There’s a gap. Between what you know how to be and what you want to be.
Closing it requires a lot more than knowledge. Here’s why…
The question I’d ask you if we met…
Think of a successful entrepreneur in your field. Someone who started as a freelancer like you and who has built an amazing business. Maybe it’s someone well-known like Chris Do or Mel Robbins.
Or if you are brand new to freelancing, just think of a very successful business person who built their fortune from scratch. Got someone? Great!
Imagine you took everything from that person. Their businesses, their money, their credit lines, their portfolio, their entire network, so no one even knows who they are. The only thing they have left was $1,000 and their experience.
Now the questions I’d ask you…
Do you think they’d stay broke for long?
Hell no!
They would absolutely rebuild. Not only would they rebuild, but they would also be able to tell you their plan, their milestones, their goals and their resources. (And if you’re skeptical, check out The Challenge by Robert Allen, who did exactly that).
Why? Entrepreneurial Intelligence.
It’s the ultimate goal for any freelance business owner because that’s how you prosper no matter what the world throws your way, (looking at you, global pandemic, gun violence and war).
Entrepreneurial Intelligence is what I want to help you achieve. Here are three things you need to know about the journey to becoming successful…
You don’t know what you don’t know… but somebody does!
If you don’t come from a business background, starting out as a business owner, no matter the scale, can be daunting.
It can feel like you are groping around in the dark trying to make sense of a desperately complex puzzle with moving pieces and changing rules.
I’m here to assure you it’s not at all that complex or difficult once you understand the big picture.
And understanding the big picture is much easier when someone lays it out and explains it in plain English (without leaving out the 10% that allows you to actually implement).
And that’s the trick. Find someone who has been there, has done what you want to achieve and is able to explain it to you.
There are a few tried-and-tested ways to find that person.
You can read expert books, listen to specialized podcasts, find experts who share a significant amount of high-quality, free content (like on this site), take reputable courses, join communities of your peers and, when you have the resources, hire a coach.
But I’d like to add a caveat to what I’ve just said: Less is more.
There’s a veritable army of coaches, trainers, experts and gurus who will do everything in their power to capture your attention.
My advice is to be very, very narrow in your choice. (And this is absolutely a case of do what I say, not what I do, because I learned this one the extra hard way).
This is not because of quality but because of quantity.
The more voices you listen to, the shallower your understanding will be and the less you will learn.
(If you wanted to learn to dance, would you take tango, swing and tap lessons at the same time? Thought not :-).
Pick a small number of people to learn from.
Go deep on what they share with you.
Engage with them if you are invited (here is where you can do that with me).
Understand slowly and deeply. Because true growth comes that way.
It’s not just business. It’s personal.
This might cause an involuntary eye roll on your part, but the greatest value to me of being an entrepreneur has been the personal growth. Please pay attention to how I phrased that!
It took personal growth. Because becoming an entrepreneur can only happen with a significant personal transformation.
Between who you are now and who you will become as a successful entrepreneurial creative will require growth, commitment and resilience. It’s not easy. Because if it were… well, you know the rest.
I’m sharing this with you now because I don’t want you to be under any illusions.
You will be tested.
You will doubt yourself.
You will feel like an imposter.
And you will screw up.
And, it will happen all over again once you reach those higher rungs. You do it because you need to!
Why?
Everything you feel when another obstacle is thrown up in your way? When you’re not 100% sure of yourself? Or when you flat-out screw up?
These are growing pains!
They are signs you are doing the right thing.
And dammit if my father didn’t say this over and over to me as a kid, and I’d roll my eyes…
Yet…
This is how you cross the gap between where you are today and where you want to be.
The most powerful word in your business
Seth Godin created Permission Marketing and his idea is we should only market to people who give us permission to. (This site follows those principles.)
A while back, he gave a talk about education and used the example of a school that had no failing grades. If you didn’t pass an exam, your result was…
Not yet!
Think about that for a moment.
It’s profound and possibly life-changing.
And it applies to you.
Whenever you hit a wall, or feel powerless, or feel like you just can’t – whatever negativity or head trash or fear or doubt comes your way (because it comes for us all at one point or another), and you feel like throwing your hands up and saying, I can’t do this, change that to, I can’t do this…
Add this one word…
…yet.
Then go find help. It’s always there.
The Gap
At the top of this page, I used a provocative heading…
There’s a gap. Between what you know now and what you need to know as an entrepreneurial freelancer. And knowledge won’t get you there. Here’s why…
When most of us start any significant learning journey, we focus on gaining knowledge.
We believe that by knowing more we will master our subject. But in business, this just isn’t true.
Yes, there’s a lot to learn, but the world is full of people who know all this stuff and are poor business people anyway.
That’s because closing that knowledge gap is the wrong focus (and, quite frankly impossible).
But there is another gap, one that is the theme of my work and my ambition for you. It is the gap between who you are and who you need to become.
And it is only crossed through transformation.
And if you undertake this work, you will acquire all the knowledge and skills needed. It is a difficult, trying and wonderful journey.
I actually believe it’s one of the best (unsung) benefits of business ownership – who you become to succeed.
