TOC #186: 1,000 stairs starts with one (and no fire, apparently?)
(July 16, 2024) The first steps to take in business
Hearing a screech from the other side of the house is never a good thing when you have a 5-year-old.
Last time that happened, I thought he started a fire. Or a flood. Or fell off the balcony.
(Turns out, he just didn't want me to wash off my tattoos.)
This time, of course I assumed the same, so I sprinted up from my bed & headed toward the fire extinguisher.
“MY DREAM COME TRUE!!!!!!” he yelled.
(Wait, what?)
“It’s the silliest song!” he yelled again. “Where are you????”
Before I even reached my bedroom door, Woo came running (on his tippy toes, as usual), screaming.
“1,000 stairs!”
(Seriously, WHAT?)
🎶 one thousand staaaairs, starts with one! you gotta learn to walk, before you run! 🎶
Apparently, this was the silliest song he had ever heard, and it was his new favorite song, and he'd been waiting his whole life to find a song this silly, and I HAD to listen to it immediately, and I HAD to watch the video — one millimeter from my eyeballs — or else.
…according to him, obviously.
The video showed a bird, in front of a big staircase, singing “one thousand stairs starts with one, ya gotta learn to walk before you run!” over and over again.
And, actually, this outburst came at the perfect time.
I was feeling bad that he was watching YouTube on my phone while I worked, but I didn't have a choice. Single mom + responsibilities - babysitter = screen time.
And I hate having to do that.
…but, once Woo found world's silliest song that (allegedly) made his entire life complete, I didn't feel as bad.
& it was pretty catchy.
Long after he left my room, I found myself singing 🎶 one thousand staaaairs, starts with one! you gotta learn to walk, before you run! 🎶
…which, if you think about it, is a pretty great message for ALL of us to hear, not just the hyperactive screen-drunk 5-year-olds.
The First Steps Of All The Big, Scary Business Stairs
One thousand steps starts with one.
And sometimes that “one” feels hard — or it's hard to figure out which one that one IS.
So, here are my “ones” for the big stairs in business (cuz Lord knows we've got lots of 'em). 👇
Creating your website.
→ Deciding on your domain name, buying it, then choosing your website hosting platform. (I recommend one of these two website builders.)
Becoming a consistent blogger.
→ Making a list of 12 things you can write about. OR choosing 3 categories that are relevant to your business (ex, if it were me: websites / email marketing / business), then choosing 4 posts you can write about each of the 3 topics.
Appealing to the right audience.
→ Understanding the 5 stages of awareness.
Writing your website copy.
→ Answering these 5 questions.
Making money online.
→ Set up your email marketing platform, and send your first weekly newsletter (so you can build a community that cares about what you have to say, so you can eventually sell to them).
Building your network.
→ Reaching out to 1 new person every day.
Whatever you're trying to do, remembering to start with ONE step instead of all one thousand steps will help you feel less overwhelmed & more in control.
Whenever *I'm* trying to do something new — or something I've done a zillion times, it doesn't matter – I make a big, fat list of every single thing that needs to be done, broken down into the tiniest tasks, to help me conceptualize all the work that's necessary & how long it'll take me.
Starting with the little things first helps. ❤️
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