Over two years ago my good friend Jason gave me a copy of Jack Canfield’s “Success Principles”. The book made a huge difference in my life and a few months later I joined Jason and our friend Vicky in a weekly accountability group that we eventually named “Sunday Night Success”.

During these weekly meetings we would discuss the actions we were going to take in the upcoming week to help move our lives and our businesses forward. Vicky (an Interior Designer) and Jason (a mortgage broker) had both been running their businesses for a while, and I was in pre-startup phase.

Without the support of Vicky and Jason I am not even sure if I would be in business at the moment.

Happy/sad news from a friend

So it was with both happy and sad feelings that I received a call this week from Jason and learned that he was turning all of his clients over to another mortgage broker and taking a job with the Calgary 311 information call center.

This did not come as a complete surprise as Jason and I talk on a regular basis and I knew he was contemplating a shift into becoming a 911 operator, for which he needs some call center experience.

So the job with 311 services was not a surprise, the speed with how quickly it happened, and how that made me feel was.

A loss from my Jedi High Council

I am super happy that Jason is moving on to something that feels right, I am always happy for my friends wins. But I am feeling sad for my business.

Jason was an important member of what Pam Slim calls your “Jedi High Council”, a group of important advisors that help you build and maintain your business. Jason and I would talk on a regular basis and share the challenges, wins, and questions we had around running our businesses.

I am not saying I am going to kick Jason off of my high council, but there will be a difference in our relationship now, and I am feeling the loss to my business already.

What causes people to leave their business and “go back”?

To use another Pam Slim reference, Jason is now “returning to the cubicle nation”. Not a bad thing, it is what is right for him. But it makes me wonder what brings about a decision like this? How does one feel after making this decision? Is there any sort of help that could be offered to small business people to either keep them in business, or help them with the transition back to a job?

Answers from Jason and hopefully others

I am going to be interviewing Jason about his recent decision to “close up shop” and take the job at the 311 center, and will be posting the interview here.

I would like to talk to more people who have made this transition as well, so:

If you have recently ended your business and gone back to a “regular job” or know someone who has, I would love to talk with you/them. Send me an email at:

jeremie@jeremiemiller.com

Delay, delay, delay. Just do it

Well the new website has been up for a few weeks now, yet the blog has remained dormant. I keep telling myself that I need to get writing, when I don’t write I get stuck, but it just hasn’t been happening. I have written down lots of ideas for blog posts, I just haven’t acted on any of them.

Then I suddenly recalled the solution to this problem of “writers block”. I am not sure where I read or heard this little tidbit of wisdom, so I cannot properly reference it, but it goes something like this:

The best way to get over writer’s block….wait for it…is to start writing!

So, here is post number one for the new business site. I am officially started.

“Start writing” is also a solution for your business

The advice works! The original plan was to hit post after that last line, but then the light bulb went on and I realized how important this is to do in your business.

Too often we get “business block”. We fret over wording something just the right way, or whether our price is right, or if our “thing” is complete enough to offer. We get so stuck in our entrepreneur heads that we think, and think, and think, but never do. The writer’s block advice applies perfectly:

The best way to get over business block, is to start something in your business.

Maybe not as eloquent as the writer’s block bit, but it still works. If you are stuck somewhere in your business what would happen if you just moved forward and did it?

Stuck on a price? Pick a number and go live, then see what happens.
Not sure if a program is ready for delivery? Sign people up, deliver it, and adapt on the go.
Have nothing to offer in your business? Offer something, anything. Just have something people can buy.

Beta test your ideas and see what happens

I have had a great deal of success in my business by repeatedly beta testing ideas. In fact most of the offers on my website started out as a “let’s see what happens” beta test. The beauty of the internet, or paper, or radio, whatever medium you choose is that they can be changed. If the offer didn’t work either adjust it, delete it, rip it up, or take it off the air.

None of our decisions in business have to be final, we can always make adjustments as needed, we just have to convince ourselves that this is true and stop worrying ourselves into stuckness.

What part of your business have you been stuck on that you could put into action right away? What is stopping you from just doing it?