Just like a human being, businesses take time to develop and flourish. When a human being starts out in the world they don’t really know what’s going on and they have to have help to get them through challenging times. As a human being grows and matures, they start to learn what the best things are for them and, alternatively, what doesn’t work for them. Humans learn from making mistakes and getting back up to try again. Humans get exercise and maintain a healthy lifestyle in order to have a healthy body. All of these things are exactly the same for your business.
Business Childhood
When you first open the doors of your business you have an idea of where you want to be headed, but you might not have a clear picture of how you are going to get there. This is true for every individual’s life as well. You see, if you look at your business as if it had its own life you are going to be more responsible and understanding as your business grows and progresses.
You wouldn’t expect a child to make six figures and you can’t expect that of your business too soon either. When first starting out you really have to work to take care of your business, just like you would a small child. Like many new parents, this means that you have to work longer hours and for less pay. Occasionally you have to sacrifice your own wants to do what is best for your business.
Business Adolescence
As time goes on there will be some business mistakes. Maybe you stock an item that no one buys. Perhaps you try out a marketing strategy that doesn’t work out. It could be that you expand when you really weren’t ready to. All of these things are okay. Just like a teenager and a young adult your business needs to make mistakes in order to learn. All businesses are different, just like all people are different.
If the business next door does an internet marketing campaign that brought in a ton of business, that same campaign might not do the same thing for you. But you won’t know that until you try, right? In this part of your business life cycle you have to test out new waters and try new things. You won’t know what works, until you know what doesn’t.
Business Health
Now think of your human body for a moment. If you don’t eat right, don’t exercise, and don’t get enough sleep, eventually your body is going to shut down. You have to be good to your body and do what it needs to stay strong. That means being smart and, again, sometimes putting your body’s need in front of what you ‘think’ you want.
This is also true for your business. If you treat your business badly, your business is going to suffer. So if you roll out of bed whenever you want to, open your doors eventually, and close whenever you feel like it, you are going to see that reflected in the money that you are bringing in. Running a business means dedication. You have to be dedicated to seeing it be successful. If you aren’t willing to do the work, why would you want to start your own business in the first place?
Business Strength
Just like a human, after awhile your business is going to start to run itself. Once you have put in the time and hard work at the beginning, you will start to notice that you can leave your employees to run things over the weekend. Then maybe you can even take a vacation and leave town. As your business continues to get stronger it won’t need you there as much and you can start to truly enjoy the benefits of having your own business.
This isn’t going to happen overnight, but it will happen if you work hard and stay dedicated. Just be secure in knowing that with hard work and dedication your business will grow up to be successful, just like a human would. At the beginning a human needs a lot of support and guidance and this is true for a business. As a human grows it starts to understand the inner working of the world and its place in it and this is also true for your business.
Treat your business like you would your own life. When you need help or support in life decision, where do you turn? You should have a place to turn when you need help with business decisions too. If something goes wrong in your life what do you do? When you start to look at your business as if it was a human being you will gain clarity and perspective on what the best steps to take should be.