There’s No Silver Bullet to Business Success (and What to Do Instead)

August 3, 2017

I see you, buying courses promising you more leads in just 3 days or a six-figure salary in your first year.

I see you, watching webinars featuring strategies that were guaranteed to double your traffic and triple your social media following.

You find yourself constantly consuming, pushing creative work to the side. Doesn’t your creativity know you have more to learn before diving in? Silly creativity. It doesn’t understand how business is supposed to work.

You tell yourself you’re only one investment, one strategy, one “silver bullet” away from massive success.

We often forget successful entrepreneurs have shown us otherwise.

Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook as a college dropout in his garage with some friends. JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter as an impoverished single mother. Oprah went from a local TV news anchor to owning a TV network.

What if each of these successful moguls came out and said, “This is EXACTLY what you need to do to reach ultimate success?” We’d laugh because their success looks so vastly different.

We intuitively know success comes in all different forms, but it doesn’t stop us from looking for a prescription to help us reach it faster or better.

Instead of looking for a silver bullet to help our business grow, let’s look at the grassroots efforts that will help you become your own brand of success.

 

 

Know that you have everything you need to succeed already within you

Actually, can you write this down on a post-it note or in your journal as a daily affirmation? It will serve you well.

Most marketers don’t want you to know that you already have all you need to get started. I say that as a business owner with a strong professional background in marketing.

That’s not to say you can’t learn something from the products and services other professionals offer. Our businesses can be enhanced by these new collaborations and content, but it’s not the sole factor of our success. Not in the slightest.

The bravest thing you can do is start where you are and with what you have.

Decide WHO you want to learn from

When I wrote this one down, I felt it in my belly. Instead of looking for the silver bullet information, look first at who it’s coming from.

Who are we taking business advice from? What if it’s coming from a business owner we don’t identify with or even respect? It’s so important to do research on each thought leader you gain inspiration from before following someone else’s recommendations.

Women like Maya Elious and Alisha Nicole, two powerhouse personal brands who aren’t shy about their faith and priorities, have inspired me from the start. I love reading their content and considering their advice because I love the people behind it.

Embrace the experiment

Nothing can prepare you for the wild ride of online entrepreneurship. It’s one big experiment after another. Heck, I deemed my first year of entrepreneurship my Year of Experimentation before taking the leap.

Everything must be tried and tested. Only then will you know what truly works for you and your business, and what doesn’t.

In order to be successful in your craft, you have to be an eternal student of it. This is true not only for your craft but also in other areas of business. Some of them might make you groan, like setting up your taxes or creating expense spreadsheets, but each task moves you forward.

When I first started my business, I was terrified of sending the wrong invoice or screwing up my contracts. The best thing I did was jumping head-first into the storm where I found that the waters were far calmer than I imagined them to be. Now I sent contracts and invoices with ease (thanks Dubsado!), a daily reminder to not fear what you haven’t tried before. It often becomes your new normal.

You learn, you grow, you learn, you grow… it’s a constant cycle that helps you build your way toward a successful business. Sprinkle in some grace and humility along the way.