Invest in your Business this New Year
Start your New Year with a new Business
Take the First Step with your Business this New Year
New year, new you, or is it?
What would the new year and new you look like if you could thrive, start a business or do your side hustle in that same capacity that you’re thriving now or even better?
Let’s find out how.
Today, let’s talk about the new year.
I ask you to consider this for a moment.
What would your life be like if you actually have a career that you enjoy?
Something that you wake up looking forward to and work hard because you know that every ounce of effort, every ounce of sweat equity you put in will be returned to you 10, 100, or a thousandfold because you own your own business. You’re working for yourself, and everything that comes into your business comes through you and then back at you.
Let’s talk about a day job.
What's a day job?
A day job to me is a job that you do out of necessity, not because you actually enjoy it, or you like it, or you’re good at it. There’s nothing wrong with having a day job. I’ve had a day job for the last 25 years. No shame in that, and I did it out of necessity.
I got my first job when I was 16 because I needed money to get a car if I needed to get back and forth to school and back and forth to my job. I wanted to be independent. I didn’t want to ask my mom for money. I didn’t want to be relying on other people to give me what I wanted or what I needed.
Soon after, at 17, I joined the Air Force not because I really had any desire to be in the military. This was before 9/11, so I didn’t have that patriotic passion that many people got after that point. It was because my sister was already in college.
She’s two years older than me, and she was already struggling. She had student loans, credit card debt, and wasn’t even 20. And I was like, “That’s not going to be me.” So, I joined the military.
My day job is turned into my career but does that change the fact that it was a day job? Is it still a day job? I like it. I enjoy it. I’m glad I’m on this 365-day exit strategy journey because it’s time to move on. It’s time to do something else, something different, something that’s going to bring me more joy.
But I don’t want to take back the last 20 plus years. It’s gotten me where I am today, providing me a nice lifestyle and supplied for my family. I’m in Egypt, for goodness sake.
Like it’s not a lot to complain about, right? But it doesn’t mean that I don’t want different from myself, and it doesn’t mean you can’t want different for yourself as well.
Let’s get back to the day job.
Why do we have day jobs?
Is it something that you think you’re good at?
Was it something that you got to take care of your family, to provide?
Was it may be the next step you took after you graduated college or got out of high school?
Do your friends and your family ask if you really enjoy what you’re doing?
Do you ask yourself if you enjoy what you’re doing?
You know we all start off on a path. There’s a quote that says, “The journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step.” and that is so true, but a lot of us take that first step and the consecutive steps and think because we’re headed in this direction that we got to keep going that way and nothing could be further from the truth. Just because you’re heading in this direction doesn’t mean you can’t change course.
You can always change course.
You can even turn around sometimes and start over. Believe it or not, your path in life is a path you choose, not the path anyone else chose. Have you convinced yourself that you are enjoying, or you must stay, or you’re keeping your day job because facing the reality of the alternative means that you’ve been living a lie?
You’d have to acknowledge that the thing you spend most of your time, aside from sleeping, you don’t enjoy doing, or brings you no joy, and worse, yet you’ve built your life, your house, your income, your expenses, your cars, your lifestyle, your vacations, your children’s school, you’ve all built that around something you don’t even enjoy doing.
Like a house of cards, so as we delve into the day job, I want you to ask yourself a few questions, and this is only for people who have a day job that they can consider changing. It’s not for people that love their job, and it’s their passion, and it’s their life. This may not be the quiz for you but take it anyway.
Ask yourself why do you have the job that you have now?
Is it because you enjoy it?
Is it because you love it?
Is it because you can only see yourself doing that for the next whenever into the future?
Is it because it brings you joy?
Is it because you work so hard to get it and you love it?
Is it because it was an opportunity of a lifetime?
Then I want you to ask yourself what would happen if you decided to change your career path?
Would you receive support from your family and your friends? If not, why not? Do you need to upgrade your environment? Do you need to have some long in-depth conversations with your family about the difference between contentment and happiness?
COVID-19, the Coronavirus, has made us all look at employment differently. I know it is solidified for me the fact that I want to be home more, and I want to be around my small kids more. It’s giving me the opportunity to telework, and I just love it.
It’s been challenging because I have to find childcare at home, and I have to deal with that, but we’ve worked around it, and I know this is what I want to do. I want to focus on work, but I want to focus on my family more. I want to be home more.
Have you asked yourself those same questions? Is it even possible?
My final question is, which opportunity would you take if you were offered a promotion to the next level of your current job this coming Monday, then simultaneously someone would gift you with the seed money you need to start a business or a side hustle?
Some say both.
We’ll soon discuss what working your day job is causing you to sacrifice in your personal time.
Think about it, would you take the promotion, or would you start working your side hustle, your new business? Interesting question, huh?
The thought of starting a business or side hustle may make you feel scared, intimidated, ashamed, even embarrassed for some, but I want you to ask yourself why.
Why do you have those feelings?
Is it nature, or is it nurture?
Who’s around you making you feel that way?
Is it your current environment?
Is it your upbringing?
Were you taught from the time you were small that you have to get a job and provide for your family, and that’s why you do it? You’re just on autopilot, and you didn’t know you were doing it, but that’s why you do it. And you don’t realize that you can be providing for your family and provide for yourself while owning your own business?
I say it’s a new year, let’s make a new you. Ask yourself if you even desire a new you. Are there changes that you want to complete in your life? Start now.
What’s holding you back? Let me answer that for you.
It’s you.
If you feel held back, it’s you holding you back, and that’s okay. No judgment, just inspiration. I’ve given you a few things to think about, and next time we will unpack why you may need to downgrade your main hustle to upgrade your side hustle.
As always, I want you to reach exponential greatness by investing in yourself just one percent a day and reach phenomenal exponential greatness at the end of the year.