You are not your business.
This may or may not seem obvious to you. That’s ok. But take a moment to think about it.
Most entrepreneurs identify themselves with their business in such as way as to take personally any of the failures or successes the business experiences. A certain amount of that is a good thing – it keeps us striving and invested in reaching for the stars.
The part that doesn’t work is when the separation of your self from your business becomes difficult – and when the collapse of identity can indirectly sabotage your path to success.
Here’s an example: generally, entrepreneurs find selling the benefits of their product or service to be an uncomfortable activity. Not just because of the skill required to do that smoothly, but because inside of us that conversation feels like we’re making claims about how great we are personally. And that feels kind of like we’re full of ourselves. So, our natural response is to temper the benefit claims a little bit, to pull back so we don’t look like we’re tooting our own horn. When we do that, the sales conversation becomes less powerful and less effective.
The simple fix? Don’t BE your business. When you’re selling, you’re talking about a separate entity and its products or services.
Getting back to the original question: who are you being for your business? You are the provider of energy, resources, inspiration, and direction for this new entity: your business. Being effective as the provider requires you make sure you’re getting what you need to be healthy, creative, and unstoppable.
Take some time this week, as we move into a new year, to ask yourself: What do you need the most to be there for your business? What personal needs do you have that directly relate to you successfully providing for your business? And what are your strategies this year for getting those needs met so you can be who you need to be to grow your business to its potential?
“You cannot serve from an empty vessel.”
―Eleanor Brownn
