Look in the Mirror

Developing A Clear Vision:  Self Evaluation
(This post is part of a continuing series focusing on home-based business startups.)

 OK, so continuing where we left off, now that we know we need to get our vision in sharp focus, how do we go about doing that? There are several traits that are helpful in this regard, and we'll talk about all of these in upcoming blog posts, but the trait we'll concentrate on today is, Self-Honesty.

The most important thing I did as I contemplated my home-based business startup, was an honest self-evaluation. Long before my first pattern was ever started, I took some time to take an assessment of who and what I really was. What was I good at? What abilities had I developed through the years that would be useful in my new endeavor? Some of these strengths included being very good at multi-tasking, managing my time, and knowing how to give clear instruction, (both written & verbal). I also knew I had decent writing skills and was proficient in using spreadsheet & word-processing software, and this was all good, but I knew it wasn't going to be enough to launch a home-based design studio with an internet presence.

So next, I set about starting the list of abilities I would need to add to my skill set in order to reach my goal, and I gotta tell you, the list was pretty intimidating (and it seemed that it grew daily). There was the whole website thing. Not only did I not know ANYTHING about website design or management, but I also didn't have a clue about search engines, internet marketing, shopping carts, web hosting... the list seemed endless. But here's the deal... SO WHAT???? 

And here's the reason why...

I just figured that just because I didn't know how to do something that was crucial for my business plan, (or in my case, SEVERAL huge  something's), doesn't really mean anything,  other than this. It's an area that we need to either;

a) acquire knowledge in, or
b) hire an expert to do for us.

And I'll tell ya, my choice every time, if at all possible, is to learn to do things myself, rather than to pay others to do it for me. (OK- I'm cheap) But also, I am of the opinion that learning new things is NEVER a waste of time. So, I used the last 3 years of my City career to learn many of the skills I knew I would need. The empty nest at home gave me the luxury of plenty of spare time, and my day job gave me the safety net of having an income while I learned the skills I needed. I wasn't on a timetable and I told myself to enjoy the process, even if nothing tangible ever came from it.

So...Here's my advice for what it's worth- Quit limiting yourself by what you don't know because everyday is a good day to learn something new, and everything you learn, takes you closer to what you want to become!