what was suggested during the show, about spending time with the family. As a work from home dad I struggle with this. I’ve had to set dedicated time for work and when the family was around I didn’t try and work. I’m lucky that my kids are now old enough to go to school, so I do get time when I am on my own!
As Mark is working full time too I would recommend taking Corbett’s advice. Explain to the family why this is important to you and what you hope it will achieve for them. Do a deal and dedicate a set amount of time per day (ideally the same time chunk) to work on this project. When not working on it be there for the family. Switch off email notifications or put the phone away. Otherwise they may get annoyed at your distractions and possibly feel that you’re not sticking to your side of the bargain.
If you do agree a set time for the project I would recommend planning your next week in more detail. This has the bonus of making a list of tasks to be actioned. You don’t have to think about what to do next, which after a day’s work takes up precious energy. You need that energy to do the task! Plus, as you do these tasks you get to tick them off. That shows you progress. Progress will give you confidence. That is not to be sniffed at!
Let your business do your work for you. You can now have the option for your customers to buy straight from your social media page right when they see it.
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