Lesson 2 - People Are Watching...

For some reason the Rockwell song from the 80's is blasting through my head as I write this.  'I always feel like, somebody's watching me, and I have no privacy.'

This isn't my first time at the entrepreneur rodeo.  In fact, I've been here many times.  I'm also not one of those perpetual starters who never finishes.  I have sold several of the companies I have started.  However, each start comes with another challenge of having to prove I am fully capable of being in that ring.

Life is about evolving, and you should be doing the same in business (just like I talked about yesterday).  So if you started the same business over and over again, it just wouldn't be interesting.

And even when you think you have proven yourself enough, you discover more people who don't know who the hell you are, let alone your product and service, and they're not going to buy in immediately.

It's frustrating because you know (and I knew) you may have the best of whatever industry you're in.  However, getting that buy-in from people who have never heard of you is a tad difficult.

Many people are watching your business, but they're waiting to see if you're going to fail.

This isn't a catty thing like everyone wants you to fall on your face.  However, I've been around the business world long enough to be a bit of a skeptic too.  I've seen it too many times before:

1. Person gets a business idea.
2. Person gets crazy excited about the business idea.
3. Person tells everyone and their mom about their business idea.
4. Only mom buys person's products.
5. Person says screw this, thinking everyone should have bought.
6. Person's new business is no more.

I preach a lot that this business stuff isn't easy.  Many people start but never even come close to finishing.  So you can't expect, even with a track record, for people to immediately jump on the band wagon.  They're watching you.  They're noticing you, but many are sitting on the sidelines waiting to see if they actually should buy into you.

I'll be honest this is always a tough lesson for me to learn.  If there's anyone who will do what they say they're going to do and show up, it's me.

I knew there were people who stood on the sidelines for my first event because they were waiting to see what this whole thing even was.  They wanted to see if it wasn't going to go through, or if I would really deliver on what I was saying I was putting together.

I was asked by a few people if I would cancel the event if I didn't get enough people.  My response never faltered.

'If I had just one person in that room, I would make sure that one person got the best damn experience ever.'

I was going to show up.  Period.

When people aren't purchasing immediately, that doesn't mean your business idea is horrible, or that you should walk away.  It just means you have to work on your messaging, connect more with your clients, and give the skeptics a reason to believe in what you're doing.

You just can't quit.  They may not be commenting, but they're reading your website.  They might not be buying, but they're waiting to see what others are getting for results.  They may not be 100% sold quite yet, but they're getting close.

I've learned the hard way that you have to prove yourself time and time again.  Start building the relationships you need to build and make sure you're in this for the long haul.

They're watching you, and it's your job to give them a reason to turn them from a lurker to believer.