Hey everyone,
I hope you are enjoying yourselves today. It is early here is my part of the USA as I write this post. And today is my son’s 6th birthday. My firstborn baby is growing up and maturing right before my eyes. I cannot believe 6 years of my life have passed in the blink of an eye. My precious one is learning how to be a man. As I reflected on how far I’ve come as a parent and he as a child my thoughts turned to business. I wouldn’t be me if they didn’t.
From the thought of conceiving a child through birth and then the nurturing of the last 6 years my son has grown into a fine young man. While he’s not always on his best behavior with mommy, when he is with others he behaves well, uses his manners and is a joy to be around. I know this because other parents tell me this is the case and they wouldn’t invite him back if he wasn’t! Therefore, we must be doing something right as parents.
This led me to think about what my husband and I have done to bring us to this point. Well, what came to mind were things that transferred over to how we run our businesses, which are our other children.
So many of us treat our businesses like babies and if we’re not maybe we should start. Here’s my thoughts on how they relate.
1. You get this brilliant idea that it’s time to have a child and then you start your planning. (Hmmm, sounds businesslike to me.)
2. Once pregnant and having committed to this child more planning goes into effect – setting up the nursery, making sure to take care of yourself so you can keep your energy up while you continue your planning and preparation for launching your baby to the world in 9 months. (I’ve never worked crazy hours in business or needed extra energy during my planning phases )
3. Once baby is launched those first few months are shocking. You don’t sleep much and you’re all consumed by this new, sometimes overwhelming situation in your life. (Never happened to me, you?)
4. You don’t always know what to do next and you seek the advice of other more seasoned people. People who have done this before, and while they may not have always done it right, they’ve made it through. (This is why I have my own coach)
5. By the time year 1 hits – you’re proud of yourself that you didn’t give up and now things seem to be easier and you have a flow. You take the ups and downs and the good and the bad in stride.
6. You spend your time nurturing and tending to your precious child, working with the child every day to help him or her grow.
7. About year 3 you think you’ve got everything under control. But in reality, the child has you wrapped around your finger and there isn’t much you wouldn’t do for him/her because you see so much of yourself in him/her. Your blood sweat and tears are thankful you’ve made it this far.
8. You continue to persevere, you know giving up is not an option. This child needs you and you will succeed. You don’t know what everyday will bring but you are committed to yourself and to the child to never give up.
9. More years pass and you realize that the decision and making a choice to have a child was the best thing you could have ever done and you wouldn’t trade parenthood for anything in the world.
See any signs or traits of business in there? My businesses are like my babies from idea through implementation.
While this was fun and lighthearted in honor of my son, I want you to think about how you are treating your business.
Is it just another J-O-B to you or are you passionate about your role as an entrepreneur?
Think about it.
Have a great weekend and Happy Birthday to my baby boy!
P.S. For more information or to find out how we can work together call me at 503-780-3203 or email me at vanessa@vanessaduplessie.com. View the video www.15toprofit.com/vanessa to learn more about creating freedom and flexibility in your life.