I am preaching to myself on this one...
Two things you need to do - actually work and be painfully patient.
I spent the majority of my waking hours last week intentionally pouring myself into my business.
I don't spend my time anymore on social media, going out, comparing, wishing, worrying about the other mastering engineers, whose better, whose studio is cooler, or who has the checkmark on their Instagram account.
Spending "time" on other people and comparing myself costs me money and moves me backwards from my goals.
If you find yourself in a rut or struggling in your current business most likely you're not making the best use of you're time nor are you patient enough to see that this may take 5, 10, 20, 30 years to build a business.
This is normal. I am slowly getting better at this.
Most people are great at moving piles. Very few people are good at cleaning up piles. Busy doesn't equal progress.
People struggle with making progress because they spend a lot of their time watching other people progress.
It's easy to feel like you're doing something when you consume lots of content, but nothing is really being accomplished unless you're tangibly applying it.
Most people are trying to accomplish something because they are trying to prove something.
I used to have a goal of winning a Grammy by the age of 30. My motives were frivolous. I may win one by 30, but my motives for what I do now extend beyond myself and even my lifetime.
What's your motive for doing what you do?
The United States Bureau of Labor recorded as of 2015 only 10.1% of people are legally self-employed. Self-employment has been declining since 1994. That means only 1 out of 10 people actually have a business registered. Out of that, 40-50% of those people will not make it past 3-4 years.
This seems incorrect, but what we have happening is social media and the internet are both painting a false picture of reality. Anyone can label themselves as self-employed or a business or an entrepreneur online. There is next to zero required verification for it.
Anyone can take pretty pictures, post captions, and paint a picture of a thriving business when in reality they have nothing going on.
It's easy to post a picture, it's hard to build a business.
It's easy to get followers, it's hard to actually have clients.
It's easy to look successful, it's hard to be successful.
Working is hard. Self-employment is extremely hard.
I wish someone would have asked me the following questions years ago...
What did you actually do last week? Did you spend money?
How did you use your time?
Did you move forward towards your goals or did you move backwards?
Who are you trying to prove wrong, show up, or stick it to with your business?
Let's get brutally honest here...
If you went out last weekend and spent money on food but then complain about studio rates... you took a step backwards.
If you bought another piece of gear but have no clients to use it on...you took a step backwards.
If you spent an hour on Instagram aimlessly scrolling when you don't have your own social media scheduled and thriving.... you took a step backwards.
If you binged watch a Netflix show when you have a project to wrap up... you took a step backwards.
If you bought a new car but can't pay for you're studio... you took a step backwards.
The key to business is falling in love with the process and the journey. If your only source of motivation is to be rich, famous, or to stick it to someone, you will fail. If your only motivation is to get likes and followers on social media so you can be top dog in your small circle of people, you will fail. You have to learn how to work and execute things. You have to be willing to be extremely patience. You have to care more about the actual work then the end goal. You have to stop telling a false story to yourself and others and start working everyday.
I want everyone to succeed and the sooner we get real with ourselves the sooner that will happen. All you have to do is start somewhere. Start small or go drastic.... it really doesn't matter, but if you're not working more than wishing you're going to fail.
Now go move forward this weekend.