In Her Own Words: Tears And Cheese Cake Weren’t Working, But Neither Was Anything Else

Business Development Strategist and Coach Tesa Colvin shares her story of finding her path In Her Own Words …

I was still in a 9 to 5 that was barely meeting my family’s financial needs, and it was eating through my time and energy.

I had to try something else, but what?

I had the same thought off and on for some time, but “Owning a business is just a dream.” – Constantly echoed in my head.  And I never committed to it.

But the reality was it didn’t have to be.

So I researched, studied and planned; then started the process over again. I followed guru after guru, downloaded every freebie available that promised to help me “up-level” my vision and life.

But still there was no change.

And then I found myself in an even more challenging situation.

The job I depended on was demanding more and more hours each day, included verbally abusive management styles, and was seriously affecting my sense of well-being.

I was not in a good place.  In fact, I’d gone from bad to worse.

I looked at the stockpile of information I had.  I’d added a number of purchased courses and resources to go with my reserve of freebies, but I was still missing something.

ACTION!

The simple truth was that dreaming, hoping and wishing alone would not change my situation.

So I started doing… or should I say trying.

I got to a point where I was trying something, anything that could or would gain momentum.  I combed through my resources, followed the step by step instructions from courses, and imitated the greats who professed to have earned millions using these same methods.

Roughly 10 months passed, and still nothing had changed, shifted or up-leveled for me.  And it was at that time, while digging myself deeper and deeper into the mindset that “things would never change, and I would never bring my vision to life” that I received the clarity I desperately needed.

Nothing was changing for me, because in my quest for information and strategies, I let fear turn those tools into laws that I “had” to follow to avoid my fear of failing.  I know it sounds silly, but it boiled down to me trying to use someone else’s road map to their journey, but expecting it to lead me to mine.

Now this next part is very important because it clearly defines where I was in my business building process.

MY MIND, ACTIONS AND INTENTIONS WERE NOT IN ALIGNMENT WITH MY VISION AND GOALS.

This means that even though I was armed with tons of viable strategies and activities, I was trying to do them all instead of only using the ones that were genuine to me and the business I envisioned.

Things that were “Not –So-Me”:

• I started preparing to do webinars – that stalled because I was never really on board with the idea given the fact that I cringe at the word webinar because they are EVERYWHERE.
• I created a FaceBook Page – and posted content regularly, but this proved far less effective since I was still working to find my audience and get them to engage with me.
• I started joining millions of FaceBook groups- This was not as productive initially because there was no rhyme or reason to the groups I joined.

Things that were a much better fit:

• Reviewing the groups I was in, and any new ones I joined to make sure that the objective and rules were in line with me and my business.
• Regularly checking how people engage with my posts and interactions in my groups and leaving ones that are not a good fit.
• Directly connecting with people I interact with in groups.
• Inviting people to like my FaceBook Page regularly
• Remembering to be a person FIRST on my FaceBook profile page.  And not relentlessly spamming people about my books and business.
• Creating my own group to interact with people in consistently in my own unique way.

This experience was frustrating and stressful.  But once I really got the lesson, things really started to change for me, and I understand that without this experience, my trademark concept of “Do IT the Way you Dreamed IT” wouldn’t exist.  I wouldn’t have learned to embrace it OR be so passionate about helping others to tap into it.

Do you find yourself busy building your business, but you’re still not getting the results that you want or expect?

Then now is the perfect time to do a self-check.

1. Start by making a list of the daily actions you are taking for and in your business
2. Really think about how you connect with each task
3. Make note of why you started doing each task
4. Determine if it’s something that you’re motivated to do, or if it feels forced
5. If you feel resistance to any of the items on your list, ask yourself why you continue to do it

Once you have the details of your process listed, and have explored your connection to each task, you can make a clear decision on what you need to stop doing.

And if you find that you are just following the advice of a guru and none of the activities that have been occupying your time are in line with you and you vision, THEN MAKE A NEW LIST.

That’s right, make a list that is genuinely and authentically you.  Think about who you are to your business, what your business offers, your ideal client, where you ideal client hangs out and what you can do to remove limits and filtering to connect with them.

Don’t wait, you’re the boss!  Make a decision and go with it. And as always, “Do IT the Way You Dreamed IT!”

Tesa Colvin is an Author, Escape Plan Clarity Coach and Business Development Strategist, who helps women boldly go from employee to entrepreneur.  She supports these passionate soloprenuers, through tailored coaching and strategy sessions coupled with her signature Quit Like A Pro program.  Her mission is to help entrepreneurs not just set goals, but create effective action plans that help them to be and stay focused and empowered as they build and monetize their businesses.