Business owner lesson: We all share the same fears. It’s taking a deep breath and moving past them that really opens the door to what you can achieve. Sometimes, you’ve just gotta ‘DGAF’ the situation and be brave.
Last year, one of my favourite clients, Imagine Accounting, took out top honours as Accounting Firm of the Year for the Australian Small Business Champion Awards.
I was so happy for them because I know how hard they work to deliver next-level customer service and results which have an impact in a big way. But it made me think about whether I would ever be good enough to enter a competition like that.
As you may know, in 2019 we had some family setbacks which inspired me to set a goal to double my income. To do that, I had to get serious in areas including marketing, productivity, optimising my website, communicating with my customers and setting up the right systems for my business. You can read about it here: https://www.freelancecopywriter.com.au/how-i-doubled-chapter-one/
After a really busy twelve months which had involved a lot of hard work, I noticed the Australian Small Business Champion Awards for 2020 were open for submissions.
When I saw there was a Sole Trader category, I thought, “It’s open to the entire country. I will never win.”
But then I had two more thoughts:
First that I have put a lot of work into customer service, including expanding my network and outsourcing so I can achieve more.
I’ve also managed to grow my income (hopefully without sacrificing customer satisfaction).
For every question on the entry form, I had a solid answer, even down to the regular contributions I make to charity.
The second thought was “What if everybody feels the same as me?”
How many people shy away from entering competitions like this because they don’t feel worthy? They think they will never win and there are a zillion better people out there so they don’t enter.
Banking on that thought, I (wo)manned up and pulled together my submission. To press the final button, I mustered up the DGAF version of myself; the Clea who takes chances and doesn’t pay attention to all the ‘what-ifs’ and ‘I’m not good enough’ thoughts.
Two weeks later, I had a phone call saying I was into the finals for the Sole Trader category. I was so happy I lost all focus and didn’t get any work done that day, which is ironic because I pride myself on not missing deadlines.
The big awards night is coming up soon. I’m looking forward to partying the night away and crossing my fingers that I get to stand on stage with the other winners. But champion or not, in my mind I have already won.
Taking a chance paid off this time around. What can you take a chance on for the win?
***Mad props to business coaching group Business Blueprint, my mentor Carmen Williams and my automation guru Jorge at Three Steps Business for helping me put foundations in place that make me feel just that little bit more worthy when it comes to the term ‘Small Business Champion.***
Clea Sherman is a journalist, freelance copywriter (and award-nominated small business owner!!). She really digs working with small businesses to help them attract more clients through blogs, website copy and other content.
Find out more at www.freelancecopywriter.com.au
