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So many of us have those lofty dreams. It can be anything that gets us out of our comfort zone from trying a new workout routine to starting our own business. For me, 16 years ago was a "day one" for me - starting our ultrasound business with, as I always say "shaky hands and a dream". And I am here to tell you, I have had MANY "day ones' along the way. Like TODAY. Today, I'm doing something way out of my comfort zone and am publishing my first podcast. EEK! It's scary, and I don't know if it will be well-received, if people will like it, if it will be a flop, or if it will be a success!! All I know is that I create this content for you. For the tech that's sick of call, sick of someone else making their hours, sick of dreaming a dream that they just can't seem to bring to reality. YOU are who I'm talking to, and it's why I love what I do SO much. Because I'm here to tell you, it is scary, it may flop, but my friend, what if it WORKS. So, any day can be your "day one" - let's talk about how to get you there!
Full disclosure I'm still trying to figure out the tech part of this, so you can listen here and I am working on finalizing Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, and multiple other options for you - stay tuned!! And show notes will be listed here in the blog - that way if you like to read your content, it's right here for ya! If you'd rather listen to it, that's here in the podcast. I hope you enjoy!
Likely if you’re listening to this podcast or reading these show notes on our blog, you have considered starting your own business. To give you a quick background on myself, I'm a small town girl who grew up on a farm. I didn’t come from a rich family or a business family or have anything handed to me. Although I didn’t know the definition of the word “entrepreneurship” when I was a kiddo, I always knew I wanted my own thing. I wanted to be in control of my own destiny, and not have a glass ceiling that I had to work under. But, like most everyone else, fear, complacency, "normalcy" sets in and you do the things that are comfortable.
I went to college, got a great job making great money, and then my fiancé got an incredible job offer…in another state. We got married and moved, and I got a new job…and absolutely hated it. I mean HATED it. Like, I would eat lunch in my car most days and cry. Not proud of that, but it's the truth. It was my crossroads. And I have to say this happens to most people. If being in business for yourself was easy, everyone would do it. It’s not easy. It’s hard. But before people take that leap, they usually have to have that one moment, that crossroads where they say NO MORE. I’m done, I’m out, I’m doing something on my own….this is when the excuses STOP and action begins.
So, all this to say – I'm not someone special. I didn’t have something handed to me, I didn't follow in someone's footsteps who had done this before and knew all the ins and outs. If I can do this ANYONE can, and that’s why I LOVE what I do so so much. I can take alllllll of the mistakes I made, all the hard work I put into all the WRONG things and put my nearly 20 years of experience into a tried and true plan for others that were in my same situation. Others ready to take the plunge and say NO MORE, I want to do something for ME and my family, and give those people something that allows them to put all their hard work into the steps that actually work.
Enough talk about me, let’s talk about YOU. I’m here to tell you today that ANY day can be your DAY ONE. Everyone has a day ONE. I just told you about mine – I was fed up and said "NOPE, I’m done. See ya! I’m gonna sink or swim on my own." So, let’s talk about the 4 steps to get you to YOUR day ONE.
1. Convincing YOURSELF you CAN dream big, you’ve got this!
2. Getting your spouse/family on board
3. Turning PLANS into ACTION
4. Evolving – start small and grow into it
Bonus: Start before you’re ready – you can come up with ALLLL kinds of excuses – don’t be haphazard but JUST DO IT. Done is better than perfect.
How many of us have had the dream of starting our own thing? Answering to ourselves. Forgetting the corporate bureaucracy. No more call. No more graveyard shifts. The list goes ON. Don’t get me wrong, being a business owner isn’t all rainbows and unicorns….I laughed today with my business partner – he was building crates for a few ultrasound machines he was shipping to a client, and I was cutting out name tags for a seminar we were putting on. HA!
Almost 16 years in and we aren’t afraid to get our hands dirty with the mundane details an “assistant” could do! Especially when you first start your business – you’re everything to your business. You’re the sales person, marketer, business executive, and janitor all in one! It’s crazy, but man it’s the coolest experience in the world. Looking around at what you’ve created and saying “this. is. Mine.” WOW.
So, let's go more in depth with the 4 ways we can start building into our own "day one."
1. Yes, you CAN. Believe in yourself! I don’t know about you, but my parents have been trying to tell me I’m awesome and I should believe in myself since I was knee high to a grasshopper as they say here in the Midwest. :) Why is this concept so hard for us to grasp? I’m here to tell you that you HAVE to block out those negative thoughts AND the negative people. Starting your own business is scary. Your brain will tell you that scary = dangerous. But this isn’t always the case!! Scary CAN equal change. And change and growth are ALWAYS uncomfortable. If they weren’t uncomfortable we’d all have our own multi-billion dollar companies, jet-setting around without a care in the world, am I right??
It will always be uncomfortable. And that’s when you know you’re moving towards great things. How do you get there? Educate yourself!! This is something that is so hard to grasp. Our brain is actually wired to focus on the negative so we HAVE to teach it the positive and wire those connections. Listen to podcasts, read books, have motivational mantras you say to yourself every day, whatever will help you, this is the first place you need to start, because if you don’t believe in yourself I’m here to tell ya the rest ain't gonna happen. If you don't believe in yourself, no one else will. You can’t convince your spouse or family this is a great idea if you don’t even believe it yourself.
2. Getting your spouse or family on board. Ok I just have to put this out there first – when you start a business – or heck, do ANYTHING out of the ordinary, you’re gonna have haters. It’s inevitable. We, as humans, like for everyone we are close to, to be on the same level as us. Think about this… you move up a level? Strive to do something different, or heaven forbid - extraordinary? Get me out of my comfort zone? I’m gonna tell you it’s silly and ridiculous for you to try that. Why? Because is scares ME. Usually the “hate” (however that looks) that’s spewing from others has nothing to really do with what you’re doing – it’s their own insecurities that are speaking to you. So, you've got to just know this is going to happen when you go out on a limb and do something most deem as “crazy”, like ditch your boss and do things for yourself for once.
So let’s chat about getting your spouse or family on board – You’ve GOT to become a vision caster. CASTING that vision is going to help them see beyond the initial “wait, WHAT?” response most people have “crazy” ideas. And have a plan!! What if you start slower than you planned? What if things don’t grow as fast as you predict or as fast as you’d like? Or heaven forbid, what if you FAIL? Have a plan to pick yourself up after each of these scenarios and share those with your loved ones who question what is going to happen. This will make them feel more at ease with your decision if you’ve thought about worst case scenario fixes beforehand. BUT protect that vision!!! There will always be the naysayers. You have got to follow your gut, your dreams, and your intuition.
3. Turn your plans into ACTION. This is where most people get stuck!! We think that planning and researching, and discussing, and conceptualizing moves the needle, moves us towards something, but most of the time – not all the time but most of the time, those are excuses. We dilly-dally around because if we do that, we can SAY we’re working on our business without actually having to do anything that puts us out of our comfort zone. Now, I’m not saying go into a business willy-nilly without a plan or care in the world. Far from it! I think a well thought out plan, and a detailed idea of how to get from A to B is essential, heck we’ve built a business around JUST that – helping others start and grow their ultrasound business with a specific tried and true plan. But the researching and planning and detailing and all of that, if it’s perpetual, is going to hinder you for YEARS. I’ve seen it way too many times. We’ve been doing this for nearly two decades and I've seen it more times than I can count. Don’t let yourself fall into that trap. You’ve got to put that plan into ACTIONABLE steps and hit the ground running. Even if it’s a jog…just GO. Get out there and “DO”.
4. Done is better than perfect! Remember, you can EVOLVE! This is something that is hard for me personally, so I know a lot of you are feeling this way. When I start something new, (like this podcast for example, yikes!) it’s scary! It’s nerve-wracking! And it’s something that brings me a lot of anxious and unhelpful thoughts. My head is spinning just thinking about all of the things I felt and told myself about why I shouldn't do this. But the point is, you can start small and EVOLVE. I know right now what my audience needs. The people watching what I’m doing are ultrasound techs who want to have their own business, but they’ve researched or maybe even started and realized it’s a LOT more in depth and difficult to navigate than they thought and they need guidance.
So, I can start with that and build upon it based on what my audience likes. You can pivot and move and change with the market when you start seeing what your audience likes and wants. So for you as an ultrasound tech, for example - maybe you start with staffing a few docs offices and then you realize there are quite a few physicians that don’t have ultrasound equipment OR a tech and you pivot into providing those services as well. That’s actually something that’s brewing over here in my mind – I think it’s a great way to start if you’re looking to do something super gradual. Growing and evolving is part of ANY business, so we shouldn’t be scared to start small, start with what we can, and grow and evolve from there.
Well, you guys have seen me go out on a limb with something that scared me, now it's your turn! That was hard for me, but you know what – I did it. And I know that change and growth requires those uncomfortable moments. I hope that became clear to you today, and I hope you’ll join me on the next show! Til next time, friends!
