Launching a new business is a huge deal. The Houston Chronicle mentions that as many as 627,000 new businesses are launched each year. However, just because so many people do it doesn’t mean it’s anything simple or straightforward. Launching a business takes a little bit of foresight and the ability to plan and execute. Just launching the business sometimes isn’t enough. Unlike the Field of Dreams, building the company doesn’t guarantee that clients or customers will come. Through all of this, a nervous client can create even more problems and get in their own way. So how do you deal with walking an anxious client through their business launch?
Start With Tangible Goals
According to Thrive Global, you’re more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. Tangible goals in writing can give your client something to focus on instead of worrying about the unknown. Ideally, having them commit to writing down their goals monthly and going over this list every so often helps them to put together a plan. Focus is difficult to maintain at the best of times, and the added stress of the business launch doesn’t help the client’s mental state. Writing allows them to put things down in a form that gives them a general roadmap to where they want to go. By breaking down these goals and setting timelines for them, clients can have fewer events to overwhelm them. They might even revamp their plans with changing inputs from different areas, allowing them to adapt to changes more efficiently.
Build On Their Strengths
Each entrepreneur has particular strengths that make their business’s contributions unique to a field. Asking them what their company is offering is an excellent way to define their value proposition. Once they define their unique value position, they can start developing a solid support system to make their offerings more attractive to the right clientele. Seeking out areas within the organization to help with these support and feedback mechanisms can refocus the client into doing something practical. Every member of the company’s team can ensure its growth and development over the long term. Starting with strengths and building outwards has the benefit of increasing the client’s confidence in their business venture.
Set Up Critical Project Milestones
A business launch isn’t an overnight thing. Some businesses may take several months or even a year to get all of their elements sorted out and ready to launch. Because companies can be complex, losing sight of the goal is a constant worry for anxious clients. The best way to approach this issue is to look at what smaller steps can help guide the client towards their final goal. Project milestones break down the massive task of launching a business into smaller tasks that can be completed on a more casual schedule. Setting realistic timelines is also a significant consideration. Each bit helps move the company further towards launch and reduces the client’s anxiety by removing the pressure that such a big goal exerts on him or her.
Examine Risk, Reward, and Fears
Everyone who starts a business has an inherent fear of failure. However, getting ready to launch a business isn’t enough to stamp down that fear. It persists and sometimes brings doubt into everything the client might try to do. Business ventures usually involve significant financial risk. Examining the client’s attitude towards this risk and how it affects their mental state can offer a springboard to explore how to cope. Inability to follow through and do what needs to be done is a typical side-effect of fear. Changing perspective and allowing them to see how fear has led to their anxiety may help them do what they couldn’t have done in the past, bringing their business idea to life.
Set Up an Accountable Team
It’s tempting to think of business launches as one-person shows. In actuality, it usually takes a team of individuals working in tandem to produce a single business entity and see it through to launch. One of the problems most clients run into is trying to take on too much. Again, the “one-person show” is something that shows up in popular culture all the time, but it’s rarely true. Developing a team that’s accountable and reliable can make a world of difference to launching a company. Not only will it allow for more efficient use of time and other resources, but it’ll ensure that there are more people focused on its success. The more people involved means the less chance of something going awry at the worst possible time. This knowledge can help alleviate some of the anxiety the client may be feeling.
Break Down The “Why” Of Their Business Idea
Most clients will jokingly tell their coaches that they’re opening a business to make money. While it might be valid to some extent, there are usually deeper underlying reasons for choosing a business idea. Unfortunately, people rarely speak what’s on their minds, doubly so in an entrepreneurial setting. Helping the client figure out the deeper why of their business idea can help calm them down and direct them towards a long-term buy-in of the business launch. Each milestone they accomplish on the road to launch serves as a reminder of that deeper goal and increases the motivation to see it through.
Making It Count
Walking a client through a business launch is a complex undertaking in most situations. Even something as simple as a website can lead to anxiety on behalf of the client. Most times, this anxiety stems from a lack of control. Since no one can control a market, the next best option is to take back control of the things they can impact. Setting up a plan, plotting milestones, and throwing together a crew of trained experts are all ways to take back control of a business idea. The side effect of all of these planning methodologies is a clear path from the current position to launch. With each step they take, their anxiety will decrease.
