Carissa Daniel

How to build and grow a business on your own terms

To be a 'successful' Entrepreneur, the traditional theme is, work as hard as possible, sacrifice your family, friends, health and social life, work 28 hour days, have sleepless nights, fake it until you make it, struggle, fail, be prepared to be stressed, until you have paid your dues. 
 
We have all been told at some point in time that this is the collateral damage we will incur on our way to the big league, on our way to what we actually want, a life of freedom...right? Really? Is that going to be your reality?
 
Well, I totally refute and refuse to accept that as my truth. The Western world pervasively believes in a concept of living that says, be miserable for most of our lives and when we are winding up (old age, when we can't do much anyway) then it's time to enjoy life...like seriously? Who says we will even live that long to enjoy this so called delayed gratification?
 
I believe and know first hand (I am experiencing it right now) that we can build and grow a thriving business, while having fun and enjoying every aspect of our lives right now, without the delayed gratification we have grown used to.

How you may ask? I'm happy you did.
  

1. First things first, change your conventional mindset and beliefs about how a business should operate. 
Conventional business dictated that in order to have a successful business you needed to follow a set of rules and guidelines including, having a brick and mortar building, hiring employees, slaving behind your business and missing out on life. 
 
While that was some of the 'great greats' story, this does not have to be your story. As a matter of fact more and more people, especially Millennial are refusing to buy into this as their reality and are instead designing businesses that match the lifestyle they want and are living the life they want to live now. While of course putting in the necessary work needed to build their empires. Younger entrepreneurs are instead seeing their business as an extension of themselves and not something separate and apart.
 
For instance, if you love to travel like I do, (on a side note, it is my dream to live in a different country every year) then you can design and operate your business virtually, with hired contractors and a trusted laptop that will allow you to do just that. Your business is not bound to a particular location but because of technology you can serve your clients powerfully from anywhere in the world. Yes this is very much possible for you, if this is what you desire.
 

2.  Secondly, pursue purpose and passion, not pesos.
 “I want to be a billionaire.” This is the new trend. Just a couple years ago it was a millionaire. This seems to be everyone's goal of late. While wanting to be a billionaire is not a bad goal, is it truly YOUR goal? Is it really what YOU want? Or is it something the world told you should be a goal and now you are relentlessly chasing something that you are not even sure you want anyway.
 
Of all the billionaires and millionaires that exist, 99% of them will tell you that money never made them happy. What actually makes them happy is getting to create something that they are passionate about, fanning the flame within them that ignites their endevours and the simple satisfaction of serving and helping others.
 
You see, when you follow what lights you up inside then it’s never a struggle, it’s no longer a fight, it’s no longer a sacrifice, it's a natural flow of you emanating and sharing that with the rest of the world.
 
Very early in my life my father shared a critical nugget of wisdom with me that has served me to this very day, "Never chase money , the money will always come when you follow your joy" he said.
 
Pursue what makes your heart sing and if you don’t know what that is yet, follow what brings you joy, I'm sure you have some idea of what that is. The truth is, you can monetize just about anything. For example, there is a young woman who has a successful business offering professional maid of honor services. Yes you read it right, she is hired by women who do not have close friends to be their maid of honor. It was something she enjoyed doing and saw a need and went for it.

3. Thirdly , allow who you are to be present in your business.

A few years ago I started an alternative events business with a couple partners and I remember be chastised by one of them because I sent an email to a client with a greeting "Happy Monday". She said is was unprofessional and inappropriate. I begged to differ.
 
You see greeting others no matter who they were with such a greeting was something I delighted in because I believe in sharing 'my happy' with everyone I interact with, even in a professional setting. I soon realized that this greeting warmed the hearts of others, opened up doors and allowed persons to speak easily and connect quickly.
 
That lesson taught me something valuable that day. Often times we try to separate the beauty of who we are from our business because we need to be 'professional' and maintain a certain deportment. While I do agree there are key 'play nice' guidelines of business, many of them are outdated and do not allow for your uniqueness to emanate. And your uniqueness was meant to be shared with the world so we can experience you through your business.

So, if you are like me who loves sharing their happy with everyone, including business related relationships, through friendly greetings, then go ahead and share your happy with them. People respond favorably to things that are welcoming and different. We have enough carbon copies anyway, allow your uniqueness to flow throw your business, your customers will love you for it.

4. Fourth and final tip, don't take yourself or anything too seriously.
As a dear mentor often times remind me, "It's just not that serious." Most of us take our selves and everything we do way too seriously, to the extent that we forget to enjoy ourselves and just have fun. We suck the beauty and essence out of the experience for ourselves and others, by being so attached to an end result, we totally ignore the journey, which is where the real gold lies.

My rule of thumb is, if I am not having fun while I'm doing whatever I am doing, then I either check and adjust my motives, intentions and mindset or I give it up completely because  our experiences, yes including building and growing our empires were meant to be enjoyed.

Guys and gals, you only get to live this life once, so I suggest you give it your all. It makes no sense, at least not to me, spending time and energy behind a venture you don't love and something that doesn't bring you joy at the end of the day.

Design a business and set goals that reflect you and the lifestyle and experiences you want, not what others say you should want.