You have this pull on your heart to make a bigger impact, and do something that will help others, but it’s just not working out the way you thought it would.
Are you the person with that entrepreneurial dream who can’t seem to make it a reality? Do you know God wants you to have your own business, but you are unsure what to do or how to do it?
I’ve helped many women get clarity around their calling and create businesses that are right for them, and they are succeeding. Why? Because I have been there. I have made mistakes, learned from them, and now want to help you.
Let’s go over the problems you may be facing and the solutions to achieve your entrepreneurial dream.
- Point you in the right direction
- Give you focus
- Create a business that will work for you
Prefer video? Check this out.
A woman with an entrepreneurial dream
I want to tell you about Mary. Mary has always been an IT person. She worked for many years in various industries as a tech person, first in city government and then in academic circles.
Even though she had a great job, she always had this pull to do something on her own. Mary has a lot of interests, so she thought that would be a great place to explore her inclination toward the entrepreneurial dream.
Some of her interests were baking, so she launched a deluxe cookie business. She also loved to groom her dogs, so she tried to be a dog groomer. Then there was event planning from helping a friend’s daughter with her wedding arrangements.
Over 15 or more years, Mary tried to do many things so she could quit her job.
Nothing worked, and she felt like a failure.
The cookie business, which took off just by word of mouth, became a chore. It was time-consuming to create custom-decorated cookies, and clients were picky. However, they were always shocked at each cookie’s price, and Mary worked hard for about $5 an hour.
The grooming business, which Mary thought might be easy because she was already grooming her two dogs, turned out to be more than she bargained for. She realized that there was a lot she still would need to learn to gain clients’ trust. It was way more investment, in training and time, than she could manage with a full-time job. That idea ended quickly.
The event planning business was fun. Mary loved to organize and put together all the details for the event. However, she realized quickly that she cared way more about the outcome of the event than the actual people she was assisting. It frustrated her that her clients didn’t care as much as her. This hurt Mary’s heart and was too emotionally draining for her to continue.
What was the problem? The first thing was that Mary was doing all these things alone. She didn’t want to fail again, so she decided to ask for help.
What can an entrepreneurial mentor do for you?
When Mary came into Calling Clarity, she had launched yet another business in Website Design and Social Media Management. It totally suited her skills and interests, but she was drowning. There were different types of clients, asking for too many other services. As a result, she was overwhelmed and confused and lacked direction and focus.
Where are you right now? Are you still in that job/career, trying to grow the ‘side hustle’ so you can leave? OR, are you doing something, maybe totally suited to you, but it’s proving to be a struggle?
It feels like a lot, right? So let’s break it down.
Point you in the right direction
First, choose a business suited for you. Just because you are interested in something, it’s your hobby, or you have fun while doing it does not mean you can turn it into a business.
Pointing you in the right direction starts with looking at what you bring to the table. So here’s your first exercise.
Get out your paper and pencil:
- Make a list of all your past jobs and what you did at those jobs.
- Write out all your hobbies and things you have invested time and money to learn and do.
- Think through other things you are good at doing. Think, What do others ask me to help them do?
When Mary came to Calling Clarity, she was in the right direction. She was doing IT work for her clients in Website Design, but she was also doing blogging, posting, and copywriting. These things she found stressful and time-consuming, and something she did not feel she was the best at doing.
She really needed focus. Her business was called Troy Web Services at the time. This did not reflect what she wanted to do and who she wanted to serve.
Get you focused
By getting focused, Mary, first changed the name of her company to Sweet Bytes Technology, LLC. This reflected her interest in baking and attracted the clients she wanted, women. Another discovery was that email marketing really excited her, so she became more proficient.
As a result, she stopped just doing the work for others and started to teach others. Eventually, she realized she had a heart for helping women not be afraid of technology and now allows them tutorials and resources to learn how to do the technical part of their businesses for themselves.
Okay, here is your second exercise. We are getting you focused.
Get out your paper and pencil again:
- Write out the problem you want to solve.
- Add, who has this problem? From that list, Who are you drawn to helping?
- Look at the previous list and highlight those things you know make you different from others solving the same problem.
Create a business that will work for you and make you stand out
After Mary focused on all the things she loved, the things that made her stand out, and those things that fit her personality, she soared. Her business attracted the clients she wanted, women. She even added to her focus by speaking to women who had been taken advantage of by other website designers.
She became a champion for women afraid to invest because they had been burned. As a result, her business grew because she was unique as a woman in IT who understood the drive of entrepreneurship and the fears many women have around technology.
The business now worked for her because it was suited to her. She was no longer doing the things she thought she “had to” do, and she had taken her website design business to a deeper level.
This satisfaction allows her to get up every day excited to “get to” do the business God has called her to do and serve those He has called her to serve.
Are you creating a business that is right for you? A business you can sustain because you love that you “get to” do it too?
Bring out the entrepreneur in YOU
You can only create a business that works for you if you know God’s design of YOU and see the direction He wants you to go. He has those ideal clients out there waiting to hear your message.
Pursue your entrepreneurial dream by:
- Starting with God in prayer (and with your journal)
- Understanding you can have a business that excites you (not drains you)
- Getting the help you need from those who have been there, so you are not doing it alone (yet again)
Have you been trying to make this entrepreneur ‘thing’ work for a while? Do you know you have more to give if you could figure out how to monetize your experience and expertise? Then let’s have a chat. Then, please make an appointment to have a Clarity Call with me.
What did you discover in your lists? What are you excited about? How will you go deeper to create the business you LOVE?
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