How do I find my thing?
That foundational thing from which I can grow my business – my jam, my lane, my genius zone. How do I find my THING?
This was a question one of my group members asked me recently and I wanted to share my thoughts with you because I think this one is going to probably speak to all of us. We have all struggled with this very thing. If you're not struggling now, you probably did when you started your business. I know I did.
I have to be completely honest and say, and you may not want to hear this answer.
But here it is: it's a journey. I know some people jump right into business because they already have their “thing.” Maybe they're jumping into a business doing something they've been doing for 30 years in their career and now they're just switching over to doing that as a business owner.
For most of us, this is not as easy as you might think it would be and it takes time. It's a journey,
There are two sides to the coin in finding that “thing.” That thing that you're passionate about. That thing that will actually help you build a business. It's a foundational thing. And I often talk about platform, especially for coaches, or that kind of a business that's service oriented, that you're actually building a platform that your business is launching from.
When I was learning to be a coach, I thought that my business is about my coaching because that's what I do. But it's not. Coaching is what I do in my business, but my business is about a whole lot more than just the coaching. I am building a platform encompasses the coaching, as well as many other things.
And I get to make it whatever I want it to be. I like to teach so I'm incorporating courses and workshops and webinars - things like that, so that I can impart information and teach skills. And then I do the coaching, one on one usually, or sometimes in a group, which is a different hat that I wear. But my business is not just coaching. It's about everything that I'm doing: the speaking, my book that I just wrote that's coming out in January, my courses that I create, my events and group programs. All these different pieces are part of this platform from which I stand and grow my business.
I am celebrating seven years in business right now, which is mind-boggling, but when I first started out I didn't just arrive at this. It was piece by piece by piece like when kids play with Legos and they're building something. I've been building this one piece at a time and I'm still building it.
If you are starting a business or you're pretty new at it and you're feeling like you don't have a foundation, you don't know what your “thing” is. Don't worry, just relax. And don't stress about it because that's keeping you from tapping into knowing what your thing is. Relax and know that you're normal.
All of this is just a part of the process of putting those pieces together to build your business.
There are two sides to this coin.
The first side is knowing your “thing.” What's your passion, what lights you up, fires you up, gets you going, that you just love doing so much that you could do it hours and hours on end and never get tired of it?
People say, “Yeah, but the thing that really lights me up, I could never make money, I couldn't figure out how to make an income from that.” Throw that thought away right now and just tune into that thing that lights you up. I guarantee you there's a way to make an income out of it. If it's truly a passion of your heart, you can find a way to create an income from it. It may not look the way you think it will look, but there is a way.
The flip side of the coin is this: what do people want? What would your target audience buy from you or pay you to do for them work for them? Whether you're selling a product or service, what is the thing that your people out there are looking for your ideal clients, customers - what do they want?
Sometimes those things are out of alignment. For a while, you might really, really want to do this one thing. But that might not be what your ideal client is looking for right now, it might be what they need, but it might not also be what they are looking for. You've got to match up and align those two things to create your platform, your foundation, so that you can begin to attract into your business, those clients that are looking for what you're offering. And that, my friends, is what takes some time. That's the journey. It's not always quick and easy. But you learn a lot as you go along the journey.
Here are three things you can do:
Sit down with a notebook and make a list. What are the passions of your heart? What are you good at that you also love to do? Where in your life have you had a lot of success? If you could do ANYTHING, and there were no limits, what would you do?
Go out and talk to people and do some research. Find out what people are looking for that might be close to alignment with what you want to do. Look for people to talk to and to find those people that you want to serve and ask them about their challenges in the area where you serve. Find out what your ideal client really needs and wants, what's their challenge in that area. And as you do that, you'll begin to get narrower and narrower and more specific, so that you can match those two pieces together. And then your message will become clearer and clearer.
Speak their language to them. Keep a record of the exact words they say to you. Use those words in your messaging. Use their words to inform you about what programs or products to create. Once you put these two together, and you know now who you're speaking to about their problem and their challenge that you bring an answer to it. Then it’s easier to create that message and to put yourself out there.
Never ever give up.
Never say “I can't.” Instead, ask yourself, “What do I want? And how can I make that happen? What steps do I have to take to make that happen?” Don't tell yourself you can't do something that you truly want to do. When you tell yourself you can’t, you’ve already closed the door on your opportunities. You won’t even try. Instead, focus on what you CAN do right now. Keep moving down the path, taking one more step doing just what you can do right now. Before long, you’ll see how far you’ve come and how much you have been able to achieve. You only fail when you give up and quit. There’s no failure in falling down and getting right back up!
And all of this builds confidence. And it is a journey. I know this is a big topic with not a simple answer. If you're not clear yet, just get laser-focused on the two sides to this coin: what do YOU want to do and what do people WANT?
