Do you want to start blogging, offer a new service or build a portfolio career for yourself? Whatever the context at some point you will need to move on from planning and preparing to JUST START. This post will consider the importance of making a start and taking action.
Yes, planning is important and there is certainly value in finding the space to research and formulate a plan before starting a new venture. You need to be clear about your proposition and where you add value. Why will clients want to buy from you? Why will readers follow your blog? You need to spend some time researching the needs of your target market or even before that deciding who your target audience is. In future articles I will write about JUST SPACE and the importance of finding space to research and make new things happen.
So back to making a start. At what point do you start? Just reading this blog could be a starting point for you to develop your career in a new way. What I encourage you to do is to notice what you notice and in particular notice the tipping point. At what point do you move from thinking, contemplating, planning and research to start? Or is planning and research already the start?
The work I do as a coach helps clients to move from thinking and contemplating to action. There is a phase of exploring the options and then a commitment to a way forward. There is often a tension between just starting and knowing that this is the best start you could be making.
This is where it can help to JUST START. Through the doing and experiencing a new way of working or a new way of publishing your writing, you have the firsthand research to inform your focus, your vision, your passion – whatever it will take to move forward with a compelling vision. The closer you can align your work to a compelling vision, the more likely you are to sustain the change and continue what you have started.
Having a portfolio of work lends itself to allowing your business or ideas to grow organically. This is different to conventional business planning or having a rigid focus to the way you work. In future blog posts we will explore the challenges and benefits of organic and portfolio routes to grow your career, work or business. Key themes such as managing your time, combining multiple income streams and staying sane with a portfolio of work, will all feature in our blog posts. Do get involved – comment, offer to write a post or suggest a topic you’d like to read about.
Welcome to Portfolio Career Connections!