Unique Beautiful Fun

      26 May 2017 by Sarah-Jane Smith

Making Room for Uncertainty

One of the few certainties when you run your own business is that life will be full of uncertainty.  I think it's probably the number one reason why people are reluctant to strike out on their own!  

There's the uncertainty of whether you'll have any sales, whether you'll make any money, whether you're capable of keeping all the plates spinning, whether you're capable of leading a team, whether you can manage marketing, social media, budgeting, financials.  The list is endless.

Often when you start out, you're so busy that you don't have time to contemplate the downside if things don't go according to plan.  And that's a good thing, because if you let your energy be taken up with all the what ifs of what could go wrong, you'd be paralysed by fear.  When you've been in business for a while and you have some routines in place can be when the uncertainty can be a problem.  But there are things you can do to minimise the stress.  

First of all, think about what could go wrong.  If you lose your largest customer can your business survive?  If not, is there something you need to plan for that would minimise the risk?  Can you expand your customer base or range of products?  Think through each major risk and brainstorm if there's anything you can do to disaster proof your business.  If you find some solutions add them into your schedule.  If there's nothing you can do - leave it aside and move on.  You can always revisit it later if it weighs on your mind.

The trick is to minimise as much risk as you can to minimise the stress but, not to let any problem become so big that it overwhelms you.

Becoming comfortable with a level of uncertainty is something you can learn to do over time.  It's also worth remembering that uncertainty exists in every business - it's just that when you're the owner you're the one who's most aware of it!

Till next time,

Sarah-Jane X