I did something today that was way, way outside my comfort zone. I went on the news. As someone who has built a career around supporting from behind the scenes, it was a huge personal evolution to accept this challenge, and opportunity when it arose. Reflecting on the last 8 months since launching my business, I have been through a cascade of experiences that are outside of my comfort zone, and it has taught me something important about myself, my business and how to help other businesses find their success.
My tendency by nature is to be a perfectionist, which serves me in certain ways, and can be an obstacle in others. Going on live news is not built for perfectionists. Never mind perfectionists with stage fright. But having stepped on many unsteady stones throughout my journey from corporate employee to Business Owner, I have learned to accept that perfection is not the ultimate sign of success. Sometimes, trying something new, and learning from it, is more important than performing your same old tricks and sticking the landing.
My business has already been through quite a lot of evolution since it first launched. Some evolutions are small, and some are big. One critical thread throughout that evolution has been humility. I have had to accept that I don’t have every answer all the time. That might have scared me in the past, but building my business from a growth mindset has allowed me to see possibility in fresh ways and has allowed me to walk away from things that were holding me back. Owning a small business is incredibly challenging but being willing to evolve—to meet your customers’ needs, clients’ needs or even your own needs—is integral to success.
Bearing that in mind inspired me to launch a new micro-service called “Strategy Spark” aimed at helping businesses generate new, out-of-the-box ideas to achieve their business objectives. It can be difficult in the demanding world of small business to step outside business-as-usual. Sometimes that little bit of extra creative energy simply doesn’t exist. However, it is so important to the short-term success, and the longevity of a business to be capable of evolution. Even trying out a few new ideas—whether it be new product categories, refreshed branding, or different client outreach tactics—can have huge long-term impact on business success.
There is a reason we all have our comfort zones, and why we retreat there when we feel overwhelmed. Our comfort zones feel safe and have served us well in the past, however setting up full time residency there means there is no room to grow. Even a small step out of your comfort zone can open a host of new possibilities. In the past I might have felt overcome by the inevitable imperfection of live news, but today I feel so proud of myself that I did something that scared me and that I was able to support an organization I believe in as a result. It is a reminder for myself, my business, and the businesses that I support that evolution is possible and necessary. Try something new for your business, or for yourself and see what it can spark.
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