“Face the Fear and Move On” by Barbara Saunders

Barbara Saunders delivered an excellent seminar last Thursday on business models based on multiple revenue streams.  This article from her blog set the scene for the presentation. Barbara works with self-employed solo professionals (who she calls “Solo Pros”) to gain confidence, adopt smart business practices, and increase revenue. This is an excerpt of her article, full version here. Read her other posts on The International Association of Self-Employed Communications Professionals Blog here.

Be a Lion

The Cowardly Lion was the one that was always scared – “I do believe in spooks!” Yet he was the one that led the charge against the Wicked Witch and her monkey minions. Well, eventually…

Fear can be paralyzing. It robs us of our peace and potential. Being in business can be scary. Things can move fast – especially on the internet. You don’t have time for fear. I would love to empower you to turn your fear into excitement.

Tips To Help You Move On:

I’m not good enough.
One of the most common fears, especially for those that are recently laid off, is “I’m not good enough to have my own business”. Get over it already. You’re a professional with years of experience. Yes, there are some new technologies to learn to run your business. That’s good news. It makes business so easy now. Yes, there are some new marketing tactics to master. Think of it as on-the-job training. Jump in and start swimming.

There’s another angle to this. As creative professionals, we can tweak and edit until the cows come home. Guess what? No body cares if the comma is in the wrong place. Nobody cares if your image is a few pixels to the left. Just get on with it already. Get yourself out there. Listen to what your target market needs and create the solution for them. Keep it simple at first. The point is to move. The longer you wait and worry, the bigger your fears will become. Good is good enough, get on with it.

My own business might not provide me with a ‘guaranteed income’.
There are no guarantees in anything, move on. Remember that job you were laid off from? You worked hard and got laid off anyway. At least when it’s your own business you are the one that benefits from your own hard work. And when it’s not working, you can change it. You’re in control of where you’re going. That’s way better than any guarantees. Besides why should any guarantee put a limit on what you can earn?…

This is an excerpt of her article, full version here. 

About the Author

Barbara Saunders, IASECP

Barbara Saunders is a publication designer and has run a successful solo pro business for more than a decade. She is the Director of the International Association of Self-Employed Communication Professionals and the Solo Pro Academy (www.IASECP.com). It’s our mission to build community and help creative solo pros build and run successful businesses by providing support, innovation, tools, and strategies. Our goal is to liberate our members from the feast and famine cycle.