At the Edge of Business: Falling or Flying

Know. Like. Trust. These are the basics for doing business, reaffirmed at a recent talk and book signing by Guy Kawasaki. His new book explains how to influence people while maintaining the highest standards of ethics.

What a wonderful way to describe the process of delighting your customers - enchantment. A tried and true concept, especially if you’re a small, service-based business. Enchantment turns you into a trusted advisor, and that’s your treasure trove of goodies for attracting and retaining repeat customers. And how grand it is when customers come back after years because they trust you.

Recently, two clients of mine came back after years away, and contacted me out of the blue within 2 hours of each other. Both trust our work together, for different reasons. Both were at the edge of their respective small businesses. One was afraid she was about to fall off the edge. She trusts me to be the Agent of Calm with the ability to support her in laying out options (and not only business related ones).

Safety around exploring options is what this client needed. Small business people sometimes don’t see the forest for the trees because they are overwhelmed by the everyday details. A trusted advisor brings them back to the big picture, to those long-term goals and objectives that inspired them to become entrepreneurs in the first place. A trusted advisor talks this type of client off the ledge and away from the supremely scary (for this client) abyss of the unknown. Any decision is the correct one for them, at this very moment in time.

The other was excited and anxious about jumping off the edge. She came because she is finally ready to expand her business reach. This client needed a mighty thrust over the edge and into the abyss, knowing that there was a support system behind and below her when she takes the leap. A trusted advisor, paraphrasing the incomparable Oprah Winfrey during her final show in May, reminds clients that every person has value simply because you were born, and that every person has a purpose. Simply feeling heard is so important for this type of client. A trusted advisor helps the client validate that this is the correct decision at this very moment in time, and walks through many details and implications of the decision. This client has already announced on Facebook the value she received from her trusted resource, as well as her goals for this expanded business.

Along the edges of business, all entrepreneurs experience chaos—panic about whether this is the time to change an aspect of the business (focus, financial, personnel, location), or leave the business entirely.

Tip: To move to calm amidst the chaos, start by walking barefoot. Feel grounded and connected with each toe. This helps you ease into and feel restful with the decision.
Continue on your path with no regrets and without looking back, if your decision is to move away from the edge. There is no abyss for you to fall into. Going over the ground you’ve been on before – physically and metaphorically – supports you so you can feel secure again.

When the chaos of expansion, change or transformation overwhelms you, this is an opportunity to grow. By jumping off the edge, you begin building the plane as you’re flying it. Jump. Feel the exhilaration, the tingling of your fingertips, the expansion of your wingspan. Again, there’s no abyss to fall into, only openness and reception to the energy of the universe. Keep an eye on where you’ll land to continue the tingling and excitement of arriving safely.

Ask yourself if there is a change coming in your business. Is the change where you want to go? It’s easier to take a big leap if have support behind you.

If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space. ~ Anonymous