How patience frames your personal brand and startup

You’ve started up, and you’re ready. You’ve been waiting for this moment to get your business rock and rolling. It’s an amazing feeling.

Now, that excitement may lead to many different emotions and feelings. I can remember when I started freelancing, I was over the moon. I earned my first hard earn money that was money, well and taxed so the Government’s too.

Of course, I want my business to grow. It’s time to make more money, it’s time to get more clients. Well, I learned one important thing: you need patience to succeed. Now, I am going to tell you why.

Patience and your personal brand

When you are putting together your brand story, you need to think carefully. It’s your online presence, it’s your quilt that others will see. You need to carefully craft your personal brand for two reasons:

1. How you want people to remember you
2. How you want people to know you when you’re not around

Those two messages are clear. If you’re patience people will that, remember it, and say, “Oh yeah, you must be talking about John”.

Patience and your startup

As the saying goes, “good things come to those who wait, but not those who wait to late.” That’s quite powerful isn’t it?

Now, when I said earlier my impatience hurt my business, it kind of did. I was so anxious eager that I took too much on too quickly. As a result, I actually lost business. I didn’t have the capacity to take the business on. Now, you might say that I should have hired another employee. My answer is no and here’s why:

1. My impatience meant that I didn’t fully understand my client’s requirements and needs and whether I would meet them
2. I wasn’t selective enough with the clients I wanted
3. I took on too many big projects with too tight deadlines

As a result of not fully listening to my clients, and understanding them, I had missed opportunities.

Moral: I should have been patient.

Final Thoughts

We have a rush to achieve. We want to get what we want. In doing so, we sometimes allow our good intentions to go array.

Slow down and start thinking. It pays to be patient and allow yourself a chance to fully understand the situation.

Of course, I am not saying you should take forever. Time is of the essence so you need to take your time but at the same time take your decision at the right time.

Key Takeaway: Patience is really key and a fundamental in business. You need to let people believe and know you’re patience. Your startup needs you to be patient and make informed decisions based on knowing your circumstances and direction. Finally, don’t let excitement pull you down rather than push up due to the lust to succeed and have quick wins without forward thinking and strategy.