I’ve quite often heard running a business described as moving two steps forward, followed by two steps back.

But in my experience, it’s a lot less linear than that.

I feel like running your own business is a lot like playing a game of snakes and ladders.

And when you know what game you’re playing, you can use smarter tactics to play it well.

Side note: ‘Snakes’ isn’t a euphemism. Please try to stifle the giggles as you read about ‘sliding down snakes’ or ‘riding snakes’. I know what it sounds like, but this whole board game thing is a great analogy and I’m sticking with it, even if my inner 14-year-old is crying with laughter.

Beware The Snakes

Running your business is a lot like playing a game of snakes and ladders (I know, I already said it in the intro, but that was a few sentences ago, I felt like we needed to start again at the beginning).

Except the snakes are pre-installed and you have to build the ladders yourself.

And if you don’t know this, or you forget to build the ladders, it’s going to be really really hard to make progress.

Any time you move forward in your business, you risk landing on a snake.

You send out regular marketing emails, and somebody replies saying they ‘don’t like you or your overly familiar style’ (true story)….zooooooom down that snake you go 🐍🐍🐍

You run a 5-day challenge and pitch your new course at the end of it, and nobody buys – whizzzzzzzzzz – you go sliding back down a level.

A regular retainer client cancels on you, and now you’re panicking about how you’ll top up that income – zzziiiiipppppppppppp – that’s set you back a jot.

The sound effects make all the snake-slides sound fun, but they’re not.

They’re scary because you don’t know how long they’ll last, and when you finally do stop dropping down, you feel like you’ve undone heaps of progress that you just worked really hard on.

There’s not a whole lot you can do about the snakes.

They’re part of the game.

You can spend a lot of time and energy beating yourself up over the snakes existing or being cross with yourself for landing on them, but honestly, this is not a good use of your time and energy.

I have worked for myself in the online marketing space for more than 12 years. And I have worked with dozens, maybe more than 100 clients who run small businesses based on selling their expertise. Some were making £500,000 a year, some were striving towards their first £5k. Some had been at it for decades. Some were brand new (the most established, were not necessarily the highest earners).

They We all slide down snakes.

Build Your Own Ladders

Build your own ladders.

As you progress through the board game of business, put up some ladders.

Create an Evidence of Awesomeness folder with screenshots of love, praise, kind words and adoration, so that when you’re feeling low you can quickly level up by wallowing in the proof that you and your business are needed and valued.

Create a Magical Money Tree 1-1 offer that you don’t normally sell, but you know will be popular so anytime you’re short on income you can rustle up a little flurry of cash.

When you launch a thing, offer a free thing in exchange for email addresses as part of the launch. That way if nobody buys, you have at least created a little ladder out of the new subscribers you just added to your email list.

Learn How To Step Off The Snake

Don’t try this in a real-life game of Snakes and Ladders because your friends and family will brandish you a cheat, and no longer invite you to play board games with them.

But in the Game of Business Snakes and Ladders you get to choose to stop sliding down the snake at any time.

You just have to realize you’re on a snake, slam on the brakes and step off.

To paraphrase the great Jack Sparrow: The snake isn’t the problem. Your response to the snake is the problem.

The way you respond to the snake will influence how far back it sets you.

If you pour time and energy into freaking out about:

• How much of an idiot you are for landing on this snake
• Lamenting your bad luck at landing on a snake
• Wondering if it’s even worth running a business if you’re just going to keep landing on these damn snakes….

….. you get the idea…..

All that wastes time and energy is making the snake bigger and longer, speeding up and lengthening your descent down the Great Board Game of Business.

But if you can equip yourself with resilience and a shed-load of mindset tools, techniques and coaching, you can quickly notice when you’re riding a snake, slam on the brakes, step off and choose an alternative path.

Humble-Mumbling Is Hurting Your Business: Here’s how to fix that