Day 1: The most important question to ask yourself before starting your own business..

Day 1: The most important question to ask yourself before starting your own business…

Recently I was asked what I feel the most important thing to consider is, before starting your own business. Fortunately being relatively new to the ‘owning’ your own business scene, I knew just the answer.

It’s a simple ‘why?’ 

The “why” should come before the business plan, blog, ideas book…it should come before the late night chats with your husband/boyfriend, day-dreaming sessions or pinterest searching. The ‘why’ is the one thing that will determine not only the success of your business but the happiness of your future.

It is so common to start a business for the wrong reasons. Things like:

- Starting a business for the money

- You hate your current job so you see starting your own thing as an ‘escape’

- You think that people with their own businesses make a lot of money

Do not be deceived, as much as these ‘red-light’ reasons may be driving factors, they will not only not provide you with happiness but they are likely to predict one thing, and one thing only: Another failed business.

It is my full belief that before you begin, you have to not only believe in the product/service you’re offering, but be so passionate about it that you’re willing to give up sleep, time and money for it.

If your reasoning looks anything like this – you’re onto something…

-      You love what you do or will be offering your clients;

-      You believe that this product/service will make a difference in people’s lives;

-      You feel that you found a gap in the market and know that you can do ‘that’ so much better than what’s currently out there;

-      When you think about this ‘idea’, you get super excited and want to scream it to the world;

-      Your new business venture/idea keeps you up at night.

Blogging is amazing, professional photos are fun, creative designing is great…but all of these things are not what your clients will be buying. Customers are more attracted to the "why they should have it" (lifestyle focused) instead of the "what they should have" (product focused). Companies who succeed address exactly that question.  You can charge any price once you have created a circle of clients/ blog followers who love who you are and the reason behind your creative business. Once your clients love you and your passion for creating, they’ll be lining up at the door for any product or service you’re offering regardless of the price. (Click to tweet)

Ultimately, I’m sure your goal is to create a business that inspires others, thrives, makes you come alive and of course, is something sustainable that you can keep doing for a long time, right?

If that’s your heart then I encourage you to spend some time digging into the deep spaces of your heart and journaling a little about your “why”. You can click here for a coaching PDF that I’ve created that will lead you in your search for “why”.

Lastly (kind of) there’s a song that somehow ‘slipped’ onto my seriously ‘let’s get pumped’ ipod running playlist..it’s not one I’m proud of enjoying, as the lyrics aren’t exactly ‘up to standards’, but there are a few lines in this song that hit me so hard every time I hear them. 

The lyrics go, “May our hearts be full like our drinks (I always sing ‘dreams’) tonight…we are only young if we seize the night. Tonight we own the night” And it’s these lyrics that I want to end this post with today!! You see, as much as I don’t agree with parts of this song’s lyrics, he’s onto something. A full heart can conquer many things that a simple desire for money cannot.

It’s a full heart that will motivate you to jump out of bed in the morning and to sit down in your ‘home office’ when you could be sleeping in, playing on facebook or out coffee-ing with friends.

It’s a full heart that will give you the courage to keep persevering; even when it feels like your business is never going to move out of the “beginning” stages.

It’s a full heart that’s going to help justifying spending your first few months’ salary, if not few years, on re-investing further in your creative business; improving products, investing in branding, etc.

It’s a full heart that’s going to lead your marketing strategy and make it one that sells.

It’s a full heart that’s going to make your business a success!!

Starting your own business is all about taking life by the horns and saying no more will I sit back and watch life pass me by. It’s about making things happen!! 

Today is your day. This is your life and you only get one life to live.

It is my greatest hope that you’ll claim these lyrics for yourself, and as you read through the posts in this series over the next 2 weeks, that a whisper will start building in your chest, announcing to the world that “Tonight you own the night! No more backing down or day dreaming…no, now is your time to shine!!”

* This post is part of a blog series where 9 creative women are sharing tips on ‘How to start your own creative business’. Don’t waste another minute, click here to read about the series and get the links to all the other AMAZING blog posts.