Success is the Only Option

Heading into my second year of entrepreneurship, I’ve grown comfortable with a lot of the vagaries of self-employment. But every now and then, the siren song of a cubicle job echoes in my head, typically when the Visa bill arrives.

We experienced a budget crunch recently and I’ll admit I panicked. I cancelled some commitments I was looking forward to and sent out a few resumes. I started to think of all that I’d do if money continued to grow tight. Bagger at a grocery store? Get rid of cable? Move back to Chicago and live with my mother?

Then it occurred to me I was spending an inordinate amount of time planning for failure. I realized I hadn’t given my baby business a fair shake – there were several publications I hadn’t reached out to yet, hadn’t tried spinning up business in guest blogging/tweeting/Facebooking for clients. I hadn’t even broken into markets just over the border into Massachusetts.

I’m afraid I’m a bit of a pessimist; well, maybe aggressively pragmatic is a better description. I always try to plan for a way out, a safety net, an escape plan if something doesn’t work out. Being practical is one thing, but dwelling on failure doesn’t do anyone any good.

After I realized I really wanted to give my little business my all, I was determined to stop thinking of exit strategies and start putting more effort into success strategies.

And you know what? The fear vanished. In fact, I thought of the other areas in my life where I was “planning to fail” and reworked them as well. I’ve never felt more confident, and frankly, excited. When failure is not an option, it’s amazing how quickly the worry dissolves and positive action takes its place.

I can’t say that I’ve completely stopped being a worry wart and that I won’t have moments of cubicle weakness, but I do know I’ll start thinking of ways to be successful instead of ways to fail.

Good luck with all your success options!

Cindy Kibbe is owner of Cindy Kibbe Creative Communications, a professional writing services firm based in New England. She has written for several Boston-area media companies and was an editor for a regional business publication for nearly a decade. She can be reached at cindy@kibbecreative.com.

Putting 'You' Back in Your Success Equation

I was laid off from a company once and it had always left me upset and frustrated. For a long time I was stuck in some sort of unresolved corporate grief. I worked my butt off for years, volunteered for things when no one else did, continuously upgraded my skills and was always looking for ways to bring in more revenue. Like a stuck record (I’m dating myself…), I could not get past the fact that, despite all this, the company no longer thought the value I represented was worth spending the money.

In a recent rainy Friday, I sat down in my living room and felt sorry for myself yet again. I asked myself why I couldn’t get past this. What positive was there in that horrible experience that I could learn from? That concept of “value” returned over and over again. Then it dawned on me  –  I did all those wonderful things simply to benefit the company. I was nowhere in my own success story. If I did more, learned more, maybe they’ll like me more and I’ll be safe. My over-inflated sense of loyalty left me a prime target.

I realized that instead of thinking, “All these skills will bring value to the company and I might benefit as a byproduct,” I should have been thinking, “All these skills will make me grow and might bring value to the company as a byproduct.”

The positive in this negative experience was the fact that learned an important lesson – the improvements I make to grow as a person and professional must serve me as well as anyone I work for or with.

Notice I said “as well as.” It’s very easy to look at this lesson and become conceited and selfish. The objective is really to look for the win-win as overused as that phrase is. But it also means to make sure you obtain one of those “wins”.

Some business owners, especially us new ones, might feel the need to occasionally debase ourselves just to make a sale. We’re just starting out, we want to make a good impression on prospective customers and we’re maybe a little desperate. A recent acquaintance of mine wanted to provide some editing services for free to a potential client. The first rule of business we all learn is to charge something for your product or service. What would she have gained if she did free work? Maybe a client, but what would then happen when she tried to charge for the next job? Where is the “win” for her in free work?

We all want  – and must – do right by our clients and/or our employers, but if you don’t receive some benefit, some positive growth experience, how are you succeeding? There’s only one person I can think of that completely gave of himself for others, and I’m nowhere near that standard.

If the needs of your clients or your company lead you to a formula for growth, make sure you are a part of the arithmetic.

Cindy Kibbe is owner of Cindy Kibbe Creative Communications, a professional writing services firm based in New England. She has written for several Greater Boston-area media companies and was an editor for a regional business publication for nearly a decade. She can be reached at cindy@kibbecreative.com.