How To Be Brave In Your Business

Have you ever felt scared while running your business? If you’re like most, the answer is a resounding yes. I mean, business is scary, right? There’s risk and huge unknowns at every turn, especially when you’re starting out and during the building phases. And right now, during this shut down, there’s a lot of extra fear hitting most of us. So bravery is a must. But what does that really look like?

Let me be clear…bravery doesn’t mean you’re not scared. It means doing the hard things, even when they’re terrifying. It means that even in the face of those fears, you continue on, you do the things that need to be done, and you push toward your dreams. So here’s a few specifics on that, some questions to ask yourself about whether you truly are embracing your own bravery in your business…

Are you brave enough to say no?

This is a hard one for a lot of people. Saying no doesn’t come easy to many…in fact it can be downright awful feeling, especially if you’re the people-pleaser type. But if clients, or anyone for that matter, is putting unreasonable demands on your time, attention, and generally putting their own concerns and interest far above yours, then saying no is absolutely necessary. Saying yes is sometimes the easy way; we don’t have to face any type of confrontation and we’re making someone else happy. But when it’s something we truly don’t want or need to do, we can often grow resentful. So even though it may be hard, even though there might be slight confrontations or at least unexpected responses, saying no is often a necessary things to do, and sometimes the bravest thing you can do.

Are you brave enough to stand out?

While you can absolutely succeed in business doing something that others do, standing out from the crowd is often a more surefire way to carve out a piece of the market that only you have access to. But for many, the idea of appearing “different”, of being the odd one in the community, the one doing something totally different from every other massage therapy establishment is a little daunting. Whether it’s simply offering a unique modality or branding yourself in some radically different way, standing out is important. And whether you decide to do all digital or boots-to-the-ground type marketing, or a combination of the two, putting yourself out there is necessary and definitely a bit scary to most. So whatever ways you consider standing out, do the brave thing!

Are you brave enough to ask for help?

There’s no doubt that at times in starting and growing a business, you’re going to hit a wall. Whether it’s a lack of knowledge on a particular subject, a time constraint, or some needed encouragement, asking for help is absolutely necessary. There is no shame in it, and considering most people hide behind the guise of knowing it all or being so strong they can handle anything life throws at them, when we all know neither of those things are true all the time, admitting that you need some help is actually quite brave. We all start somewhere, we all need to learn, and we all occasionally need a hand up. And if you’re looking for someone to give you that hand up, reach out to me directly, join our free Facebook group…we have an awesome community and we are all in this together.

Are you brave enough to believe?

You probably have a dream for your business. For some that’s a solid solo practice and for others it’s a wildly large multi-therapist establishment or franchise setup. Whatever it is, are you brave enough to really believe you’ll do it? It may seem simple…”I have a dream. Of course I believe I’ll do it!” but are you living that belief every day?

Are you brave enough to be patient?

Part of being brave is facing the obstacles and understanding that achieving your dreams takes time. Patience is hard, and this is where a lot of people have trouble. The fear of failure, the fear that things aren’t going to work out because it’s “taking too long”, and the next thing you know, they’ve given up. But bravery is often simply doing the day-to-day tasks, making the everyday pushes that WILL add up to get you your dream, and sticking out all that time it takes, staying patient as your dream comes to fruition.

So, no matter what type of massage practice you have, no matter what type of marketing you want to do, no matter what your dreams are, be brave!