As your business takes a break for the holidays, your brain may be doing the same thing, with potentially disastrous results.
When you are flat-out, running a business, your brain is focused on making clear decisions - Beware Holiday Brain!
During a holiday break the brain relaxes and becomes exposed to unfiltered creative opportunity that can distract and confuse future plans and divert momentum.
There is a unique difference between the normal brain and that of an entrepreneur and you may get caught up in the bright, exciting ideas you dream up this holiday season.
The normal brain has a safety device that protects against taking risks, where the entrepreneurial brain senses the fear but does it anyway.
More...
As an entrepreneur you have taken control of your own brain and are an exciting action taker, but you pay the price for this because you can’t control the bright-shiny-objectitis that occurs. You see lots and lots of opportunities, not all of them good for your business.
It is the side effect of this creative brain power you have is something called FOMO, or the fear of missing out. During the holidays, when you have time to dream up all sorts of ideas, you may then feel the intense need to take immediate action in case you miss out on the opportunity.
When this happens, you lose focus and direction, suddenly trying to be all things to all people, which is disastrous for your business.
It encourages you to develop unrelated marketing tactics which sap energy, deplete the bank balance, confuse clients and potentially lead to business failure.
A simple solution for entrepreneurs this holiday is to focus the brain so the ideas developed either fit with the current business strategy and are tabled for development, or are filed away for another time, because they divert from the course that has been set for the year.
Use your down time to free you brain with some guidelines to keep you focused.
Use your downtime to free your brain with some guidelines to keep you focussed
- Have a single minded purpose.
A confused mind won’t buy and if you are not clear about what you do and why you are so passionate about it, you will struggle to get any direction or momentum. - Define your ideal client.
Overcoming FOMO and defining your niche is the hardest activity for an entrepreneur but it is vital to avoid wasting time and money on marketing that doesn’t connect or engage with the right audience. - Paint a picture of success.
The brain works in pictures, for example, If I said the words ‘bacon & eggs’ to you, do you see the words in your mind or do you see a plate with bacons and eggs on it? Chances are, you may even have seen the egg on toast and smelled the bacon cooking, but I didn’t even tell you they were cooked.
Provide a clear picture of the business goals you have and this will help your brain to focus on the outcome rather than becoming distracted by bright-shiny-objectitis.
If I say the words bacon & eggs, do you see the words or do you see a plate with bacons and eggs on it?