For almost 10 years, I was a server in different restaurants.
During those last few years, I worked at the Outback Steakhouse.
Their motto was: No rules, just right.
Their promise was that you could order your meals just the way you wanted.
No substitution was off limits.
If you wanted a bloomin’ onion – normally an appetizer – instead of veggies, we would make it happen.
If you wanted 2 steaks on one plate with no sides. No problem.
You called the shots.
The Outback experience is very different from a meal at a higher-end restaurant where it’s not encouraged to mess with the chef’s vision.
You choose the chef version when you want to immerse yourself in an expert’s creations. In this way it’s more like art. You appreciate the way it was created in their vision.
But when it’s time for you to create.
To get more of what you want out into the world.
The no rules, just right approach wins.
This is especially true if creating something from nothing was a major motivation for building your own business. To put your stamp on something that is yours.
The thing is, you soon realize that creating something unique takes a back seat to bringing in some revenue.
In that first while, it can feel really hard to get a steady stream of clients.
You know you can help people but as much as you’d like them to find you, that doesn’t happen.
So it’s no wonder that you’re tempted by the many workshops and programs that promise to give you a proven system, success roadmap, exact blueprint, or profitable formula to get you more clients and make more money.
Since the entrepreneurs making these offers seem to be doing so well, it feels like they may in fact have some secret sauce that will help you do the same.
I’ve joined more of these programs than I’d like to admit.
I mean, why reinvent the wheel if someone else has it all figured out?
But I know better. We all do. Deep down.
We know that these ‘special’ methods are a combination of practices and tactics that we already fundamentally understand.
At this stage in the game, I can say that you have all you need to succeed (however you define that for yourself).
Because you do want to reinvent the wheel.
You want to make it into something that suits you, your values, your hopes for the future, your desire to make a difference.
I know I do.
And that’s why I’m focusing on learning and acquiring skills in different areas than what most business programs offer.
Things like interpersonal communication (mostly listening), making better decisions, and thinking critically and deeply. So I can market and build my business sustainably in a way that feels right for me. (I often use “with integrity” but the moral undertones bug me a bit.)
I’m no expert. But I am committed.
And I truly hope it’s possible for the market to embrace different approaches so that you and I can make money without compromising the things we value most.