#1 Business Truth: Things Take Time But It’s Worth It
“It all comes back down to: What is success for you? What do you want? Then, once you know the answer to this — take one tiny step at a time.”
— Amanda McKinney
Annoying phrase alert…Things take time.
I know how frustrating this is to hear, but it’s true. If someone else is telling you otherwise, they aren’t telling you the truth. Because growing your business takes time, energy, and effort, but here’s what’s always true — it’s 100% worth it.
Back in 2017 when I started my business I remember saying to a mentor of mine “if I still feel like this in 6 months I might give up”.
I cringe thinking about that now, but at least I was honest with her and she was honest with me too. She looked back at me and said “the feeling is real and I know it sucks. But here’s what you have to know about entrepreneurship. There are ebbs and flows and you have to learn how to navigate them both. You need to celebrate the wins and let them also fuel you when the losses seem to be piling up. You won’t feel the same every day for the next 6 months but you will feel like this again. Things take time and they ebb and flow.”
She was right.
There are days that I’m freaking over the moon about progress and then there are days when I feel like I’m the suckiest of all suckiest entrepreneurs.
But it has gotten so much better over time — and it will for you, too. So here’s your pep talk on how things take time and how you can best navigate the lack of patience you might be feeling.
Ready? Let’s dive in and talk about things taking time!
Things take time…for everyone.
We see other people’s exciting days and it seems like it was so easy for them and it happened overnight.
This is absolutely not true. If anyone is telling you that building their business was easy, all I have to say is RED FLAGS. I have never met an entrepreneur who has built a business who have said those words: “This is easy.” If it was easy, everybody would be doing it. No one would be working for anyone else. It’s just not for everyone.
When it gets frustrating and your patience is tested, I want you to remember that this takes time. Every tiny little step you take is going to help you get closer to whatever success is for you.
Success takes time
When I say success, I mean whatever that means to you. My version of success is not going the the same as yours.
What does success mean to you?
I talk about this in episode #120 of the podcast: How to define success in your yoga business. Instead of focusing on what others think is successful, I want you to create the thriving yoga business of YOUR dreams.
Measure your progress based on your version of success and your goals. And then stay focused on your version of success throughout all of the noise of other people talking about their success. Don’t measure your progress by looking at other people’s progress — they are on a different path!
Simplify, simplify, simplify!
We tend to overcomplicate things.
Maybe success for you means four people showing up to your Friday class. So what can you do to invite four people to your class? Sometimes it can really be that simple. And we try to make things more complicated so that we have an excuse to not do it.
I interviewed Shanté Cofield on podcast episode #112 all about marketing tips and strategies and this topic came up. We tend to overcomplicate things when we don’t want to do the work. We put things on our task list to help us feel busy — but that’s not the same as being productive towards your goal.
“When it comes to many common problems that people face, they want really complex solutions because it gives them a reason not to do it.” — Shanté Cofield
What are you working towards specifically? If you say:
I want to make more money.
I wish I had more students.
I want to grow my business.
Those sentences are not goals. What is “more” to you? What is more money? 5 dollars? 500 dollars? 5,000 dollars? You have to get clarity on what your goal is so that you can actually achieve it.
It all comes back down to: What is success for you? What do you want? Then, once you know the answer to this — take one tiny step at a time.
Your next step
Well, I hope you’re not still annoyed with me but instead inspired that while things take time, it’s really worth it!
Sometimes we say we want something, but then we’re not taking the actions needed to get there. Or maybe we don’t know what actions to take.
This is where Thrive, my membership for yoga teachers steps in. If this message was inspiring for you, please check out Thrive — it’s designed to help you get to your version of success, one step at a time.
But even if Thrive isn’t for you, your next step can be to remind yourself of all things you have done. Because you have made progress, and you probably just need to remind yourself of that today.
Things take time so look back and remember what you have done over the course of the year.
Until next time, give yourself permission to celebrate the progress you have made and grace along the way.
For more stories like this, listen to the Marketing Yoga with Confidence Podcast.
About Amanda McKinney (Marketing Coach for Yoga Teachers)
Amanda McKinney is a Marketing Coach with a passion for helping yoga teachers find the tools and the confidence within themselves to build the yoga business of their dreams. She does this through her podcast: Marketing Yoga With Confidence and online offerings. All of which focuses on building confidence and community with an extra dose of encouragement every step of the way.
