Make This The Year You Finally Start Your Dream Business

Businesses are in a strange place right now. While some small businesses have faltered or failed in the last year, other businesses (especially online businesses) have taken off. Although common sense might suggest otherwise, historically recessions have been a great time to start a business. Well-known companies like Trader Joe’s, Microsoft, Netflix, and AirBnB were all started during periods of recession.

Right now, moms are under particular pressure as they take on the responsibilities of home schooling. The pressures of the pandemic and motherhood have produced severe burnout. Yet, despite the difficulties for businesses and the struggles of being a mom, right now might be the time to finally build your dream business.

Even if you’re committed to making your business work, you don’t want to just jump in unprepared. Business is not for the faint of heart. Because of that, I’ve compiled this guide to help you make this year the year you finally start your dream business.

1. Clarify your why

It’s important to determine whether you’re running away from something (like a job you dislike) or being pulled to something (like fulfilling a lifelong dream). I spent years in the corporate world, building a career and obtaining my MBA in the process. When my daughter was born, the dream to create my own business was reignited. I’d had this dream since childhood and determining my own schedule and balancing the demands of work and home pulled me toward the creation of my own business.

As you consider starting your own business, it’s important that you take time to clarify why you want to go into business for yourself in the first place. Determine what your values are and what running a successful business looks like to you. Audit your personality type, strengths, passions and habits to help hone in on what direction you should take. Define what your dream business
looks like and the lifestyle it will offer to you and your family. And most importantly - as a person of faith - what God is calling you to do.

2. Take stock & do an audit of your life.

Take time to ask the serious questions about your life and your ability to start a business in the first place. Ask yourself how ready you are financially to quit your job to transition full time into running your own business. Determine if your savings and support systems will allow you to make that leap.

Some questions won’t be easy or comfortable to ask. Ask yourself if you really have the strengths and skills you need to run a successful business. If you don’t, figure out if you can learn and build those skills and how long that learning process will take. Do you have a contingency plan if your business doesn’t take off as fast as you expect? Additionally, although the eventual goal is unchaining yourself from the daily grind of work, you need to seriously
consider if you’re ready for the more than full-time commitment involved in starting a business.

3. Take care of any issues now so you, your home, and your relationships are fully prepared for business ownership.

Make sure that you, your home, and your relationships are really ready for you to start your own business. How will household tasks be managed with the long hours you’ll be putting in to get your business off the ground? Who will be responsible for tasks you’re no longer able to do? Will you hire help, or will family members pitch in to help?

If your home and your relationships aren’t prepared for business ownership, now may be the time to do the necessary work to get ready prior to starting your business. If your home isn’t ready for your changing commitments, it’s better to know now than when you’re months into starting your business.

4. Create goals, an action plan, and a transition plan.

Create goals for your business. Determine how many customers, how much income, or what other milestones you want to use to measure your business’s success.

Once you’ve created your goals, write down all of the steps you’ll need to take to reach your goals. Break down tasks into smaller tasks, leaving you with no doubt about what needs to be done to start your business.

If you’re leaving another job or reducing your responsibilities at home, create a transition plan to help you and your family with the changes happening. Determine the financial and time investments needed to create your business.

5. Get mentorship and support.

Take the time to learn from someone that has already started a business. They can walk you through the process and help you think of things you wouldn’t otherwise consider.

I can’t iterate enough how important this is. When I leased a space for my business, I could have saved thousands of dollars if I’d only known what I know now. If I’d known how and when to start my lease, I wouldn’t have lost so much money that I did because of build out delays. I was paying rent even before my studio was open. You just don’t know what you don’t know sometimes! With the right mentors, you can avoid similar pitfalls.

It’s also good to get together with like-minded individuals. Find people with similar dreams and spend time with them. As a person of faith, it’s especially important to surround yourself with others who are operating with wisdom founded in Biblical principles. Together, you can look for ways to use your business to represent and glorify God. Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens
iron, so one man sharpens another.” Allow your godly relationships to be mutually beneficial. As I’ve matured in my faith, it’s been increasingly important to me that I surround myself with others who share my beliefs and whose advice is rooted in Scripture.

It’s for this reason that I will be creating a Facebook group to serve as a Christ-centered community for aspiring and current mompreneurs. My desire is to create a space where women of faith can encourage and strengthen each other as they build highly profitable and purposeful businesses.

Together, we can make a Kingdom impact and magnify God’s glory in our businesses and at home. It will be a place where I’ll share proven business strategies based on Biblical truths and my experience to help you build a business – and a life - that you’ll truly enjoy. A community in which we all grow in and strengthen our faith, family and fortune.

Conclusion

There’s a story about actor Jim Carrey that speaks to the early days of starting a business. He was telling how his dad had been scared to follow his dream and had taken the safe route of an accounting job. However, when he was laid off from that ‘stable’ job, he (Jim Carrey that is) discovered that while he could fail when taking a risk, he could also fail when choosing the “stable” option. So why not take the risk anyway?

I’d take that a step further to say that if we’re truly stepping into our God-given purpose and calling, there is no way we can truly fail. If and when God gives us a vision, he will provide for us as we fulfill it. Sometimes it’s just a matter of stepping out in faith and trusting that while we cannot see all of the steps involved, God can. And he will provide.

I’m looking forward to connecting with all of you in my new Facebook group where I will be sharing more about starting, running and growing the business of your dreams. Click here to sign up for my list to be the first to hear when I launch the community.  I look forward to seeing and connecting with you there!