Usually when I try and write something I spend ages planning outline and content. Apparently this not required when blogging! A friend of mine said “just write about topics that interest you”. So, here’s the next post.
When I was thinking about what to write I was looking for common themes in conversations I have been having with clients since I last posted. The thing that came to mind was “worry”. Worry can be a good thing because it can motivate us to do something. On its own it can be very destructive.
I was speaking with a client who was worried about cashflow (not an unusual thing to worry about during this apparent credit crunch!). “I’m worried we are not going to have enough money”. When I asked her how much she thought she needed she said “I don’t know”. This, for me, is the wrong way round.
Get the facts, then worry (if necessary). NOT the other way round!
This worry was keeping her awake and distracting her from the real business of running her business. We did some work to calculate how much she might need. When we had done this we then used a a technique I call “pretend the bank said No”. This helped us to further reduce the requirement for funding and she was able to successfully approach the bank for a short term overdraft to get her through the short period of funding shortfall.
I hear many stories like this from the people I work with who run their own businesses.
If you are worrying, start by analysing what it is that you are worrying about. Harness that energy to gather the facts you need and get some help to face up to the issue. It’s amazing how often people end up saying “I don’t know why I spent so long worrying about that before I did something about it”.
If you must worry, know what it is you are worrying about!
