Yesterday, on the Pathways to Paydays Summit, one of the people who accepted hotseat coaching was at step 0 of her business.
She has no sales, no clear offer, no real business.
I gave her a piece of advice which I believe will also be powerful for hundreds of you in my community because few people will say it.
Go As Far As You Can See, then See How Far You Can Go
I asked her was the minimum amount of money she needed to survive from her business was. Not her wildest dream. Not “an exciting target.” Just survival.
She said $1,200 per month.
The advice of many of the other speakers was that she needed to aim higher, set more ambitious goals, set goals that excited her.
I have great respect for the knowledge, wisdom, and guidance of each of those speakers, and I believe that, in this case, they were wrong.
If your gut reaction to the idea that she needed a higher goal was anxiety and constriction, then you will understand what I’m about to say, and this message is for you.
If your reaction was, “Yeah, aim higher,” then it is likely that you spend most of your time with people who are beyond a certain level of success, and that’s awesome! This message is not for you, but I encourage you to read and understand what it is like to be a Dead Zero, because you may be giving people well intentioned but demotivating advice.
Achieving A Goal Is Exciting, Any Goal
When I was younger, coaches would encourage me to set ambitious, audacious goals. And I would. I’d shoot for the stars… and miss every time.
$10,000 per month… miss.
Buy a plane… miss.
$100,000 per year… miss.
“Well, damn, I must be a loser. I always lose,” I thought.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t have big dreams, but there’s a reason that even in the Empire State Building, each step in the staircase is still only a few inches high.
I finally started to achieve success when I replaced my $15,000 per month target with a $1,000 per month target.
In my case, I had a series of them.
$1,000 per month would prove I have a business.
$3,000 per month would pay the bills.
$5,000 per month would give me money to invest in the business.
$8,333 per month would be the magical Six Figures.
$13,500 per month would retire my wife from her job.
Almost immediately, I hit $1,000. Then $3,000. Then $5,000. Then $8,000.
But it was hitting that first goal that gave me the motivation and encouragement to reach for the second.
More important, that first goal let me stay on track and not pitch the whole plan and start over.
When I got distracted from the reasonable goals and started looking at that top goal again was when I made the stupid decision to rebrand as The Virtual Event Guy, a mistake it took me 6 months to make and 6 months to fix.
If your goal is massive, then you’ll keep missing it. And when you keep missing it, you think it’s not working, so you give up and try something else.
Not your dream. A massive dream is great. But your goal must be attainable.
Small Wins Lead to Big Wins
So if you’re at $0 per month, $1,200 per month is exciting. And when you hit it, then you can set the next goal, maybe $3,000 per month.
Not only is it exciting, but it’s relatively easy.
If you have a $300 one-on-one session you offer, then you only have to sell four per month, one per week, to hit that target. Can you sell one a week?
Can’t do $300, how about a $100 offer? People will pay $100 just to have a sounding board who asks intelligent questions. Three a week is $1,200 per month.
If big, ambitious goals excite you, go for it. Do what works.
But if you find that those big, scary goals terrify and demotivate you, I’m giving you permission right now not to set them. They didn’t work for me early on, and they might not work for you.
For some people $1,200 a month is a Big Hairy Audacious Goal.
Big Dreams, Small Goals
I do encourage you to have a big dream, a big ultimate goal that excites you, maybe even scares you. This is what you write in visioning exercises and put on your vision board. When you’re starting out, that will be up there with winning the lottery or inheriting a mansion.
Your goals on the other hand should be attainable and reasonable. It should be something that moves you forward, that gets you down the road far enough to get over the hill and see to the next hilltop.
In Football, they want to get a Touchdown, but they don’t try to go 80 yards at a time. They go one First Down at a time, even one play at a time. 80 yards is too much to think about. 5 or 10 yards is totally manageable.
Aim for a First Down, not a Touchdown.
Let Me Support You
This is why I created the Opportunity Growth Academy. I found too many people getting lost because they were getting general advice and not the advice they personally needed.
“Set scary goals” is great advice, for the right people who have already achieved a level of success, but is terrible advice for people just starting.
I set the price point of $100 per month to make it accessible to almost anyone, and it’s one of the only places you can get direct access to a coach on a weekly for so little.
As a Bonus next week and later this month, I am driving to and from Florida, and any OGA member is welcome to call me during that trip for one on one support at no additional cost. I’ve got time, so I might as well help you while I drive.
If this message resonates with you, and you think that getting on regular calls with me would support you to move forward and get over that next hill, I encourage you to sign up for the Opportunity Growth Academy.
There’s no commitment. Even if you just want to take advantage of the road call offer and then leave, that’s okay (although I think I’ll decide you want to stay).
-Michael Whitehouse
The Guy Who Knows What It’s Like To Doubt