Fly on the E-Commerce Cyberwall

We Learn as We Go
I should know better. I've been apprehensive about some new directions I'm going with my business. I've been procrastinating. But when I answered a question today about doubts one new business owner had in starting his business, I had to slap myself on the head.

Sometimes an answer is so obvious we can look right past it.

The question I answered was from someone who was starting a web consulting business. He has a strong background in marketing, but no past clients to give him credibility. He asked how to get that initial credibility that leads clients to hire him. As I answered him, I went back to how I got where I am now. And it reminded me of something important about starting a new phase of life.

I'll explain in a little bit, but first a bit of background.

Fifteen years ago, I managed to mess up an entire career -- not just a job, but an entire career field. I found myself looking for work with an advanced degree that was good only for one thing -- the career whose bridges I had burned behind me.

I eventually landed a two-month temp assignment as a proofreader, based on my undergraduate degree in English. I went into it with my dictionary and old reference books filled with sticky notes to point me to cheat sheets I hoped would fill in the things I didn't know off the top of my head. I was nervous that I would be found out as not being qualified for the job.

I relied on those cheat sheets a lot at first, but soon became proficient. The two month assignment eventually turned into nine years of "temp" work there.

Nearly six years ago, the work there dried up and I was job hunting again. But the work I had done there had become so specialized that I didn't have experience with some of the software that had become essential for that position in other places.

So I took what little HTML experience I had gotten at my last job and approached a small business owner who wanted to hire someone for two months to revamp his website. I knew enough to be able to diagnose some code problems with his existing site and apparently impressed him enough that he hired me.

I knew nothing about ecommerce and way too little about web design and development. I was nervous that my lack of knowledge would be found out. I worked eight hours a day building his site and every other free moment I had studying everything I could get my hands on.

I made plenty of mistakes along the way and learned a ton as I worked. The new site quickly blew away the paltry results he was getting with his existing site. A two-month job again eventually turned into an ongoing consulting relationship that still is my main source of revenue nearly six years later.

So here I stand, seeking to expand my business into new areas. And I again approach it with nervousness that the things I don't know in this new area will prove my undoing.

You think I'd have learned by now: YOU LEARN AS YOU DO.

We all have fears as we start something new. But if we are conscientious about doing the best we can, we'll get results. The fear is nothing more than a sign that we desire to do our new endeavor well. If we recognize that, it becomes a tool to drive us to better results.
Fearfully yours (in a GOOD way)
Jeff


P.S. I'm finding a lot of good things going on in The Training Grounds -- the intensive Internet marketing community designed to walk you through every step of developing an online career.

Things have focused mainly on getting to know other members so far and numbers are growing by the day. But the way the outlines are set up, it looks like there's no possible way to get through this WITHOUT getting all you need to succeed. Check it out. It's got a lot more to it than any other program I've seen.

Labels: mindset