5 Tips for Maintaining Your Personal Identity When Starting a Business
When you start a business, it can be hard to be yourself. Especially if you are trying to please shareholders or investors. Retaining your personal identity within a new business is essential as if you do not have an identity that people can relate to, what do you have? There will be people who love and worship you in business, but there will also be others who hate you and simply despise you and everything you do. You cannot possibly please everyone, so don’t even try to. Instead, focus on doing yourself proud and building a successful business that others look up to and admire.
1. Enjoy Meeting New People
You love talking to lots of people from all different backgrounds, so why change? Enjoy meeting new people, enjoy networking, and getting to see who is out there and what they are up to. Building up a list of contacts now could prove useful later down the line, so never turn down a business lunch (without good reason) and never refuse to meet someone who you think you might clash with, as quite often you might have more in common with them than you first think!
2. Love Who You Are and What You Bring to the Table
You will never change, and why should you? You are a strong and independent person with your own identity, and this will never change. So what if you wear odd socks in the office! Or so what if you have to use Simply Thick in your coffee to help make drinking it that bit easier? So what if maybe you have to put on your makeup in five minutes flat because you overslept (again) – it really doesn’t matter. Who you are and what you can offer are important. Bringing ideas and opportunities to the table within your business will help overcome objections from even the staunchest of opponents.
3. Have a Positive Mindset and Approach to Business
Yes, you will have those off days, and maybe you will have more than one or two here and there. However, remember that having a positive mindset and approach to life will do a lot for you. Thinking positively and acting positively can help you push forwards with your business, and it can help you spot and seize opportunities.
4. Remember It Is Not All Work and No Play
When starting a business, and when running a business (especially in those early days), it can be easy to get carried away and become a workaholic. However, working too hard will make you fall out of love with your business very quickly. So, instead of diving in and doing lots all at once, why not try to have a sustainable balance that embraces time for both work and play.
5. Get up and Do What You Love
You will never be fully happy or satisfied unless you are truly doing what you love and what you enjoy. If your business is not fun for you and it is not enjoyable, then you will struggle to sustain it both in the short term and in the longer term. So, why not start your business doing something that you love and enjoy? This way, it will be more fun and rewarding on all levels.
