When I became an entrepreneur, I took some huge risks. Even though my degree was in physical therapy, I instantly gave myself the job of becoming a business woman, an accountant and a marketing specialist. I didn’t have the time or the money for the MBA, CPA and BA in addition to my MPT, so what was an inspired girl to do? Do it anyway and hope people supported me.
The risk? Not knowing what I needed to know to do it “right”, overcoming the negative voices in my head and believing in myself, and the biggest risk of all, failure. Part of what I’ve learned over the seven years I’ve owned my own business is that it takes a village. You’re used to hearing that when it comes to raising children, but I believe it goes for your business baby too.
If we believe the idea of “It takes a village” then why don’t we believe it when it comes to our friends who need our help getting their businesses off the ground or supporting them in a new venture? Why do we stand by and watch them flail? Why don’t we reach out and ask them how we can help? Why don’t we spread their good name and vibe all over the fucking place?
There are reasons for this, I’m sure, but right now I can’t think of any good ones because jealousy is for Kindergartners. Not everyone is cut out for entrepreneurship, but most EVERYONE is cut out for supporting their friends who are. Especially fellow entrepreneurs.
This article is part about collaboration vs. competition, part Law of Attraction, and part awareness. I’m going to tell you a little about each thing, and then I am going to give you 20 ways you can support your creative, entrepreneurial friends, so then you can’t say you don’t know what to do.
Collaboration vs. Competition: We are past the day and age of a competitive attitude. If you don’t already get that the 7 billion people on the planet are more than enough customers for all of us, I’m not going to convince you otherwise. Think about it. Stop believing there isn’t enough (you are attracting lack by doing that) and start wondering how you can collaborate with your creative friends on a kick-ass project. There is power and magic in collaboration. Stop being jealous and join the party. It is a much faster route to success than sitting at home pissed off about what someone else is doing that you wish you were doing.
The Law of Attraction: Hopefully the line in parentheses about attracting lack caught your attention. You attract the energy you put out. Feel angry, frustrated, lacking, hopeless? Guess what you will get more of? So what do you do about this when there are valid reasons for feeling that way? Watch your thoughts like a hawk and start understanding the power of awareness and the choice it gives you to change the way you think and feel. YOU have the power to think and feel good, loving, generous, abundant thoughts, which will attract that kind of energy to you and your life.
Awareness: I never miss an opportunity to talk about this because awareness is the magic key to everything. You notice The Law of Attraction depends on it. Well, everything you want for your life that isn’t happening right now depends on it. EVERYTHING. Get better at it! Practice feeling and observing your body, thoughts, emotions and feelings, and how they connect to what is going on for you in the moment. Read more books about it (there are like a billion) and talk to other people about it. It’s what can change your life.
Now, let’s move on to why I really wrote this article, supporting your entrepreneur friends who are being brave, putting their stuff out there, and dreaming big dreams about changing the world. Why should you support them? Well, aside from it making you a stellar human being, if there is any inkling inside of you of wanting to do anything like they are doing, even the smallest amount of “What if I could?” in you, you must join the Good Vibes Club. You must start feeling the energy and enthusiasm they are giving off, let it infect you, and celebrate their success with them. And when you are brave and decide to share your gifts with the world, maybe they will remember what you did and reciprocate.
I’ll add one last thing about that. Please don’t give unless you have no attachment to receiving in exchange. You might (probably will) see them support you if you have supported them, but it’s not why you are doing it. You are doing it out of a pure, genuine desire, because it makes you feel good to do it. Period. That is the way you will attract the energy you want to come back at you.
Here are 20 ways to support your entrepreneur friends, and join the Good Vibes Club. Practice them often and tell me how it goes!
20 Ways to Support Your Entrepreneur Friends
1. Like their stuff on Facebook- as much as we all hate to admit it, social media has us by the balls. Give in and be a frequent liker – better than being a Debbie Downer. Your like puts positive energy into the Universe. We all need more of that.
2. Comment on stuff you have a thought about. Really, just a word will do. Love! Awesome! Can’t wait to get my hands on that! Can’t wait to read the full article…anything! Your comment is a mini testimonial and it will get someone else to read the post or article.
3. Share their stuff! Please people, if you love what someone has created, why are you not sharing it with your friends? If you can’t stop talking about that new restaurant or that movie you would see again, why is it that when it comes to things your friends produce, you don’t talk it up? This is the way we get our love out into the world – word of mouth. It’s the most powerful way to support your peeps, so what are you waiting for?
4. Get caught up in their celebration and tell them what you love about their stuff! This little technique will actually help YOU! When you adopt the energy you want to feel, more of it comes to you. So start with the things that are happening around you and help your creative friend celebrate their accomplishments!
5. Write them a testimonial about something they’ve created. This is such a simple task that only takes a few minutes, yet few take the time to do it. Write one or two sentences about how their thing impacted you, and email it to them. Let them know they can use it as a testimonial. Plus, if you are an entrepreneur, your name and title go on the testimonial, which acts as free marketing for your stuff! Win win.
6. Ask them about their project! The next time you are hanging with your entrepreneur friend, ASK THEM what they are up to. We love talking about what is going on creatively and sometimes we feel pushy about talking about it – we think you are sick of hearing about it. And you might be, but so what? If you are curious about what we are up to, ask us about it!
7. Give honest, caring feedback and keep it positive whenever possible. Creativity, including any kind of writing, is a unique expression of someone’s soul. Feedback is always subjective. We need to hear about what you liked. And we need to know what you didn’t like, but in a way that doesn’t crush us. See if you can fashion constructive feedback in a gentle, helpful, “What I would have loved to see/hear/read” way.
8. Ask them how you can help them with what they are creating. Very often we have trouble asking for help/don’t want to sound needy, so we don’t ask. Sometimes the best thing you can do for someone is just ask how you can help. It opens the door for them to be like, “Well, now that you mention it, would you mind…”
9. Get your ass to their event. If you are local and your friend has a special event, and you can make it happen and get your butt there, I don’t care if you don’t plan on buying anything, just show up. The smile on your friend’s face will be worth it, promise.
10. Buy their stuff. Yeah, I know, I just said, “Even if you don’t plan on buying” but listen, if you can afford to, support your friend buy buying the artwork/jewelry/course/book/product they are offering, and then even better, give them real, honest, feedback about how that thing helped you!
11. Buy their stuff as a gift for a friend. If you don’t have genuine interest in their stuff, then why not think of someone who might? Buy your gifts from small businesses – support your local entrepreneurs, and if one of them is a friend, please start there!
12. Turn their day around. When your entrepreneur friend is having a hard day/week/month, know that they are plagued with doubt and fear, just like the rest of us. Offer some positive feedback that will help them turn that day around fast. Remind them about what you love about them.
13. Write to your favorite magazine about your friend’s business. This goes above and beyond the call of duty, but if you have the time and you think one of your favorite media outlets should know about the goodness your friend is offering, let them know about it and you never know what might come of that one, small, simple act of kindness. PS. This goes for non-entrepreneur friends too…especially co-workers. Tell the boss what awesome thing your colleague did for you – I promise the good feeling you will have inside will make you want to do it again.
14. Write your friend an email and tell her how awesome she is. Let her know you are supporting her, in thoughts and actions, and that you believe in what she is doing. Sometimes we think things that we never say out loud. Say them out loud. Don’t keep that gold to yourself.
15. Do things you normally wouldn’t do in an effort to support your friend. Learn Twitter or Facebook, get yourself out to an event if you normally don’t, look up a topic she is writing about and learn about it, write your opinion as a comment on her blog. GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE and watch the magic happen for you. Yes, this one is about you! Usually when we are hiding in our comfort zone it is because of fear. Fear keeps us from getting involved in other people’s endeavors, which prevents all the goodness from coming our way. When we move through the fear we can make magic happen in our own lives.
16. Be inspired by your friend and start your own creative business. OMG, what? Yes, you know that person you’ve watched and watched and you can’t stop watching because it’s exactly what you wish you could do with your life too? Yeah, that thing! Go do it! And watch as your friend beams with pride and helps you own your dreams. Can you even imagine it?
17. Wow that last one is hard to top. So let’s take a breath and feel what that triggered inside. “I couldn’t do what she is doing.” “I’m not good enough.” “I am not _____ enough for that.” I’ve heard all the excuses, all the fears, and honestly, one of the most amazing things you can do for your friend is actually ask her about how she did it. Let her talk to you and teach you the way. Your simple question will help her know her truth, and believe in herself. Do you see the win win here?
18. Know that any way you choose to support your friend is appreciated, like, a lot. Know that your tiny acts of kindness feel like huge, amazing things to your friend. Know that anything, any small thing you think of will be greatly appreciated and that you are doing some good when you act on your idea.
19. Refer a friend to your friend. I have already mentioned word of mouth referrals, but I wanted to add that when you realize that you have a friend or acquaintance that would be a perfect fit for your friend’s stuff, make sure that you forward a newsletter, call that person up and talk about it, share a blog or article that your friend wrote with this friend…in other words, there are instances when a light bulb goes off and we think “Ooh, so and so’s thing would be perfect for …” and then we forget or just don’t say anything. For pete’s sake, say something! You could be kindling a magical connection that could change someone’s life!
20. The last thing…feel no pressure to support your friends. WTF? Did I just not spend a whole 19 points on how to support? Yes, but the thing is, we need to look deep inside and feel the feelings we have around supporting our friends. What’s there to understand and look at? Is there any anger, jealousy, envy? If there is, allow yourself to feel that and listen to the voices in your head that you are believing about those feelings. Yes, this last powerful point is about awareness. You want to give from a place of love. If you are not in that place, then support is not a genuine act of love. The Good Vibes Club is about moving toward that feeling inside of ourselves and giving from that place…that is the energy that has the power to change the world, and it all comes from awareness.
Now, go out and remember, you are the village your friend needs. Join the club and get caught up in the good vibes she is spreading. Help her do it. Enjoy and watch the magic happen!
Tell me in the comments, what are some other ways you’ve supported your entrepreneur friends? I would love to hear your ideas!
Laura is a warrior healing alchemist, published author and expert for people who are fed up with pain and fear. Her game-changing blogs, and integrative classes redefine healing and show you how to be brave and share your gifts with the world. Her writing has been featured in tinybuddha.com, mindbodygreen.com, elephantjournal.com, and BlackBelt Magazine. Find her books, Living, Healing and Taekwondo, Warrior Love and Warrior Joy, a Journal to Inspire Your Fiercely Alive Whole Self, on amazon.com. When she’s not teaching others to overcome fear and pain and inspiring them with the truth and how’s of healing, you’ll find her petting her dogs or a horse, practicing her axe-kick, taste testing cheese or dark chocolate, or creating her next book.
Connect with your inner warrior and start your healing journey at www.LauraProbert.com
