Moving Past Fear to Small Business Success
One of my clients is in a transition stage with her business.
Her practice has become so successful that she no longer has the
time to do her administrative work or even the marketing work
that helped her become successful. I am working with her
developing a plan to hire administrative and functional staff
that will allow her to continue to grow her business and enjoy
her work life.
One of the issues we are facing which affects many business
owners is that if she doesn't have time to do what she's already
doing, where will she get the time to hire new employees, train
them and do the marketing that is needed to justify the new
employees? She keeps coming home to a pile of work and it has
created a huge block to her growth. We just returned from a
business trip where we learned new ways to grow the business and
improve operating efficiencies. During the meetings and
initially afterwards my client was incredibly excited about the
possibilities. But then something disconcerting happened.
I've seen this happen before. In fact, it's happened to me many
times and probably has happened to you as well. As my client
started looking at the work that she would need to do to match
the new vision she had, she went from excited to overwhelmed.
This was painful to witness. I want to see my clients succeed
just as much as parents want their children to. Watching her, I
saw the excitement fade and fear and resistance mount. As we
condensed our notes from our business meetings, the resistance
became stronger and stronger and I heard resignation in her
voice as we talked about what was needed. The list we had
created was long and contained tasks that comprised weeks of
work. And in her current mood, she wasn't about to do it.
As her consultant, it is my job to make this project work for
her. What I realized was that she was in the middle of the
classic change cycle. Whenever we go through a change, we go
through this six stage cycle.
Loss--Whether good or bad, the change will bring about a sense
of loss of what "was". Doubt- You doubt yourself, the project,
the facts, the timing--and you try to find reasons to not move
forward. Discomfort-- Or more specifically fear-- This is the
danger area. If you can't move beyond the fear, the change will
be impossible. Discovery--The light at the end of the tunnel.
Options and possibilities open up and optimism builds based on
your new choices. Understanding--You now really understand the
change and are proactively involved in it. You see it benefits
and know its usefulness. Integration--The change has stopped
being a change because it has now become a part of you and you
have integrated the challenges and successes into your life.
The critical stage in this process is the discomfort or fear
stage. If you can't get beyond the fear, you can't move forward
and you will be stuck. I've found that the most useful thing
that we can do is acknowledge that we are scared. It's not easy
for most people to say that they are scared of a change at work
or at home, especially when they can see the benefits that the
change will bring. But speaking up and saying that you are
afraid is the most important part of moving ahead.
You may be afraid to speak out the fear because it may seem
"silly". It may be the fear of the unknown, the fear of success,
or the fear of failure. It may be an insecurity that you aren't
good enough and the change is going to expose your weakness. You
can't hide from the fear. Dig deep and get it out of you. Put it
on paper and take a good look at it. Remember the saying that
FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real. Now give it to friends,
associates, and co-workers and let them help you. They can give
you perspective on the change and how it will help you and how
you can overcome the fear.
This will also help you with stage four, seeing the light at the
end of the tunnel. As the fear dissolves, you will start to see
options and possibilities and become optimistic about the
change. And now you are moving forward again embracing the new.
Understanding the six stages of change and especially the
critical Fear stage is important for any business's long-term
success. We have to embrace change and be proactive to stay
competitive and be profitable. Whenever your business is faced
with a change, minor or major, be aware of this and work to help
everyone involved to move as quickly as possible through the
fear stage and into the abundance the change will bring you.
Michael Clark
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