Now What?® Coaching

Tag: Paula Gregorowicz

  • How to Navigate through Uncertainty

    By Paula Gregorowicz, Now What?® Facilitator 

    I often hear prospects and clients say they will be more confident and ready to move forward in their business and get a better handle on their fac_gregorowicz_paulaschedule once things are more certain.  The problem with this Catch 22 is that there is no such thing as business as usual. Certainty doesn’t exist in the way we yearn for it to. So if you’re waiting for it to arrive, you will be waiting a very long time.

    It is human nature to want to feel in control holding a map laid out before us with guarantees.  Mileposts that tell us exactly where we need to go next to achieve what we want.  Warm blankets of security waiting for us at every turn so we know everything will be ok.

    Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. If there is one thing I’ve learned in my years of being a business owner is that uncertainty is the norm, not the exception.   Learning how to navigate the waters is more important than having any map or heeding definitive advice of what you “should” do.

    When I work with my clients this is what I help them do. I always say my biggest hope and commitment is to help them learn how to think differently, relate more fully to the experience at hand, and to navigate the inherent uncertainty with confidence.

    In the last 6+ years I have had to navigate my life and growing business through:

    • Transition from corporate job to being my own boss full-time.
    • Not knowing where to go or what to do to find clients while wondering how I      was going to pay the mortgage each month.
    • The illness and subsequent death of my Mom.
    • Starting my business right at the turn of the recession of 2008.
    • Several reinventions of my services, offerings, and desired ideal client.
    • Illness and death of two beloved pets.
    • Some  minor health speed bumps of my own.
    • Introduction of 3 crazy kittens to the household.
    • Relationship challenges.
    • Unemployed partner.
    • and now upcoming heart surgery and recuperation for my Dad.

    Those are just the big ones… I have my fair share of the other, more everyday kind too, all while being the main breadwinner of the house.

    I am not unique. I am just like you. A life complete with challenges and celebrations big and small.

    I’ve learned a thing or two about how to navigate the uncertainty that I know can help you feel more certain in the midst of it all while not feeling so alone. I want to share those with you.

    First, the Inner Awareness:

    Notice and honor what you are feeling: You cannot simply put on a happy face and keep marching forward when things get particularly challenging.  Notice it, be honest with yourself, and give yourself the gift of feeling it fully.  This will create an honest space and awareness from which to continue to move ahead.

     Get perspective: We need different perspectives at different times. Get guidance from mentors, coaches, or good friends that can be truly objective. Take time to move your mind and body.  Have interests outside of your business. All these can help you “see” differently which is crucial.

    YOU are your most crucial asset.  Take care of her in whatever way you need at any given time. This is not selfish, this is strategic and nurturing.

    Then the Practical Action:

    Shift your relationship to time:  ”Time management” is not a static thing.  In fact I’d contest we never really manage time, we simply manage our relationship to time and our priorities.  How productive you are is not only a function of systems but also your emotional, mental, physical state.  Honor the rhythms and flows that are happening at any given time.

    Keep walking the path: Sometimes you will be zipping along forward toward your goals. Other times you may be crawling.  You will experience backward progress.  It is all OK and part of the journey. Keep walking.

    Open to Options: What happens in our own minds is limited.  Things are not “either…or”.  Be willing and open to entertain possibilities you can’t even fathom from what you might see at any given moment.

    Don’t put things off: Life is precious and short. Don’t put off what matters most because your to-do list is beckoning. This includes taking time just for yourself and personal care. You can and must take time for these things.

    Originally published for The Paula G. Company blog

  • 10 Red Flags That Signal You Aren’t Cut Out for Self-Employment

    By Paula Gregorowicz, Now What?® Facilitator 

    People often ask me – how did you know you were cut out to be your own boss? How do you deal with the anxiety? The risk? The learning curve? There are many ways to be successful… I coach my clients how to navigate the inner and outer obstacles all the time. Yet, I will be the first to say that self-employment is not for the faint of heart, it’s not for everyone. So, how do you know if it’s right for you?

    First off, there is no hard and fast rule. There is no one size fits all. Some people look like they would thrive as their own boss and then find they hate it. Others seem at home in corporate and yet break free and thrive as a business owner. You can’t tell just by looking at or talking to someone. After all, there are so many different types of businesses you could own…from being a solopreneur in a traditional field (lawyer, accountant, etc.) to being a high risk-taker in a cutting edge startup to becoming a franchise owner… and each has its own culture if you will.

    Yet, there are some definite red flags you can be on the lookout for that would scream – stick to a steady paycheck.

    1) Control Freak Syndrome – if you are a control freak and need everything “just so” and highly predictable, you likely won’t be able to stomach the ride of being self-employed.

    2) Lacking Discipline – if you absolutely cannot follow through to things you commit to without having someone wielding a stick, you better stick to a job where you have a boss calling the shots.

    3) Low Self-Worth – if you are looking to someone or something else to give you a solid sense of self-worth, you are setting yourself up for disaster. You are enough just as you are…much like when looking for a relationship, don’t look for your business to make you whole.

    4) Unwilling to Take and Accept Risks – being your own boss is all about taking risks, calculated risks. If the idea of sound, calculated risks freaks you out to the point of paralysis, you need to do some deep personal growth work first before you take the leap.

    5) Passion for What You Do — do not start a business because it seems like the next big thing or someone else tells you to. You need to be truly passionate about the product or service you offer if you want to succeed.

    6) Give Up Easily — perseverance is one of the most important traits you can have as a business owner. One of the reasons so many small businesses fail is because the owners weren’t willing to stay at it or go the distance (or ran out of money before they could).

    7) Dislike People — you do not have to be an extrovert or a raving people person to succeed, but you do have to be effective at dealing with others. Business is about relationships – period.

    8 ) Unwilling to Delegate – while you may need to do all tasks when you get started, if you are not willing to delegate, you will burn out guaranteed.

    9) Inflexible – if it is always your way or the highway, stick to the cubicle. While you don’t want to be a wallflower without boundaries and you never want to let others take advantage of you, you need to be able to bob and weave to adjust to business relationships and an ever-changing business climate.

    10) Seeking Guarantees – there are none. I might point out that there are no guarantees when you work for someone else either, but there certainly is more predictability. If you want absolutes, focus on death and taxes, they are the only two you can count on.

    Do you own your own business? If so – what other red flags would you add to this list? Would love to hear them…

  • Roadmap to Self Employment – Are You Cut Out for It?

    By Paula Gregorowicz, Now What?® Facilitator 

    Do you have what it takes to be self-employed?  It can look so easy from the outside looking in, but that is a total mirage  because it barely provides a peek into what it really takes to run a successful business.

    In Part 1 of this series, I talked about “How Do I Get There?” and the path I took from corporate employee to solopreneur.  Mine was truly an accidental entrepreneur journey.  Because of that I never gave a ton of thought to whether it was a fit for me or not (at least not proactively).  What I did do, however, was employ my secret weapon of conducting informational interviews with people I knew who were self-employed.  This gave me a great baseline of what to expect, expanded my network, and allowed me to get a peek behind the veil before taking the leap. 

    That said, there is nothing quite like being IN it to truly get what’s required of the job.  When a mentor told me that self-employment would be the deepest, most transformational personal growth journey I could undertake, I thought she was exaggerating.  She was not kidding!  And the journey continues because as your business grows, you must continue to grow yourself over and over to that next level. So, plan on it being a lifelong journey of personal growth and be willing to get the support you need to do so.  If you try to be a lone ranger you will suffer along the way and likely fail.

    When I wrote about the 10 red flags that signal you are not cut out to be your own boss, I focused on personality traits and habits that would likely set you up for failure.  Today, let’s look at who you need to be if you wish to be a success over the long haul.

    Be Willing to Take and Tolerate Risks

    Nothing spells risk like ditching a paycheck to blaze a new trail. When you are self-employed the risks never end: hiring team members, making investments, launching new products/services, becoming more visible, and the list goes on and on. It is never-ending.  That’s OK.  It’s part of the variety, excitement, and potential of taking the entrepreneurial journey.  The key is to take calculated risks and to be fully conscious of what you are doing, why you are doing it, and possible outcomes (from the greatest successes to the biggest flops).

    Believe in Yourself

    Without belief, nothing is possible. I’m not talking about airy-fairy wishful thinking here. I’m talking about a to-the-core confidence and belief in yourself and your ability to handle whatever comes your way.  Whether you work alone in your home office in a strictly virtual business or grace large stages your belief and personal presence will be felt by everyone. People make choices based on what they feel from you.  You will need to be able to maintain this confidence in the face of adversity and during the shittiest days in your business (and don’t fool yourself, you will have some of those).

    Practice Excellent Self-Care

    You are at the hub of your business.  Without you, there is no business (or at the very least the business becomes a lot less important).   While you may burn the candle at both ends at times, it cannot be your mode of operation.  You will burn yourself out, potentially get ill, and most certainly decimate the personal relationships that matter to you.  Remember, this is a distance run.  Treat it as one.

    Persevere

    Speaking of distance runs, you need to be willing to persevere.  That looks like continuing to walk the path even when it is difficult and following-up far more than you might think necessary.  Plan on having a stash of cash to keep you going as you build.  One of the reasons I see so many solo businesses fail is simply because they ran out of cash and had to close their doors.  It takes time to get established, so plan for the worst case scenario and then add more working capital.

    Create a Structure

    One of the biggest joys about being your own boss is that you have total freedom over your schedule. Hurrah!  Without disciple, though, this freedom becomes your downfall. I see one of two things happen – the highly structured, came from corporate, high achievers (like me) tend to initially over structure themselves to the point that they hate their boss.  As I said when I hit this point – if you’re self-employed and working for an ass, you have only one place to look (hint: in the mirror). Or alternatively, the idea of freedom leads people to no structure at all resulting in a lack of focus and thus a lack of results.  Think of growing your business like you would a plant.  It needs a container in which to grow, but too tight of a container will kill it.

    Seek to Learn

    There is so much you can and need to learn about running a business.  If you don’t love learning new things, you will not thrive as your own boss.  As the Chief Everything Officer, there is never a dull moment. Always be willing to learn and budget time in your schedule to learn new things consistently.  That said; avoid the drinking from a fire hose phenomenon of trying to learn everything all at once (or trying to learn the things that you’d be better off delegating).  Focused learning and application.

    Love What You Do

    It takes a lot of time and effort to build a business. If you don’t love what you do, you should really just get a job.  Being clear about what you offer, why it serves other people, and feeling passionate about it is very important.  It is pretty hard to persevere if you don’t have any oomph behind it.  Passion and loving what you do provides the oomph.

    Relax and Take it in Stride

    Yes owning your own business is a choice not to be taken lightly. That said I was so terminally serious about what I was doing and the money part of the business when I first started that every day was a form of self-torture.  In today’s business climate being self-employed is not necessarily more risky than having a job (we’ve seen a lot of those vanish at the drop of a pin – so much for “security”, right?).  It is very different, though, so you have to be willing to roll with the punches and enjoy the journey. If you can’t enjoy the journey, what is the point?

    Get Support

    You are not meant to do this in isolation.  This is no time to try and figure it all out by yourself.  You have to be willing to invest in yourself and open to receive support.  Tap into resources and people that can help you shorten the learning curve and increase your chances for success.  You can find resources through local business organizations (for example: SBA, SCORE, small business divisions of your county, and local colleges); professional networking groups (women’s groups, chamber of commerce, etc.); mastermind groups; private, custom, individual support through coaches and mentors.

    What do you think?  Are you cut out to be your own boss?  If you’re already  your own boss, what other traits have you found crucial to success over the long haul?  I’d love to hear your thoughts, experiences, and questions in the comments…