Why didn't I start my own business sooner?

For the past few years, I have had many team members ask … “when are you going to start your own agency?”. Most of the time, I would respond with “someday”. Like I was some Disney Princess looking out of her castle window longing for her dream to come true. If you know me at all, you would wonder who I was just talking about. Most people know I am determined, ambitious, and bring a fiery energy to the workspace. But for some reason, I never got past the idea phase of having my own agency. Finally, I got real with myself and asked, "What the hell! Why not?". After thinking about it for some time, I finally answered ... I was scared! 

This was huge. Being able to identify what was holding me back, gave me the courage to overcome it. Don't get me wrong, I am still scared at times, but it's not stopping me anymore. As usual, I like using my weak moments and bad decisions to help others who might be going through something similar.  Looking back, there was never anything to fear, it was just unknown to me. Below, I listed out a few things I learned along the way and hope you find some of it to be inspiring to you. 

1) Own your idea

Living in my head is like having a billion tabs open on your browser at once; there are endless ideas running through my head all the time. For me, the key was to grab one idea and focus on it. I would focus on it till I was sick of it. If I got sick of it, I moved onto the next one. It wasn't until I thought too much, focused too long, and didn't get sick of my idea that I knew I had something. That is when my idea became my business plan.

2) Create a plan

Now that I knew what I wanted to do, it seemed like a Herculean task to get my business started. I had a list of tasks that seemed endless. I also knew there would be plenty of unknown tasks that would need to get done as well. So, where do I start? What do I do first? OMG, my brain almost melted! The easiest thing for me to do, so I would not pass out or lose my shit, was to brain dump a list. I typed everything out. Even tasks and ideas that might happen months or years from now. Everything that was occupying my mind was evicted. It was so much easier to grasp what the plan was once I could see it all. From there, it was a matter of prioritizing. And don't feel like it all has to be prioritized at once. Just have your list and pull the tasks into your plan as you go. I suggest having about two weeks very well planned, but avoid focusing too much energy on lower priorities to avoid overwhelming yourself. You will have things that happen unexpectedly, so your plan and priorities will always change.

3) Build your support system

Having a plan is awesome. I felt liberated and ready to take on the world! Then, I ran into my first issue (sigh). I was not naive going into this; remember I was scared to start, so I knew it was going to be a constant challenge. What I didn't realize was how important having my trusted core group of people would be.  For me, my core group is made up of family, friends, and a couple fellow business owners I have met over the years. Each person brings a different value and perspective to my world. I could not have done this or continue to do it without them all. 

4) Wine

Yes, I said Wine. Not Whine. It is important to find something you enjoy and make time for it.  For you, it could be going for a run, eating chocolate, cooking, or all of the above. It doesn't matter what it is. Having a business is consuming. It takes a lot of time and energy. It's totally worth it, but it is also important to take a moment and reflect ... or not think at all.  It's rejuvenating! 

5) Never stop

This one sounds easy enough, but in practice, it is the hardest. You need to know things will be rough. You will get frustrated. Things will happen that you didn't plan for. But listen when I say ... Don't stop. Keep going. You know your idea is solid, you have your plan, there is a support system around you, and if all else fails ... drink wine ... but never stop. You got this! 

I hope this post was helpful in some way. It's not rocket science, but it's my realization and reality that I wanted to share with you. If I knew what was holding me back sooner, I would have done this a long time ago. I hope you find that idea and make it happen. Don't ever let fear get in your way.