The "Do Be Have" Mindset

Fun fact, my business does not have a business birthday.

I could probably give you the general year and month but I could not tell you the day that I started my business and there is actually a good reason for that.

The reason is I started my business before I had actually started my business.

There was no date that I waited for. I didn't wait for the first of January. I didn't wait for the end of the week. I didn't wait for a Monday or like a cool date that I could recognise.

The business started itself before the business was officially started by me, if that makes sense..

It was only in the last year or so that I realised there is actually a mindset that is called "Do, Be, Have" and I had actually done that.

I'm going to share with you guys exactly what that means, and how you go about it:

It is really normal thinking for us to wait until we have something before we decide to be that thing, and before we decide to actually do the thing. And I know that sounds confusing.. let me break it down.

A lot of us are waiting until we have orders rolling in, weddings booked, a fancy logo or a professional website before we go and become a florist and then go and do the things that we need to do to be a florist.

So you wait until you have orders before you go, yep, okay, now I'm going down to the flower markets and I'm going to buy flowers and make the bunches and then I'll be a real life florist.

And we will continue waiting for these perfect conditions until we finally take action (the thing is, will the conditions ever be perfect enough?)

Let me explain to you what I did instead: 

- I decided to go to flower markets to buy flowers and just start making bunches. I didn't have orders. I wasn't a florist in my eyes but I decided I was going to go to the flower markets and buy some flowers.

- I started telling my friends that I was going, and if they wanted flowers, they could give me $20 and I would make them a bunch of flowers.

- I woke up at 2am, carpooled with my friend down to the Sydney Flower Markets, spent every cent, made the flower bunches, took photos, practiced, delivered the flowers to my friends, asked them what they thought. Some of them left me beautiful Facebook reviews. And more people ordered. All of a sudden, I had more orders. Am I *officially* a florist?! I went and did the thing because I was far too impatient to wait for the ‘perfect conditions’. I knew I wanted to be a florist, so why not just start?

Sometimes I do coaching calls with some of our members who are amazing and talented and they say to me: "I'm so ready to start Ash. I'm so keen. I've made all this beautiful content. I've made an Instagram, but I just kept it private for now.

I'm working on my website, but it's not perfect yet.

And I'm just waiting for my logos to be done before I actually launch."

I say "No, you're starting today. You are starting. And then you will build that as you go."

Imagine if you wait until the first of the month (or the perfect conditions):

Okay, today is the first, time to start. We start from dead cold. Cold turkey, we need to begin preheating the oven, it's going to take some time before we can start cooking...

Now imagine if you started today (like right now!), and you already had built momentum. You already had an engaged audience. You already had content out there, you've bought the flowers, you've been doing all the things and by the time the first of the month comes around you've already preheated the oven. The oven is hot! You put the veggies straight in there and they can start cooking.

Whereas if you start the preheat on the first of the month, the veggies are going to be cold for a long time before they're ready! (The veggies are your audience and potential clients in this amazing/terrible metaphor).

So, the "Do Be Have" mindset is that you just go and do the things now and then you become the florist by default.

We're gonna create flowers and do all the things that a florist would do and then the rest will fall into place, the business will come along naturally.

I didn't wait till I had a logo. I didn't have a website. I didn't have the perfect branding. I just went out and started practicing with flowers and making flowers for people and seeing what worked and what didn't and I learnt so much doing it that way.

It was the best thing I ever did because if I had waited the conditions would have never been perfect.

So, what are you waiting for?