Christoff Oosthuysen is the resident business coach on Randall Abrahams’ weekly radio show, Point of View.
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Here is another of the weekly BizTips…
BizTip – get rid of those training wheels
Today’s BizTip is for entrepreneurs who have become used to relying on support from others, and who are reluctant to take the next step towards reaching their dreams.
The tip is: “Take off those training wheels!”
I thought about this very important tip, when I took off the training wheels form my seven year old daughter’s bicycle last weekend.
She was reluctant. “Will I be able to do it?” she asked, doubting herself. “I feel shaky”, she whispered nervously. But when she got onto the bike, she shot off down the road with great speed!
She fell over a few times, but then, after adjusting the height of the saddle and setting the brakes, she was master of her bike!
Now this is a situation many business owners find themselves in. They started off and worked on growing their businesses with the support of others. Their “training wheels” came in the form of a mentor or business advisor. Or maybe a friend, sibling or business associate.
They got used to the support and are now relying on the guidance and ideas from other people. In their businesses, the keep riding a bicycle with the training wheels still on, while they should in fact be doing very well without the support.
In short, they’ve become dependent on the guidance from others to keep their businesses going, but like with the training wheels on a bicycle, this is keeping them back. They are not achieving the speed of growth they would if they got rid of these “training wheels”.
If this applies to you, then listen up. Get out of the dependency! Take off the “training wheels”!
Yes, its good to express, your doubts and nervousness, as my daughter did when she asked that I take off the training wheels from her bicycle. But when you are ready, get rid of them, so that you can grow at much greater speed.
However, you might be in a different situation all-together.
You might just be starting off in business and in need of support, just like my daughter needed with the training wheels when she started riding her bike. If this applies to you, then identify what the best support is for you. In other words, what the areas of your business are you are least confident in and who can help you with that.
You should not be afraid to ask people who have done something similar to you. Ask for advice. Ask if they could be your “training wheels” for a while. But plan to move on, later when you can be independent!
Remember, the success of your business depends on you. So ask for help when you need it, but move on when you’re ready to get rid of those “training wheels”!
If this tip helps you, get another free BizTip today. Go to www.freebiztip.com
About Christoff Oosthuysen