Start Where You Are

16 Nov Start Where You Are

Dear Talentpreneur,

Tell me that I am not the only person this happens to; you see one of your favorite business influencers on Instagram and you think to yourself “Damn, I know that I have what it takes to be on that level, I just have to get there.” Then your brain starts thinking at a super warp speed of ways that you can build that same trust with your audience that they have with theirs. This type of thinking can be both torturous and inspiring all at the same time. On one hand, you are comparing yourself to someone who has spent more time failing before actually figuring out what works for their audience. On the other hand, you are experiencing a beautiful creative brainstorm that has you excited about creating content, offers and services.

I personally think that success is measured in a number of failures and set backs. Some of your favorite content creators were making videos getting little to no views for at least a year before anyone knew who they were. But they didn’t stop. They didn’t wait for everything to be perfect. 

You know what they did? They started where they were. 

What truly sets thriving entrepreneurs apart is the fact that they don’t care what anyone thinks of them. They have a vision, a goal, and a purpose. That’s the only thing that matters. Instead of focusing on how many followers they have, they are paying attention to their engagement and reach. That’s when they start to fine tune their content and build that know, like, and trust qualities with their audience. 

I’ll give you a perfect example, Jay-Z was just inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Hov is one of the most successful businessmen of our time. During his speech, he basically narrated the journey of his early career. There were a few things that really stood out during his acceptance speech. He said that as he set out on his journey in hip hop, he started writing his raps in a green notebook given to him by his mother. He then went out to the rap battles to try them out, looking back on them now, he said they were trash, but even then he knew that he would be one of the greatest. After he recorded his demo, he went to every single record label and they all said his shit was trash. Then he said, but the audacity of hip-hop, we didn’t believe them. I for not one second got depressed. For one second, I didn’t change my course. He was like, “We’re going to create our own company.”

That part of the grind is in my opinion the most important parts of all of our entrepreneurial journeys. The grit, the determination and honestly just the belief and faith getting you through all of the no’s, all the creating content to no viewers, all of the sacrifices that owning a business calls us to make sometimes. He didn’t have much. He started where he was at that moment. We will make mistakes along way, but man you come out on the other side of that struggle with more knowledge, wisdom and with a different perspective, your whole mood and vibe will be different. You’re going to move differently and talk differently. But you gotta start. 

Being an entrepreneur is not a glamorous lifestyle. Although you are not punching a clock, you still have to work hard to gain the true freedom that being a boss can bring. 

So let’s start breaking this down some. How can you start where you are? First, let’s talk about the main barrier holding you back. The first one and the most common is the lack of money. I’m sorry to break it to you, but it has been proven that very successful businesses can be started from absolutely nothing. The question is what are you willing to sacrifice? If you are working a job, let them be your investor. Budget for what the equipment and software that you need. I wish I would have done that sooner. I did not start truly investing in equipment for business until I turned in my resignation. I can tell you one thing, it felt really good that I did not have to struggle to get my starter equipment. Eventually I was able to upgrade some of the equipment and add more components to enhance the quality of my work. It came with time, but my initial monetary investment was maybe around $3,000. Which is hardly anything in the creative world. 

I had something else that did not require money. I created an experience for my clients. Even though I did not have much equipment. I offered my expertise and years of experience to help my clients achieve their goals. It was priceless and still is. To this day, that is still the selling point. It’s me. I am my business and what I bring to the table did not have to perfect or purchased before I opened my agency Dream Forward.

So moral of the story is to just start. Period. No extra words needed. Stop making excuses and just start.