Ask MiGoals: "I want to start a business but I can’t get my act together."

Posted by Anna Mackenzie on


Ask MiGoals

Question:

I’ve wanted to start a business forever, but despite all my wanting I’ve never actually been able to get my act together and do it.

For context, I’m in my mid-20s. I studied graphic design at uni but once I graduated I couldn’t find a designer role and so I’ve ended up working as an Account Manager at a creative agency. I’ve tried to move sideways into a creative role but unfortunately I haven’t had much success.

My dream is to start my own graphic design business and I’ve been working on my idea for months. I’ve tinkered with building a website and I’ve been mulling over what to call my brand. I’ve listened to countless podcasts about getting clients. I’ve looked at how other graphic designers showcase their work. I even got a friend to build me a financial model to show me how I’d bring in as much money as my current salary.

I feel like I’ve done so much but 12 months on I’m still sitting in the same job and feel like I’m no closer to making my dreams a reality.

I’m working so hard but getting nowhere and I’d love some practical advice. Any ideas? I’m in my mid 30s and feel totally stuck.

— Tom

This Ask MiGoals column is written by Anna Mackenzie.

ANNA'S ADVICEAnna Mackenzie

@annaclmack

Anna is a founder, startup consultant, host of the lady-brains podcast and writer of Anna Mack’s Stack; a weekly newsletter sharing business, career and life lessons infused with a dash of humour and vulnerability. Subscribe to her newsletter here and follow her on instagram.

Tom, you’re not alone in struggling to get your business off the ground. In fact many (if not most) people find it challenging going from zero to one. Putting your skills out there and your heart and wallet on the line is Big Scary Stuff.

I know a thing or two about it.

A few years ago I started a business with two friends that eventually became a top rated podcast where we interviewed some of the world’s most accomplished founders. We had some initial success, landing a network contract and travelling to New York for some high profile interviews. After that early traction we decided to create an online course to help would-be founders flesh out their business ideas. We deliberated on a course name. We went back and forth on the colour palette for months. We tinkered endlessly on the course material. We wrote and rewrote the sales page close to a hundred times. Eventually we got the damn thing out of our minds and into market, but what should have been a six month project ballooned into two years of stress-induced-dilly-dallying and faffing about. By the time it finally launched, we were exhausted.

What I didn’t know then (but I do know now) is that while we were working hard, we were working hard on the wrong stuff. We weren’t focused on what mattered most: shipping a minimal viable version, proving demand and getting cash in the door.

I think this is where you might be right now, Tom. It sounds like you’re agonising over little details - like “do I want burnt orange or bright orange as a brand colour” - and big questions - like “how will I build this business?” or “how will I ever do this full time?” or “how will I make six figures?” or “how is it going to work?”. These big questions are valid ones and I suspect the planning, strategising and enlisting of your friend to build a financial model are your honest attempts to find the answers.

But here’s the thing: you don’t find the answers and then start, you uncover the answers during the very act of your doing. The doing is what’s important. The action is where the magic lies.

Author of Atomic Habits, James Clear, explains this best through the framework of Motion vs. Action. He writes:

Motion:
  • Talk to a personal trainer
  • Research your book idea
  • Explore different types of meditation
Action:
  • Do 10 squats
  • Write 1 sentence
  • Meditate for 1 minute

Motion feels like progress. Action is progress.

Motion is sneaky. It likes tricking us into thinking it’s action when it’s not. To dive a little deeper, let’s take a look at some of the things you’ve been working on:

  • Tinkering around with a website. Having somewhere to showcase your work is important however your use of the word ‘tinkering’ is a big clue. Tinkering means tweaking, pruning, refining, delaying, questioning, reworking and rebuilding, all things that lead to spinning your wheels. Tinkering is motion, not action.
  • Listening to countless podcasts. I’ll be the first to admit that books and podcasts are amazing tools, but they’re only impactful when you’re implementing what you’ve learned. Listening to a podcast about how to make a sales call is one thing, but picking up the phone and calling a potential design client is another thing entirely. Learning is motion, not action.
  • Getting a friend to build a financial model. In the early days of starting a service based business a financial model is not that useful or meaningful. What’s useful is banking your first buck. Strategising and planning is motion, not action.

Tom, are you starting to see how some of your efforts might be more motion-y than action-y? Is it possible some of your well intentioned effort is misplaced? Might it be possible that if you were redirected into taking action; heart-in-your-throat, pulse-racing, beads-of-sweat, why-am-I-doing-this type action; that things would start to take shape?

Here’s a little secret. It’s not your website or brand or messaging or strategy or fancy financial model that will make you feel like you’ve got runs on the board. It’s landing your first client and getting that first dollar in your bank account. Because that is proof you can generate income from your skills. It’s evidence supporting your hypothesis that you can build a business.

With that in mind, an action oriented to do list might look like something like this:

  • Create a pitch deck outlining who you are, the services you offer, and how you can help.
  • Send 10 sales emails to potential clients per day.
  • Do 1 sales call per day. Take them before or after work hours, or on your lunch break if you need to.
  • Offer to do highly discounted (or even free) work for your first few projects. A testimonial and case study is worth its weight in gold.

These are the steps that will land you a client. And once you have a client, you have a business. Once you have a client there’s no turning back. Once you have a client, you’ve started.

And once you’ve started, there will be no stopping you.

— Anna

MiGoals GSD Range - Shop the Collection

Got a dilemma MiGoals can help solve?Ask MiGoals

Have a question about goal setting or personal growth that you’d like answered? We’d love to hear it. Go on, ask us.

83 comments

A fake wallet app was used to steal my secret keys to my wallet. I’m displeased by the fact that it was easy to steal my private information and my secret phrases, which saw me lose $210K worth of Bitcoins. Out of words and clueless on what to do, I had to research how that could happen to me when I stumbled upon a post about HackMetrix, a company that can help me recover my secret phrases. I sent an email to them providing detailed information about the whole situation, while I was in doubt of the outcome, HackMetrix was able to decipher the situation and trace and recover my secret phrases. I can 100% guarantee that HackMetrix can recover anything when it comes to crypto and digital funds. Their contact information :
Email:hackmetrix@cyberservices.com
WhatsApp:+1 872361 6523

John Wesley on

FRESH USA UK CANADA FULLZ SPAMMED & VERIFIED
 SSN DOB ADDRESS PROS
 SSN DOB DL ADDRESS EMPLOYEMENT DETAIL & BANK INFO LEADS
 SSN DOB ADDRESS MMN
 EMAIL & PHONE LEADS
 SSN DOB DL with Issue & Expiry Dates
 High Credit Scores Pros
 ID Scan Front Back with Selfie & SSN
 Business EIN Company FullZ
 Young & Old Age Fullz (2002 above & 1960 below)
 CC Fullz with CVV & Billing Address with SSN
 Dumps With Pins Track 101 & 202
 KYC PROS FOR Uber Eats or Doordash Accounts
 Tax Return Filling Fullz with W-2 Form
 SBA-PUA-UI-Loan Filling Fullz
 Passport Photos ONLY USA
 Cars Database
 Email|Phone Numbers|Employement|Banking Leads
 EIN Look-Up|SSN Look up Service

TOOLS:
 Spamming Tools & tutorials
 Web-mailers -Bulk Email Sender
 Scampage tools and tutorials
 Carding Tools & Tutorials

Payment Method

USDT * ETH * BTC* PAYPAL

#FULLZ #SINFULLZ#REALDLSCAN #YoungAgeFullz #Fullzseller #CANADAFULLZ #FULLZCANADA #SellerSINDOB #ShopSINDOB#BusinessFullzCanada #CanadaPros #CanadaLeads#HighCSPRos #HighCreditFullz #Fullzseller #UKFULLZ #FULLZUK

“Let’s explore opportunities for a mutually beneficial, long-term partnership.
Contact us Telegram: @Albertz101
Gmail: albertartemis6 at g mail dot com

albert on

FRESH USA UK CANADA FULLZ SPAMMED & VERIFIED
 SSN DOB ADDRESS PROS
 SSN DOB DL ADDRESS EMPLOYEMENT DETAIL & BANK INFO LEADS
 SSN DOB ADDRESS MMN
 EMAIL & PHONE LEADS
 SSN DOB DL with Issue & Expiry Dates
 High Credit Scores Pros
 ID Scan Front Back with Selfie & SSN
 Business EIN Company FullZ
 Young & Old Age Fullz (2002 above & 1960 below)
 CC Fullz with CVV & Billing Address with SSN
 Dumps With Pins Track 101 & 202
 KYC PROS FOR Uber Eats or Doordash Accounts
 Tax Return Filling Fullz with W-2 Form
 SBA-PUA-UI-Loan Filling Fullz
 Passport Photos ONLY USA
 Cars Database
 Email|Phone Numbers|Employement|Banking Leads
 EIN Look-Up|SSN Look up Service

TOOLS:
 Spamming Tools & tutorials
 Web-mailers -Bulk Email Sender
 Scampage tools and tutorials
 Carding Tools & Tutorials

Payment Method

USDT * ETH * BTC* PAYPAL

#FULLZ #SINFULLZ#REALDLSCAN #YoungAgeFullz #Fullzseller #CANADAFULLZ #FULLZCANADA #SellerSINDOB #ShopSINDOB#BusinessFullzCanada #CanadaPros #CanadaLeads#HighCSPRos #HighCreditFullz #Fullzseller #UKFULLZ #FULLZUK

“Let’s explore opportunities for a mutually beneficial, long-term partnership.
Contact us Telegram: @Albertz101
Gmail: albertartemis6 at g mail dot com

albert on

I was among the people who thought it was impossible to recover crypto once it is released, but I was surprised when Morphohack Cyber Service came to my rescue when I mistakenly sent crypto worth $789,000 to the wrong address. A few days back, I was trying to send crypto to my business partner when I mistakenly released it to the wrong wallet address and thought I lost it all, but I was referred to Morphohack Cyber Service, a crypto recovery company, who was able to help me recover my crypto from the wrong address, I’m pleased with the outcome of my encounter with them and I hugely recommend Morphohack Cyber Service for crypto recovery. Morphohack can be reached via email. Morphohack@Cyberservices.com And on Whatsapp Via. +1 213 – 672 – 4092.

Martin Derek on

FRESH&VALID SPAMMED USA DATABASE-FULLZ-LEADS ( updated upto 2024 )
All FRESH NEVER USED BEFORE
We’re offering CC/CVV FULLZ INFO, Valid Non-VBV Bin Fullz CCV, SSN DL USA/UK/CA/AUS/EU/ASIAN/INTER…
We guarantee that Our Dumps with/without Pin are 100% firsthand and extremely fresh because we update them weekly and monthly.

CVV random FORMAT:
|Card Number|Exp. Date|CVV/CVV2|First Name|Last Name|Street|City|State|Zip Code|Country|Phone|Type Of Card|Bank Name| Fullz info Format BEST STOREis:
ALL STATES AVAILABLE (USA – UK – Canada ) Fullz leads
- SSN+DOB
- SSN DOB DL FULL INFO
- FULL INFO + ROUTING & ACCOUNT NUMBER
- PREMIUM DATABASE WITH GOOD CS
- DL SCAN DOCS RANDOM STATES WITH SSN & WITHOUT SSN
- EMAIL LEADS
- PHONE NUMBER LEADS
- PASSPORT + VISA DOCS
- DEATH FULLZ
- RANDOM AGE DB UPTO 2012
High Credit Scores Fullz Pros
Real DL|ID Scan Front Back with Selfie
CC Fullz with CVV & Billing Address
Dumps With Pins Track 101 & 202
Business Email Leads
Passport Photos With Selfie
To ensure your trust, we offer a test sample of our products before committing to a deal.
Our team meticulously verifies all information, ensuring 24/7 availability.
We foster strong client relationships through full cooperative and guarantee replacement of any invalid information."
Payment Method USDT * ETH * BTC* PAYPAL
#FULLZ #SINFULLZ#REALDLSCAN #YoungAgeFullz #Fullzseller #CANADAFULLZ #FULLZCANADA #SellerSINDOB #ShopSINDOB#BusinessFullzCanada #CanadaPros #CanadaLeads#HighCSPRos #HighCreditFullz #Fullzseller #UKFULLZ #FULLZUK
“Let’s explore opportunities for a mutually beneficial, long-term partnership.
Contact us Telegram: Albertz101 Gmail: albertartemis6gmail.com

albert on

Leave a comment