Before you start anything, ask yourself these question...

In grade school we had mandatory book reports, and sometimes it was a little challenging to start, so the teacher would give us some basic questions to get us started. (Just humor me, there is a method to my madness here.)

Who: Who is the story about? Who are the main characters?

What: What was the story about? What was the problem?

When: When did the events happen?

Where: Where did the story take place?

How: How was the problem solved? How did the story end?

Why: Why did the problem happen?

Now, you may be catching my drift, but if not, don’t worry, it’ll all come together.

If you’re like me, you’re in your mid to late twenties, sort of navigating life with a printed MapQuest sheet in a world full of your peers who seem to have upgraded to a digital GPS, and they’ve got it all figured out. (Side note: Y’all remember going on road trips and having to print directions? Or worse, being in charge of reading the directions and getting in trouble if the driver made a wrong turn or missed the exit because you misread the map? Ahh, good times.) Anyway, it can be so easy to get caught up in the highlight reel that most of us paint on social media. In an effort to catch up, it can cause us to make decisions that may not necessarily be the best, just do we can add a little sparkle of our own to Instagram or Facebook. Let’s just use the wave of entrepreneurship as an example. Let me be clear, there is nothing wrong with starting your own business; in fact, I encourage it. However, it’s not for everyone, and even if it is for you, moving too fast will cause you to fail.

I’ll use myself as an example. When I wrote my book, it started out with me genuinely wanting to help people from my own experiences. I wrote because it was therapeutic to finally put those things onto paper, and I knew someone could relate to what I had written. Fast forward to the book release, and it was a success initially. My friends and family bought copies, I had a book signing party that had a pretty great turnout, and I was on cloud 9. In my head, I was finally relevant. I had finally done something worth bragging about. That was 2 and a half years ago, and the sales, glitz, and the glamour have worn off. Sure, I promote it on social media sometimes, but now that it’s not selling, I’m right where I was at the beginning, feeling behind, and like a failed writer.

Fast forward to business number two: Danielle’s Kitchen, my meal prep service. I legitimately love to cook, both for me and other people. There was an need, because people in general don’t feel like meal prepping. I had food photoshoots, had a professional website done, taken headshots, the whole nine yards. When I finally launched, just like the book, the initial response was great. But, like most things, it died down, I got frustrated, unmotivated and discouraged, and…I’m still on a hiatus. Again, I felt like a failure.

What I should have done was answer those questions. Having a foundation of why you’re doing something before you start gives you something to look at when the times get tough. This doesn’t just apply to businesses either, this goes for everything.

So, before you do anything hasty, ask yourself these five questions: Who, what, when, where, how, and most importantly why.

Who: Who are you?

What: What exactly do you want to do?

When: When do you want to start? Be realistic. It may seem like people just all of a sudden have these “nice things”, but trust, there is a lot of behind the scenes work that goes into anything of quality.

Where:

How: How do you want to introduce your work to the world? Do you want to introduce your work to the world? Not every hobby has to be monetized.

Why: Why are you doing…whatever it is you’re doing? Is it because you want to flex? Because you want to leave a legacy? You want to help other people? Take some time and really think about the answer to this question. When you figure it out, hold on to it. When the sales get slow, or the support gets low, or you’re just feeling tired from working a 9-5 and then coming home to work on your dream, remember your “why”.

You got this.

Love always,

CDOG