Falling in Love with Your Business Again

Being in business reminds me of dating and marriage. When you are first considering going into business for yourself, I liken it to the dating phase. Should I take the leap of faith and dive in despite the butterflies in my stomach? Will people ask me if I am sure it is right for me or think I am insane, crazy or just blinded by the excitement of it all? When you decide to take that leap of faith, explore the opportunity thoroughly, decide it is right for you and walk down the aisle to open your business it is akin to taking that next step and making a long-term commitment.

By now, you have probably heard experts say that it takes three to five years to establish a business. Year one is simply about survival, year two is about working it out and year three is about knocking it out of the park, up leveling and leveraging. However, all too often, I come across entrepreneurs that are running out of steam and money by year three and the bloom is beginning to come off the rose. They are not quite sure why the universe does not seem to light up when they wake up to a new day and they are realizing that business, much the same as a marriage, requires some work.

So how can we entrepreneurs deal with this and get that loving feeling back? Let’s take the word LOVE and look at it another way to help you to get your groove on again.

L – Make a LIST of what brought you into your business.

1. What made you feel excited about your business idea in the first place?
2. Why did you think it was the right fit for you?
3. What kept you up all night because you were too excited to sleep?
4. What gave you goosebumps when you were thinking about making this a long-term commitment?
5. What made you certain this was the right commitment for you?

Once you have answered those questions then be:

O – OBJECTIVE about why you may not be as excited today as you were back then.

1. Ask yourself what has changed from your starry-eyed start and think about what you can do to get that gaze
2. Are there some things you should stop doing because you cannot change others and all it does is frustrate the living daylights out of you?
3. Is it time to start delegating the things that do not get you excited about your business and get back to doing what you love to do? I can just hear you telling me that you can’t afford to bring someone else in but I’m telling you that you can’t afford not
4. Is it time to admit to yourself that you might not be having very much fun and that some changes need to be made? Newsflash: you might need to be part of that change as well to spice up your business and your life!

To read the "V" and "E" of LOVE and get the loving feeling back as an entrepreneur, click here.