What is shiny ball syndrome you might ask? It is something I struggled with for almost three years. It is when you have so many ideas for your business that you find yourself running down different paths that lead to nowhere.
When I first started down my journey to starting an online business I had hundreds of ideas, and trust me that is not an exaggeration. If you read my how to find your strengths post you know that ideation is one of my strengths. Coming up with ideas is super easy for me and I just fall head over heels in love with an idea. The problem is once I get past the idea stage and the work begins I loose interest and start questioning if the idea is right for me. If you love ideas as much as I do you could be struggling with the shiny ball syndrome too.
Should you start a blog? If so what type of blog? Should you blog about cats or surfing or the best things to do when you are bored? Or maybe create an online shop! That is a great way to make money online right? You could sell clothes, or cat toys or yooyos or even make your own jewelry. Chokers are trending again right now, I think. With so many opportunities to start an online business it can be super overwhelming trying to discover which one is right for you.
You could keep running around in circles or you could just follow these three easy steps to picking your online business.
Tip one is to pick your one thing.
Now if you have hundreds of ideas like I did, and lets be honest still do. Picking one thing can sound so challenging but take it from my own experience you will never get there if you do not just pick one thing and go on all in?
So what was my one thing you might be asking. No it was not my now business, Work and Woo, it was travel blogging. I spent a year exploring the world of travel blogging and while I enjoyed it and found it creative in the end it was not one thing. And although I spent a year doing it looking back it was not a year wasted because it taught me some great skills. First off it took one of my hundred things off the list which could have take away longer if I had not given it a shot. It also gave some great practice with writing and video editing as I did travel guides on my YouTube channel. I may have never tried that if I hadn’t focused in on travel blogging and now I use video to create my online courses.
Tip two seek help sooner rather than latter.
I went down this travel blogging path for an entire year without seeking one to one help. Yes I part of Facebook blogging groups, listening to podcasts and I eventually made a friend in the blogging community. However all of this general info is just that general. It does not help you specifically get to where you need to go as everyone’s journey is different. In one session with my coach I discovered the focus for my business, within a week I had launched my site the one you are reading Work & Woo, and within a month I had left my day job. Hiring a coach can help you get there quicker if you are struggling to find your one thing.
Tip three know that it is not going to happen over night.
The thing about the shiny ball syndrome is we get so scared of wasting time that we run around trying to pick the one thing that is going to get us there the quickest. We don’t want to waste an entire year creating something that is not working toward out ultimate goal and have to start over. But the truth is you are not starting over you are building on what you have already learned and applying it to your new business. So you tired to sell yo-yos and did not find that fulfilling but I bet you learned some great things about selling online or how to source products which will be useful in your dream business even if you don’t see it yet.
So you see shiny ball syndrome does not have drag you away from your ultimate goal. Don’t be afraid to go down a different path before you get to the right one. I have great memories blogging and I actually still share it with people as there are a lot of great tips on there so it was not a total bust. Plus if I hadn’t tried it I might still be wondering right now if I should have and would not have launched my dream business yet.
Don’t be afraid to try, try and try again. And if you find yourself unable to stop chasing shiny balls find your self a coach. You can book a free discovery call with me to see if we are a great fit to work together and get you there 10 times faster.
Are you currently struggling with shiny ball syndrome? Comment down below and let me know what business ideas you trying to decide on and why. I would love to hear from you and give you a little insight in the comments.