Create A Project
If you read last week’s post and made your list of things you love to do, or talked to your friends and family about your gifts and talents, you probably got a good idea by now what it is that you want to do. Welcome to the project stage of starting your own business!
To get going, select a few things from your list that you can turn into a project. This can be anything from throwing a dinner party (you love entertaining and/or cooking) to starting a blog, finding a husband, writing a book, learning how to make jewelry, or anything else that you are interested in. It does not matter how crazy your idea, if you are curious about it, it passes. Chances are, whatever you love doing, somebody is already making a living doing it.
The important part about this stage is to take immediate action! Have you ever noticed how easy it is to get distracted from a great idea? If you don’t take action right away, the idea fades into the background until you forget about it all together. So do it, now!
Another crucial point is to take simple, easy steps. Time and again I have seen people get so overwhelmed with starting a business that they never take the first step. Be aware of this! Also, notice the voices in your head going like this: “Oh, this will probably never work, or, there are already so many people out there doing this, or, I am not good at this, or, I need to get a degree/certification/credit before I can start.” It’s your fear talking. Don’t listen and keep going!
Back to your project. Let’s use an example. Say your friend invited you to an evening of palm reading. You went to check it out and you fell in love with it (There is an institute for this, The International Institute of Hand Analysis). Voila, you have a project.
Every good project has a beginning, a middle and an end as well as a time line.
- Part One: Find out more about Palmistry. Search the internet, read books, find blogs, take sessions with a palm reader, get to know other palm readers, etc. As a time line you can set three or four weeks for this stage.
- Part Two: Learn your craft. Attend classes or seminars, connect with other, like-minded people or put together classes for a professional palm reader. You can also create a website or start your own blog on the subject. Depending on the learning curve, part two may take several weeks or even months. In my experience, you’ll never feel quite ready to move on, so don’t spend too much time here. You will always keep learning.
- Part Three: Put together your own small session or seminar. This can be as simple as asking a friend to organize a palm reading evening at her house, offering a class at a community center, or doing single finger print readings. At this point you start charging a small fee for your service.
These steps are simple examples of how you can go about starting a project like learning a new craft. You can do this while having a job, working regular hours or taking care of your family. Simple as that!
How to stay on track: Life is designed to pull you off track! Here are a few ways to stay on course.
- Form a support team. Do you know other people who are working on a business or project? Set up weekly meetings to check in, set goals, report on progresses and to cheer each other on. This is invaluable!
- To do lists. Knowing what you are doing each day will help you to stay focused. Personally, I love writing my to do lists every night. Checking things off the next day will increase your drive and give you energy. Beware of being too hard on yourself. The list is a guideline, the project is a game. Have fun with it!
- Set weekly and daily goals. Again, this helps with staying focused and monitoring progress.
- Last, but not least, celebrate! Enjoy your project and celebrate your achievements. If you like, email me about it and lets celebrate together!
