Many of the same signs on the nation’s highways and byways can also be found along the road to creating a successful business: Caution, Yield, Reduce Speed, Stop Ahead, Sharp Turn—the list is as endless as the highway itself. When driving a car, these signs are meant to grab attention and promote safe-driving responses. However, knowing how to read and respond to various signs on the way to achieving business success is also important.
Living fearlessly on the road to success means acknowledging that there can be rough patches, slippery curves and winding roads, and being prepared to keep moving forward to reach goals and objectives. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs face these “signs” with fear, and can get left behind.
In my book, Fearless Living: 8 Life-Changing Values for Breakthrough Success, I look back at my long career in direct selling to share what I learned about overcoming fear. One of the people who has always inspired me is Deepak Chopra, M.D., FACP, Founder of the Chopra Foundation and best-selling author and pioneer in integrative medicine. When he called my book “an inspiration to women and men looking to overcome obstacles in their own lives,” I knew I’d found a way to help others navigate their own road to success.
Here are six “signs” to follow toward success, without letting fear push you off the road:
1) Proceed with Caution: Choose your business wisely, based on your knowledge, skills and interests. Move ahead cautiously by diligently laying the groundwork, from understanding the need for your product or service to knowing how to communicate to your target audience.
2) Maintain Speed: Getting your business from point A-to-point-B means never giving into fears. The way to keep going full speed ahead is to always stay determined and disciplined. Live fearlessly and put your foot on the gas and get energized by meeting new people. Learn how to overcome challenges and obstacles, instead of letting them slow you down.
3) Divided Highway: When starting a business, getting guidance from family members and friends is important, but be aware that their views and experience may differ from yours, so trust your own judgement. It’s also beneficial, especially as an entrepreneur, to have the courage to get advice from outside experts who may bring new perspectives without preconceived notions of who you are and what you do.
4) Winding Road: If I had let fear hold me back from taking on new and different assignments, traveling alone to new, unfamiliar places, or learning what I didn’t know, I would not be where I am today. In any business development, there are twists and turns along the way and it’s essential to push yourself to learn and grow to be prepared to follow your path to fulfillment. Staying on a winding road is often a matter of gaining new skills and knowledge, so always look for new things to learn about your business and customers.
5) Work Zone: For independent business professionals and entrepreneurs at every level, external preparation involves expanding your business knowledge, understanding the competition and knowing what it takes to build, engage and retain a customer base. Mentally prepare to always keep moving forward, because most results require time, mental endurance and resiliency. Don’t let fear force you to pull over.
6) No Exit: While an exit strategy is part of a business plan, don’t let fear push you to stop when the road gets rough. Stay determined in your efforts to solve problems, learn new skills and ways to overcome challenges and don’t let the fear of bumps in the road force you onto the exit ramp.
ABOUT CONNIE TANG
Connie Tang, the first woman president and CEO of Princess House, a kitchenware and home décor company, is bringing the phrase “pay it forward” to new heights by giving entrepreneurial-minded women and men the tools and inspiration to harness fear and live the life they deserve. Born in Hong Kong to Chinese parents and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Connie’s journey to the top executive spot inspired her to write her new book Fearless Living: 8 Life-Changing Values to Breakthrough Success.
Fluent in English, Spanish, and Cantonese, Tang has been named one of the Top 50 Asian Americans in Business and one of the Most Influential Women in Direct Selling. Under her leadership, Princess House was named one of the Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts by The Boston Globe and the Commonwealth Institute in both 2015 and 2016. Tang also serves as an Executive Board Member of the Direct Selling Association and the Direct Selling Education Foundation.