Real Growth Requires You To Step Out Of Your Comfort Zone
Can you think back on a time of real growth, be it in business, in your personal life, or anywhere else? More than likely you would have had to step out of your comfort zone for that growth to happen. Yes, we can make progress by doing what we have always done. But it will be slow and more importantly, by staying within your comfort zone, you are limiting your potential growth. It is when we step out of that zone and try something new – take a bit of a risk – and allow for personal and professional growth that we start to see big changes for the better.
Comfort Zone = Static Growth
Let’s say you have a goal to grow your reach and get out in front of a larger audience. What you have done so far, because it feels comfortable to you, is to write a blog post a week and then share it on social media. Yes, some readers will find you. Yes, if you double or triple your efforts, by publishing more posts per week and sharing more often across all your social media accounts, you will see some growth and engagement. But you are staying in your comfort zone.
Getting Uncomfortable Can Provide Huge Rewards
What if instead of doing what was comfortable you used the time you would have spent writing another blog post or two per week and promoting it on Facebook, you took the time to write a guest blog post for someone else’s blog? This person’s blog has a much bigger reach than you do. What if you sat down and recorded a fun and informational video that you can then share on YouTube, embed in a blog post, and of course share via your favorite social media outlets? What if you used the time to set up and tested a Facebook ad that continually sends new leads into your funnel? If doing these types of things is new to you, it may seem like a pretty scary proposition. But being uncomfortable and doing it anyway can provide huge rewards.
Some Reasons To Get Uncomfortable For Business Growth
Guest Blog Posting
Writing and submitting a guest blog post can give you a lot of added exposure by allowing you to get in front of an established audience. It also gives you the chance to start a beneficial relationship with a follow blogger that may lead to all sorts of other opportunities and collaborations.
Video Content
Recording a series of videos gives you the opportunity to reach a completely different subset of your target audience. There are plenty of people who prefer video content to written posts and articles. There are people who spend hours each day watching YouTube videos who would never stumble across you and your blog otherwise.
Paid Advertising
Spending money on paid ads might sound like a scary proposition, but once you start working with it and find something that converts well for you, you will get a steady stream of new leads for your business without any added work.
Get Uncomfortable Regularly
There is something else I want to mention here – just in case I don’t have you convinced yet… Getting out of your comfort zone is something you should do regularly. And the great news is that you won’t stay uncomfortable for very long. After recording those first few videos, submitting a couple of blog posts, and spending those first few rands on paid adverts, you will start to feel comfortable with the process. Before you know it, they will become second nature and be yet another tool in your marketing tool belt. Once that happens, you will know it is time to explore some other marketing strategies and ideas.
Take Action
Create a goal to implement one type of content you have never tried before. Ensure you make it a S.M.A.R.T. Goal and have a specific end result and time frame in place.
This post is part of the Business Planning For Success Series. If you arrived at this post from any avenue other than the series email, join the 7 Day series below and help you business plan for success.