Business is not linear; it is not a matter of marching steps from A to B to C. I know that it may seem like the business world should be all about numbers and charts and spreadsheets, but the fact is, your business and your industry has cycles and a tendency to be up and down and unpredictable—just like other aspects of this human life!
We can get lulled into expecting a perpetual upward trajectory for our business because it tends to seem that way in the beginning of starting a business. After all, we are starting from zero and have all sorts of energy and excitement to put into our business. Every sale is growth and we are likely bringing a great deal of freshness and focus to our fledgling business. But, after we’ve been at it for a while, we might feel some drooping, sales might slip, the market or economy might change, and we might find ourselves starting to panic and think we’ve “lost it.”
The fact is, the most successful businesses weather a lot of ups and downs and make the commitment to stay in things for the long haul. Read any business magazines or industry trade publications and you can learn about business and market cycles. After you’ve been in business for a while, you will start to notice the way the cycles work and learn all sorts of coping strategies for making the most of the “bad” times and making the best of the “good” times too. It is important, however, to expect that things will not be one marching, upward movement toward wealth and fame and stability. If you were to chart things out over the months and years with your business, you might notice all sorts of little spikes and dips in what will likely be a general direction toward growth.
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Allowing Yourself to Think BIG