Wondering if your business idea will actually work, even now? I hear these kinds of questions a lot and feel compelled to write a post to say: YES!
Well, yes with a qualifier. I’ll give you the criteria below.
First, let me elaborate on the common ways I hear that fear expressed:
- “Isn’t the market saturated with that?”
- “Isn’t everyone trying to start a business right now?”
- “Is there really room for me too?”
- “No one is spending right now so why would they buy my services?”
- “Is this business idea viable right now?”
There Is Room for Your Business, If…
There is room for you in today’s market once you can say all these are true:
- I am clear about my life purpose or calling and am passionate about bringing that to the world. (If not, this could help you clarify your path.)
- I am clear about a particular need in the marketplace that aligns with my calling and skills. (Yes, a little market research, not just guessing, is involved, but it’s doable.)
- I have taken a serious look at the numbers and figured out the right offerings and prices to make the business model work for me and my audience. (A business accountant can help you crunch the numbers.)
- I’m willing to invest time and money on my business, even before it gives me money.
- I’m willing to tell people what I have to offer. (Marketing can work for introverts too.)
- I’m willing to ride the wave of faith for a while and ask for help whenever I feel stuck. (Going it alone goes nowhere.)
- I’m willing to take my business seriously, as you would with any big responsibility like parenting or a leadership job.
- I’m willing to organize myself to choose priorities and get them done.
Passion Trumps It All, Maybe.
If you can’t say yes to all the items in that list yet, but you do have passion about your idea, all you need is some extra support to resolve the missing pieces. It is possible!
Here are some typical sources of support, and it depends on your situation as to which is the best fit: business coach, learning about self-employment, business support group, business basics workshops.
I believe it is possible for many people, far more than think they can do it. But it’s not for everyone.
We can find the overlap between the world’s needs and your calling. And introverts are great at self-employment too!
There is room for you! The world and the possibilities are far bigger than you can fathom.
Why Am I So Sure?
I see it happen over and over. People who are afraid suddenly find it’s working once they follow a bit of structure and faith.
I see people succeed even without all those criteria fulfilled. Sometimes messiness and “going for it” work. Often, however, it’s at the expense of rest and family time. Or it’s with a lot of big bumps and dead ends along the way.
I’d like you to have more balance and ease than that, hence the stricter criteria I’m writing for you.
I overworked at first because only half of the criteria were in place. I’m back on track now and can say all the pieces are in place, including down time, and it’s working. I want more ease for you from the beginning.
Plus, the Number of People Is Bigger Than You Think.
There are so many more people in the world than you can fathom. You don’t need many people to notice you in order to be wildly successful. Business genius Seth Godin put it like this:
If you have a million Twitter followers, that means that 99.9% of the people on Twitter are ignoring you, which, with a little rounding, means you have 0%.
If you write a book and it sells a million copies, it will be one of the bestselling books of the year. It will also reach far fewer than 1% of the country’s population, never mind the world.
There are very few things that ever rise to 1% of the market. Not only don’t you need everyone, the act of chasing everyone is probably keeping you from reaching anyone.
Zero (rounded) is enough.”
~Seth Godin [source]
Related Posts
- Self-employment Myths and Reality. It’s OK To Be Wobbly.
- Self-employment Ideas for Introverts: How to Work for Yourself
- Best Career and Business Fields for Introverts and HSPs in the 2020s
- Very Specific Niches Draw More Interest
- Are You a Reluctant Business Owner?
- The Self-Employment Leap of Faith
- If You Hate Promoting Your Services, Stop
1 thought on “Is There Room for My Business in Today’s Market? 8 Signs of Readiness.”
Excellent post!