What Searching For My New Brand Name Taught Me About Online Business
Spoiler alert: Big Change Requires Big Support!
Sooooo… as you may know / have heard me mention / could have guessed from the title, I have a lot of new things cooking 🧑🍳 !
I’m currently still working in the fringe hours of motherhood (early mornings, naps, Sundays when dad isn’t working, etc.) but still, visions and plans are brewing together beautifully and I think that life is just so dope that we get to have ideas, and then action them into existence. Don’t you agree?!
Yesterday, I took baby’s nap and spread out my laptop, my many many notebooks and giant wall post-it pads on the floor around me, turned on an old episode of Midsomer Murders (give me a British village, an old pub, a mystery, and a quirky detective, and I’m hooked) and took a birds-eye view look at everything I’ve been scribbling this year, and got into the nitty gritty of the planning.
This is the July Get Your Life Right challenge, after all!
And part of what I’ve been doing in the planning for the next phase was searching and looking up various brand names I’ve been considering, on the social platforms I’d like to be on, seeing if anyone else is using them, and what for. And you know what I discovered?
Almost every single brand name (including just my own name) was already taken by someone else - either via a website domain, or on socials like youtube, instagram, etc. But you know what else?
Every single account was basically sitting there, either abandoned or not being used at all. No posts, or maybe one post from over a year ago.
There was one account that seemed the most legit, like someone was trying to turn it into a real business, and while I thought “damn, they got there first” I also noticed that there were maybe 10 posts in total, and then nothing since April of this year. Now, of course, I have no idea what’s going on in anyone’s life and why they stopped posting, but you know what this obvious trend taught me?
That humans have ideas, and maybe a stroke of inspiration to get going and take action on their idea, and then for whatever reason - be it suddenly not feeling motivated, feeling discouraged that their account / product didn’t blow up instantly, letting the rest of life take over, not cultivating strong discipline around taking action, not being comfortable with being seen, etc. etc. - they stop taking action, and the account / business sits.
So many people come and go online, and I honestly think that’s normal because doing something different and so big as creating, putting yourself out there, BEING SEEN for it, and keeping up your own momentum and enthusiasm for the long game is a really big change - energetically (the emotions behind it) AND physically (actually taking action) - and big change requires big support. And if we feel like we don’t have that support around us, it can make it all feel seemingly impossible.
If you’re ever feeling that way, I want you to sit down with a pen and paper and write out a list of all the resources you have to support you in taking action on your ideas.
Your resources may include all of the online courses you’ve purchased or a spouse or partner who supports you in time, energy, love, money, skills, etc. Maybe it’s the online community or membership you joined, the online blogs you follow, or a new book you grabbed that you haven’t read yet, or could revisit. Previous job experience, skill share learning, your available time, healthy food in your fridge, your health, your laptop, the meditation app you use, youtube, the local library… I could go on and on, but you get the idea. (I did this recently and I had SO MANY, like way more than I even realized.)
BIG CHANGE REQUIRES BIG SUPPORT. I will say this forever and ever. Because it does. And you are not alone on the path to making your dreams your reality.
Happy Monday
