We all have our inner demons. One of mine is following through with plans I come up with. In my case, I struggle most with having a goal in mind, having done all the prep work to make it happen, and then all that's left is the leg work to achieve the goal. And that is where laziness sets in and takes over.
For instance, as of May 2010-June 2011, I was an Independent Beauty Consultant for Mary Kay cosmetics. I had signed up to be one because a very good friend of mine has been selling MK products and making a killing. She was frequently informing me about how much money she had made, and went on and on about all the successes she was having with her business. She's been with MK for over 3 years, and naturally, has built a decent clientelle.
Attracted to the opportunity in making extra money, I very curiously and open-mindedly signed up to sell what I still believe are among the highest quality cosmetics and skin care products available (for women and men). The most ideal way to make the money is to hold skin care classes. These are "parties" and you get a hostess to host the party (class) in her home. The guests attend, and they get a free facial with high quality products, and pretty much get to give themselves a make over with all the samples available. Hopefully, one of the attendees will want to host a party as well and invite more friends, and the growth of the business blossoms from there.
When it comes to sales, I'm very shy. I don't like convincing people to buy things. I think the problem I have with doing that is that I'm a marketer's dream client; I'm easily sold. I don't know how to say "no" very easily when being sold something, so consequently, I want to make it easy for a customer to tell me "no". It was my hope that I'd tell people I sold MK products, I'd give out cards, and send them catalogs, and the orders would come in just like that.
I was wrong.
It didn't work that way for me. So, I had an idea...buy a bunch of business cards, and walk around my neighborhood placing them in door hinges. This way, when neighbors would get home, they'd see the card, get interested, and a party would be setup for hosting where I could make some money.
What did I do instead? I bought the cards, and kept telling myself, "I'll go on such-and-such-day, distribute cards, and just wait for e-mails for phone calls from prospective customers." Yeah, that never happened. I got lazy, I got shy, and so nothing ever came of it. The cards ended up sitting in their little stack on my desk in my room.
All that being said, I no longer work for Mary Kay. I don't think I'm the type of person suited for direct sales.
I'm facing a similar internal predicament with piano lessons. Frank helped me put together my ad for lessons. It lists my credentials well, including my Bachelor and Master's degrees, my Kodály certification, my years of piano experience, etc. I even went to a local music store and bought 4 lesson books: 2 for kids, and 2 for adults. All I need to do now is make copies of the flier, distribute them, and start scheduling lessons with interested prospective students.
I feel like, aside from the basic leg work I have to do in promoting the lessons, my only concern is that if parents want their kid to perform in a recital, where would the recital be? I have no clue, right now. My initial guess would be in a local school. Frank has even suggested I contact the schools that are close by to see if the music directors know of any students who want lessons, and that way I can start building my studio that way, by networking with the local music teachers. Have I done that?
No.
Why not?
Because I'm...scared?
Shy?
Embarassed?
I just need to put my money where my mouth is to accomplish my goals. It's the biggest hurdle I need to jump. I need to stop talking about plans if I have no intention of putting them into action. I am my own worst enemy.
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