I've fallen in LOVE...again

I’ve fallen in love with my business again.

We were on the rocks there for a while.

It was a bit ’touch and go’.

To be fair, a lot was going on for me back then.

So it’s no surprise we had a challenging time.

I had a stint in hospital.

I’d agreed to work with some clients I shouldn’t have.

We took on projects that were wrong for us.

And there were daily troubles at home.

The business had become a loadstone around my neck.

I began to resent it.

There was this belief that I HAD to grow the business just so I could pay all the bills, and salaries.

And I couldn’t leave because of the salary I was taking home.

The golden handcuffs.

I was stuck…and I was unhappy.

So there were a few years when I really wanted to leave the business but didn’t know how.

I felt trapped.

It came to a head one day when I realised that half of the business income was coming in from the ten people I employed.

While the other fifty percent was coming from my consulting work alone.

Making two changes transformed everything.

Number one.?

I cut out the work I didn’t love.

The work I wasn’t amazing at.

We closed the production side of the business and stopped accepting production work.

Even if it meant that I missed out on larger contracts because of it.

Because I was clear on what I DIDN'T want,

I was able to get more specific about what I DID want.

Being specific meant more people understood how to engage me.

More of the right work came in faster.

Work became enjoyable again.

The second step was a mental one.

I decided that the aim of my business was NOT to exit.

It was NOT some financial summit.

Trying to reach that point just left me frustrated because every time I got to the top of one mountain I just saw more mountains to climb.

I expected that I would reach some milestone and stop at some point.

But that wasn’t me.

I felt like I was in an endless race against other business owners…it was exhausting.

There are two types of business games.

The one you finish as fast as you can, and the one you keep playing because you love it.

My revelation was that this business could be my vehicle to play an infinite game.

I could use it as a vehicle for my development and improvement.

That each client engagement was not just a transaction, but an opportunity to level up.

Treating it more like a game I played for fun!

Now that I saw my goal was to simply stay in the game, things changed.

The longer I stay in the game the better I get and the easier it is.

I now play the game of business by my own rules.

I increase my opportunity flow, just so I can say no to clients who don’t suit.

While I do focus on some technical improvements,

Now it’s more about improving results for clients.

Can I get them a bigger result?

A faster result.

More efficient outcomes.

I take cash flow and invest.

And the faster I solve problems the more TIME I build back into my business week.

Providing increasing value is a much more rewarding game to play.

I no longer play the delivery game, and I’m more fulfilled.

The old way was to get clients in because I HAD to.

Now I engage clients because I want to.

Every new client is a new adventure.

I’ve fallen in love with my business again.

Because I love the game.

?? Stay Passionate!