I Can’t Afford To Mess It Up!
We’ve been having some ‘get real’ conversations with people in our CEO Summer School and our Fearless Women Leaders group (free to join).
There has been a pattern in many of these conversations around the idea that:
“I know I want to change but there is a lot at stake here… and I can’t afford to mess it up!”
We don’t talk about this as the ‘downside’ of success – being stuck in what we’ve created.
I remember the early start-up days of my business – everything was fresh & new. Yes I wanted to succeed, but because I hadn’t created anything yet I didn’t have much to lose (outside of my time, energy and small financial investments to date).
Now that I’m successful, the landscape has changed – there is a lot more to lose.
I am the sole provider for my family (when I started my business I was still married and had his second income as backup)
I have a team that relies on me for (a sometimes substantial) part of their monthly income.
I have clients who I have committed to for 6 – 12 months at a time.
It costs $30K/month to meet the basic expenses of my business (including paying my own salary, of course!)
(btw A couple of years ago I read the book “Profit First” that showed me how to pay for all my expenses and still walk away with profit in my business. Honestly, it changed my business and personal life. You can get 5 chapters of the Profit First book – FREE – here.)
Put simply, any decision I make now in my business impacts everyone – not just me.
The stakes are high – and I can’t afford to mess it up.
The weight of this gets to me at times… and yet I wouldn’t change a thing.
I remember when I got married in 2001 I thought that I had it made. My husband had his own business at the time and I had (subconsciously) planned to ride his coat tails of success… so I wouldn’t have to create my own.
It didn’t work out that way, and over the years I found myself being called (or I should say being pulled kicking and screaming) towards my own success. Slowly but surely my business became the main source of income for our household.
It was this success that allowed me to have the CHOICE to leave an unhappy marriage in 2013. Truth be told I would still likely be suffering silently if I didn’t know I could make it on my own… I wouldn’t have had the courage to leave. (Truth be known, fear haunts me. A few years back, I asked one of my mentors how to get rid of doubt (fear, worries etc.). Check this post out to learn more.)
Yes, there are times I wish it was just me again like the early days. When I wish I had the option to rely on someone else’s income and ‘let it slide’ for a month or two.
Then I give my head a shake and realize that this is what it means to be fearless. To be a powerful woman. To have a choice. To make an impact.
This is what it’s all about. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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