OTE 029: 2020 In Review, Part 1: The BIG Wake Up Call

2020 was a big wake up in so many ways for entrepreneurs. When you go through a winter, a pandemic, or any significant change, you can sit and complain about why it isn’t like it used to be, or you can get to work. In today’s episode of Owning The Edge Podcast, we will be doing a year in review and looking at all the twists, turns, and growth that happened with us in 2020. 

Why One Business Just Wasn’t for Us

We were building a business called Don’t Die of Dumb that was essentially supposed to embody our passion and love for this concept of longevity. This brand was going to allow us to teach all the things that we were learning about that had helped us through a lot of difficult ordeals and significant changes. 

It was something that we were really passionate about, but we kept hitting this roadblock.

Something wasn’t connecting in this brand.

The reasons we got into it weren’t the same reasons we saw present in our audience. It always seemed like a lot of work to do ANYTHING! It just boils down to us being really excited about longevity when almost none of our clients were. 

Still, we didn’t come to the realization that this company wasn’t for us until a good friend of mine told us that he didn’t see how the company was ever going to work. 

I came to this realization that I wasn’t enjoying the work I was doing. 

What it Takes To Be an Entrepreneur

I love to see entrepreneurs light up and get to that next level. When they change, everything changes. Their audience changes. Their industry changes. The world changes. 

You need to be lit up by what you’re doing. You need to be true to yourself. 

Ask yourself if this is something you want to do for the next five to ten years. Is this something you can show up with full energy for? Do you genuinely want to serve and love your audience?

If you don’t, you’re going to struggle with the brand, and your business will suffer. 

If you’re struggling with your business right now, I urge you to look closely at it and try to find at least a part of it that you enjoy, that lights you up. If you can find something, you can build your business around that. You can figure out how to get the other elements done or even get rid of them if they aren’t contributing to the company or its growth. 

Figure out who it is that you love to serve.

How the Best in the Business Deals with Massive Change

There are A-listers, B-listers, and C-listers in every industry. A-listers are the companies and people at the top of their game, B-listers are the established businesses that are trying to figure out their niche, and C-listers are people who don’t know what they do and have one leg in a lot of different things. 

When shit hits the fan, A-listers do not wait. They are in the game immediately. With this pandemic, A-listers were the first to start bringing their businesses alive online and offering more virtual and remote services. 

It wasn’t like A-listers didn’t struggle emotionally. This pandemic and the major changes that came with it were hard. A-listers were able to show a level of vulnerability, move through their struggles, and continue to serve. 

Your Business is a Reflection of You

If you are struggling emotionally and mentally, your business will be struggling right there with you. 

You would think most business comes down to tactics, like if you have a solid product. But what you see happening, especially if you are the face of your company, is that your mental health really impacts your business.

This is why innovation is such an essential part of your mental wellbeing and your business. You have to be able to innovate and think ahead. 

If you’re doing things the same way it’s always been done in your business after a massive change hits, you’re going to be out of business.

Similarly, if your coping mechanisms and ways to get social interaction have suddenly been cut off due to a pandemic, you need to be making changes to feel connected again or innovating to find new coping mechanisms for your mental health. 

Thanks For Listening! 

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Today’s TOP Take-Aways:

• »Why One Business Just Wasn’t for Us [6:30]
• »What it Takes to be an Entrepreneur [14:12]
• »How the Best in the Business Deals with Massive Change [17:28]
• »Your Business is a Reflection of You [23:57]

Quote:

• »I love to see entrepreneurs light up and get that next level. Because when they change, everything changes, their whole audience changes. Their industry changes when they really light up world change.