success Archives - Page 2 of 2 - High Performance Coach Cindy Donaldson

Side Hustle Nation – Take the Leap!

In our program the Business Success Network, we love working with Side Hustlers – people who are working their dream gig on the side while holding down a full-time gig that they greatly dislike. (Trying to avoid words like Hate – they just don’t serve me)

If you are SERIOUS about making your Side Hustle the Full Time Hustle – then here are the steps we take our clients through. I need to them to know the following:

Be crystal clear on your WHY. What is your purpose – personally, and does it align with your business model. If the side hustle is just a way to make a buck and you aren’t passionate about it – your business will never be truly successful. You will get burned and give up when the going gets tough – and it will, get tough that is.
Ensure you have a viable business. Just because it’s a great idea, does not mean it’s a viable business model. Perhaps your market is too small or too saturated, you can’t differentiate yourself enough from the competition or you have a time sensitive thing whose time is almost up. You need to crunch the numbers and do some market research.
That you need to be a risk taker. I don’t know one business owner who is risk adverse.
That you need to have a success mindset. You must focus on the long haul and not get hung up on the bumps in the road. You have to BELIEVE you will be successful.
You have capital enough to survive without a paycheck for a while – because most of your $$ has to go back into the company – typically.
You need to deeply understand your customer and their journey – how they will get to you, what you will do once they find you and how you will nurture them. What will their customer experience be like?
Chief Cook & Bottle washer – If you don’t have the capital to pay for help, do you have the talent, will and drive to do it all?
Are you open to coaching and learning? If you have a know it all attitude – you are setting yourself up for failure. Trust me – I’ve been there and it wasn’t pretty.
Are you willing to fail – but more importantly, do you have the mindset that failure is simply an opportunity to learn and grow.
That you need to spend just as much time working on your business in the beginning as in it.
You need to be able to sell or have a process that sells your product for you – i.e. online platforms etc.
Progress NOT Perfection. You need the minimum viable product to launch – it doesn’t need to be perfect, you can always adjust, fix and change as you go. Besides you need feedback from real life buyers!

Side Hustlers, you can make the transition, and the time is really up to you. If you are focused on the end game, that transition will be far less painful than if you look at ALL you need to do and it will go a lot quicker.

Mindfulness and success – the connection

Leave a Comment / Culture, Fun Stuff, Must Read Blogs, Uncategorized / By Cindy Donaldson / January 18, 2018 / Action, Cindy Donaldson, connection, focus, happiness, losing, mindfulness, ownership, Red Barn Consulting LLC, results, success, winning

Winning vs. Losing

Succeeding vs. Failing

Happy vs. Sad

It all comes down to what you really want. #truth.

There are times in life that we all struggle, be it personally or professionally. Sometimes, they happen at the same time and life feels like it’s consuming you and not in a good way.

Some people stay in a state of \”Losing, Failing and/or Sadness” while others seem to live in a world of “Winning, Succeeding and Happiness.”

First let’s address that perception. No one wins all the time, succeeds all the time, nor is happy all the time. The difference is they have the ability to bounce back and focus on the bigger picture. Live in the moment, yes, but staying there is dangerous when you are in a funk. Unfortunately, many deal with depression and other mental illnesses that don’t allow them to get unstuck and life is a constant battle of how to move forward. Thankfully, for the majority of us, we can easily move from one mindset to another but we have to make the choice to do so.

The key is focusing on what you want, versus what you don’t want. Seeing losing and failing as an opportunity to learn from mistakes, adjust, iterate, and move on. Seeing sadness as a temporary grieving process for something that well…just sucks, but finding the silver lining and realizing tomorrow is another day.

If we always focus on the things we don’t have – we will never get the things we want.

When it comes to business, this also holds true. Even the great business leaders of our day will tell you it’s not all lollipops and unicorn dust – some days are tough. Tough decisions have to be made, cash flow issues, employee drama… the list goes on…and on.

As an entrepreneur, you need to think long term and recognize the bumps in the road are just that – bumps.

Be Mindful. Focus on what you want vs. what you don’t.

If your mind is consumed with cash flow issues and you just sit in front of your computer looking at the $.03 in your checking account for hours, days, months vs. taking action to amend the situation, you will in fact still have $.03 in your checking account a month from now.

Better to:

Be real. Be honest about the situation. How did you get there? What caused it and more importantly how can you reverse it and not repeat.

Take ownership. As a business owner the buck stops with you. If things aren’t going correctly, take charge. Bring in some experts. Ask for help. Don’t stay frozen in time.

Eye on the Big Picture. Know that tomorrow really is another day. That it’s not a sign of weakness nor failure to ask for help and that no one is successful without setbacks. No one. EVER.

Be Mindful. Be aware of how you feel. Be aware of your actions. Be aware of your behaviors…your repeated behaviors.

If your messy desk causes you to spend 2 hours a day searching for things and you are whining about not enough time in the day. Well…clean your desk.

Mindfulness. Action. Results.

Success. Winning. Happiness. #lifegoals with some bumps in the road. Bring them on!

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