Downtown Kalamazoo got a new tenant:

What do you think is the name of this new business?

I had to look it up on Google Maps. It’s “Anchor’s Aweigh.”

But that logo is gonna drive their customers aweigh, amirite?

Don’t put so many flourishes in your logo that you render it illegible. People need to know the name of your business. This seems basic.

Yet we all do this.

We get between our clients and our services.

You might LOL at this and internally scream at me “MY PROVERBIAL DOORS ARE WIDE OPEN, WHERE ARE THE CUSTOMERS???”

Take a deep breath and let me rewind to August 31st to explain.

August 31st is my Independence Day – the day I quit my salaried job and started working for myself full-time. Every year I celebrate by opening my DMs to anyone with a question about starting or scaling a business.

Here’s one:

The answer to this question is the answer to about 65% of the questions I get:

Get out of your own way.

The biggest obstacle any entrepreneur at any level will ever experience: Your own damn mindset.

Our fears and worries keep us from taking a step.

We fear all the unknowns that go into starting a business, so we never begin. (When all you need to do is ask somebody who’s done it before and has a plan.)

We fear the trolls on social media so we never post. Even if we’ve never actually been trolled in real life. Even when there are ways to handle it. Even when that’s one of the main ways your clients will find you.

We’re scared that our clients won’t believe we have the artistic skill to develop amazing tattoos, so we totally overcompensate on the logo.

Our imposter syndrome keeps us from going after those big, dream clients – when, for all you know, your boutique shop is exactly what they’ve been needing.

Our mindset is “marketing is slimy” so we never actually inform the world that we have services to solve their problems.

Your customers are looking for you. Help them out.

How is your mindset in your way right now? Tell me about it.

If you find yourself thinking “I can’t do that.” the truth is probably actually “I’m too intimidated to do that because I don’t know how to do it well.”

And Babe I’ve got some good news: You aren’t the vanguard.

Other people have walked this path before you. It is well-trodden.

Any worry you have has done been worried already.

It’s been solved.

The answers are out there.

You just need to hook in to the people ahead of you who have plans and some hard-won lessons to share. You need a posse who will hold your hand while you take the next step.

Hang out with me, I’ve got you.