So, you want to start a business…
You’re tired of the 9-5 life, sick of the office, and ready to go after that freedom lifestyle. Or maybe you’re thinking of making a drastic career change. Because, it’s time.
You’ve seen hundreds of others online do just that by starting a business, and maybe you even know several people in your life who have done something similar.
“This is it,” you’re thinking, “The path to the life I want!”
I’m not here to tell you not to start a business, but I do want to provide a sober piece of advice.
It’s very possible that your soon-to-be business will be everything you need and want it to be.
And, it’s also possible your first business will not be the one you stick with.
And that’s okay. It’s great actually. It’s a sign of evolution and self-discovery.
Actually, self-discovery is what I want to talk about.
It’s very challenging to know what you want to do in business without knowing yourself first.
If you take a “start your online business” course, you’ll probably run into something like this:
While this is a great place to start, I feel like it oversimplifies the process. Like, a lot.
From my experience, starting with this brainstorming activity is like starting a book in the middle.
Sure, you can probably get a good idea of what’s going on, but you missed the whole foundational set-up for the plot. You missed a lot of juicy stuff.
No matter what you do, the moment you decide to start a business, you’re starting from where you are, with the resources you have, and the knowledge you have at that moment.
That includes knowledge you have about yourself.
And maybe, up until now, you’ve only had the opportunity to know yourself through limited means. The experiences we have define our values and beliefs. Experiences that stick to the script often mean values that fit neatly inside the script’s box.
If you’ve followed the standard path up until this point, that’s the perspective you’re bringing to your business brainstorming session.
How much do you really know about yourself if you haven’t stepped off this path?
It’s incredibly difficult to assess a business idea or NEW career options, when your frame of reference is simply “not this current/past option,” and when so much of your self-knowledge and self-identity up to this point are wrapped up in this limited frame of reference.
The way you’ve spoken about who you are, what you do, and why you do it over and over at events, parties, family gatherings, networking events, work, school, etc., has created the version of you that exists right now. How has this impacted what you believe to be true about yourself, your values, your likes, your wants, your goals, and even the way you like to work?
This is why I feel that the actual first step toward starting your business should be self-exploration and self-discovery (saying “should,” but IRL there are no shoulds and obviously do whatever you want).
| Psst! Do you already have a business and feel like something’s off? Or lack confidence in showing up for it? Check out my masterclass that helps you dive deeper into this. |
I totally get the desire to make urgent changes, so if it’s available to you, take some time for absolutely nothing. And then use this time to explore interests and curiosities. Indulge desires. Spoil one’s self.
Figuring out what you actually want requires so much SPACE, which is why I think it’s imperative to be intentional about creating that space for yourself.
What does self-exploration look like?
It all comes back to exploring.
After so long following the standard path in life, we can become numb to our true wants and desires, to the authentic versions of ourselves.
You can imagine how challenging the above brainstorming activity would be in this case.
This is why it’s sooo, so important to start finding our way back to ourselves first. To start getting reacquainted with ourselves.
And what does that even look like? How does one go about getting reacquainted with oneself?
Note: I’m not saying you have to wait forever until you know yourself 100% and have basically reached enlightenment. Nuh-uh. I’m just saying START the process. Business will teach you a whole lot about yourself anyway. That’s part of the process too. The key thing is to know what being in and out of alignment really feels like because that’s a huge asset when making any type of decision (AKA something you’ll need to do constantly in business, and life as a free bird for that matter).
So, back to the question – where to even start with getting to know oneself better?
With curiosity!
The things we’re even a little curious about are actually magical little breadcrumbs guiding us along our journeys.
Our interests aren’t things we have to earn time for through drudgery and hard work.
They’re pieces of us that deserve our time and attention.
And we, as humans, deserve to spend our time and attention on things we’re interested in and curious about.
Because *hint* → the idea that we need to earn happiness and joy through hard work is an outdated, patriarchal concept that we really need to let go of.
SO ANYWAY, here are a few questions to help get you started on your journey of getting to know yourself better:
-
- If I had a day (or week/month) to myself, how would I want to spend my time and energy?
- What do I want right now that I can actually give to myself (i.e. not something that requires a ton of planning or advanced scheduling)?
- Do I know who I am?
- Who am I when I’m alone?
- What do I do or think about when I’m alone?
- What do I do or think about when no one needs me / when I’m not thinking about others’ needs?
- When do I prioritize myself and my own needs/wants? How?
- Do I feel guilty about wanting? If so, what if I didn’t feel that way?
- What kinds of people do I admire and look up to? What draws me to them?
- Do I feel envy toward anyone? What is it about them that makes me feel this way? (*hint* envy is a sign of wanting something we don’t have / don’t think we can have.)
- What would I do “if only I had more time?”
- When do I feel most excited?
- When do I feel most peaceful?
- When I’m in a total flow state, what am I doing?
- What did I love as a kid?
- What parts of myself / my childhood do I think about or look back fondly on?
- What memories or experiences would I want to relive?
- What do I aspire to?
- What are my favourite accounts to follow online? What do I like about them? What types of posts do I find most interesting?
| Psst! Do you already have a business and feel like something’s off? Or lack confidence in showing up for it? Check out my masterclass that helps you dive deeper into this. |
