Most of the people I speak with tell me “ I don’t want to be the biggest, I just want to be the best ”

When they tell me this, they sound almost “sheepish” as if their goal isn’t “big enough”

Do you ever find yourself saying this kind of thing?

I’m happy being small…

I don’t need a massive business…

I don’t want to be the biggest…

I only want a small number of good quality clients…

I’m not looking to have a huge office….

Then you look at other business owners who have massive business owners and you feel so small and insignificant compared to them…

Do you feel like you’ll never have the kind of success that other business owners have, simply because you don’t want to have an enormous office?

Are you feeling insecure because you honestly don’t want a business that is huge, but it feels like the only way to be successful is to be massive?

Let me show you how you can TOTALLY have a small business, and still be a MASSIVE success…

I’ll start by sharing something with you about my own journey with this battle.

I always thought that for me to be successful, I had to have a GIANT business, with heaps of staff, lots of clients, and be SUPER busy.  In fact, it wasn’t until earlier this year that I realized that I could be very successful while having a small business.  I realized this after looking back on my business career and having a few light bulb moments:

When I owned a retail business, I was most successful, profitable and I enjoyed my business the most when it was at its “smallest” in terms of number of staff.

When I owned my rent roll, I was most successful, profitable and I actually worked the least when I got rid of my staff, and outsourced everything in my business (improving my profitability significantly, but reducing my work week down to 4 days a week)

In my current business, it’s a small business, with just Joanna and I working together (and Matt, my hubby working in the background a couple of hours a week).

And yet, when I look at my own personal definition of success, these stages of each of my business were OUTSTANDINGLY successful!  By my own definition, I’m outrageously successful!

What I’ve realized, in reflecting on my own business journey, is that success has different definitions for different people.

For some people, having a large office and a big team, working big hours, driving expensive cars, and earning millions each year is their definition of success.

For some people, being completely mobile, working flexible hours on their own (without a team), and “flying under the radar” is their definition of success.

Now, I’m not saying that these two definitions are mutually exclusive, but I am saying that it’s okay to have your own version of success.  Please stop comparing your version of success to others.  You’ll never feel successful if you always use someone else’s standards.  In fact, you might end up with a big office, huge team, fancy car, with millions in the bank, and still not feel successful because you don’t get to see your friends and family.  Or, you might create a business lifestyle where you can work from anywhere, be completely flexible, live comfortably, but not feel successful because you crave the structure of having an office to go to, a team to lead and you never achieve the goal of driving your dream car!

So how do you stay on track with your own success goals?  I have 3 steps for you to take to stay on track with your success goals.

Step 1.  Write down your own version of success somewhere so you’re constantly reminded of what this looks like.  For me success looks like this:

I work 25-30 hours each week, mostly alone (except when I’m working on something with Joanna or Matt, or with a coaching client). I have an income goal for each year that sees my life comfortable financially, with plenty of choice.  I work with small numbers of clients, so I can give them my absolute attention.  I can work from anywhere at any time.

Step 2.  Celebrate other people’s successes.  But remember your own version of success.  So when you see on social media that someone bought a fancy convertible car and you get a moment of envy, remind yourself of what your version of success is.  Maybe you have a different car goal?  Maybe your dream life doesn’t even involve a car because you want to live within walking/cycling distance to everything?  So celebrate their success, but never forget your own version.

Step 3.  Celebrate your own success.  Any time you achieve something that falls into your own definition of success, celebrate it baby!  Biologically, we’re programmed to be constantly on the look-out of “bad stuff” and “threats” (let’s face it, it was only a couple of hundred years ago that we were living in jungles being chased by tigers and we had to constantly be looking for potential bad stuff).  So, in order to overcome this biological programming, you need to rewire yourself to look for and enjoy the good stuff.  So, when I achieve a big goal, I have a MASSIVE celebration ritual that involves playing the song Happy by Pharrell Williams and dancing like a crazy person around my lounge room.  But you do you – whatever makes you feel truly celebrated.

So, once you know what success looks like for you, and you know how to celebrate other people’s success, and your own, this is the time to get totally committed to your own version of success.  If you need help with the motivation and commitment to this success, download my free workbook on the 4 Steps to Total Commitment here.

If you haven’t read my last blog titled Don’t Bother Letterboxing Again…. UNLESS You Use This Formula, be sure to check that out next!