A company is one of many avenues for people to live the life they want. For years you have heard this time and time again. It seemed like everyone and their dog was running some kind of online business selling Amazon products, or courses.
But one thing that dawned on me is ever since this quarantine has taken hold, the amount of that type of content has been diminished to almost nothing. It sunk in when I read a recent post from Tim Denning.
I mean, I see Tai Lopez pushing yet another one of his courses. But other than that, it’s been eerily silent. I haven’t seen any travelling nomads pushing their stuff or anything.
The reason all of that is happening though – and what Tim Denning believes – is that money is a lot tighter right now and many people have grown silent about it. It’s hard for most of those people to be building a company on making money when:
- The economy is down.
- People are being more conservative with their money than ever before.
- Companies are being more strategic about where they are putting their money.
- And there is a global pandemic that is taking precedence right now.
But even with all of this happening and companies are struggling, I still think it’s important for us to be building a company right now. However, there are a few key elements to be keeping in mind about all of it.
In particular, to avoid this one thing from happening:
Building a company to make money.
Here is why it’s a terrible idea now and will always be.
It Doesn’t Bring Motivation
One important aspect I bring up with goal setting is that you need to have a why. Why are you pursuing this over anything else? In most situations the answer will provide your life meaning and bring you motivation to push forward.
A good why in my book when building a company is building a company in order to:
- Support people in various ways whether it’s emotionally, or inspiring.
- Entertain those who stumble upon your content.
- Guiding people and providing powerful and valuable resources.
- Satisfy or lead to other goals that you want to be achieving that aren’t solely focused on financial gain.
That’s not to say that building a business for money is bad. Every person who goes into business has a point of wanting to make money. The keyword here though is wanting. As in, it’s not the only reason people are going to build a business.
If you are only fixated on making money, it’s going to be difficult. Especially now where people are focused on saving and are spending money on the only things that make sense: survival.
People don’t need the crafts your selling over on Etsy right now. Nor do they need the umpteenth crash course on building a solid stock portfolio or online business. People are more focused on their basic needs over anything else.
Remember the motivators…
This also goes back to types of motivations as well and the power it has behind our actions and momentum. Money is all about external or extrinsic motivation. This is the worst form of motivation as it only works so long as it’s appealing enough.
It’s the carrot on the stick. So if money is short, that carrot isn’t going to be that appealing.
On the other hand, if you have one of the other reasons I mentioned above, that’s going to create intrinsic motivation. This is motivation coming from within. It’s normally fuelled by several internal factors that play a role in your pursuit of something.
This is a reliable source of motivation since you’re more or less using your why to fuel all your actions.
It Doesn’t Make You Humble
One thing that I’ve come to realize about this pandemic is how thankful I am for the work that I do. I know if I was working a day job, I probably wouldn’t be as happy. And with more people losing their jobs due to this, I would feel a larger strain than how I’ve been feeling lately.
It’s true that I haven’t been getting as much work as I have been right now. That said, because I am a writer, I’m starting to focus on the other areas I’ve been neglecting.
I’ve been striving to write more for myself.
And there is desire to work on other aspects that I’ve been putting off as well.
Even though these things aren’t making a lot of money, that’s okay. The point isn’t about making money right now. It’s about honing my craft, building my audience, and focusing on the development of good habits that’ll help me thrive when this pandemic is over.
And if I so happen to get some good results and surprise myself with a $1,000 + paycheque – like I did last month – then it’s a reason to be grateful for the work I put in. And to put it towards a few good causes like saving up for myself or helping out my parents who have been occasionally giving me food and other supplies.
If your goal is to build a company to only make money, you’ll focus more on the bragging rights. It’s easy for people to play up the lifestyle of working online.
All you have to do is wave your hands about and look at a computer screen.
But for those who do actually make it. The ones who are thriving and still hustling. Those people usually have more reasons than money on the mind.
A Company Has Setbacks
Another reason for having money as your motivator is that a company will have setbacks. There will be roadblocks that you will have to face. And while that is painfully obvious, what you might not know is that your motivation to solve those issues will depend on your own mindset.
If you are fixated on only making money, your motivation for solving any other issue is going to be pathetic. Speaking from my own experiences, I had built up a few other Youtube channels in the past and each one I stopped putting out content.
Why? Because I was focused on the numbers which could lead to me making money.
The reason my current Youtube channel is still around is because I still love making content for it. Even though it’s been so sporadic and disorganized, I still enjoy it.
Even though the issues I faced were minor, my whole attitude for solving this issues differed. Instead of giving up, I come up with strategies and things I can be doing to boost my channel.
This all comes back to your why as problems go and challenge that why. It is your own belief system and will dictate what you’ll do with your company should situations arise.
A Company Will Lack Creativity
On the note of solving problems, the amount of creativity will also be lacking. Even if your company is going to be cutting edge and have brilliant minds, if you are only focused on your bottom line, you’ll default to what works best in whatever industry you’re in.
This reminds me a lot of network marketing or referral marketing companies. There is a specific formula that is presented to people and there are those who “work the system” and get it to pop off while other fall behind.
I believe one of the key differences is the perspective of that particular problem. I believe that there are some who are going about things in a different manner. A little off the script.
My point is that their approach to the various problems and their overall growth is different to some degree compared to other tried and true methods. And it makes sense when you think about it.
If someone is selling you a course to help you build a multi-million dollar consulting empire, consider the legitimacy of it. It’s probably not a scam, but if the speaker spent several years honing their skills, chances are they’re going to give you maybe ten nuggets of information out of the hundreds that they’ve learned over the years.
They’re not about to give you every tiny strategy and step. Most are saying what you want to be hearing. It’s not so different from those who play up this lifestyle of working from home.
Compare all this to those who are still making it happen. To them, this pandemic is another problem they need to solve rather than simply avoid.
A Company Built On Money Will Fall
If your only goal for your company is money, it will fail quickly and lead you down a slippery slope. This principal applies to all manner of businesses. The only difference is the speed in which these businesses will fall. Larger ones will take longer while smaller ones will lose ground much faster.
But it all comes back to the attitude and mindset of the person who runs it. Instead of building a business to make money, look for other reasons and use this opportunity to learn about yourself and grow yourself mentally. After all, we all have plenty of time to spare while in self-quarantine.
To your growth!
Eric S Burdon