How to be & stay positive in business

by Startacus Admin

Positivity Rules!

Denise Devlin, Founder of Positive Parties®, an inspirational, motivational & transformational coaching company delivering fun workshops, writes for Startacus on her top 5 tips for being & staying positive in business

"I launched Positive Parities® on the 22nd October 2010. I had already been self employed for 2 years working as a freelance facilitator and fulfilling contract projects for Surestart & various community organizations.

I had always had a dream to start up my own business but I believe my career in the community sector & travelling experiences in my twenties & thirties gave me the grounding while mid life gave me the maturity & confidence to act on this goal.

The drive to start up Positive Parties & make it a success comes from the passion about an idea that I believed from the very beginning would ‘take off.’ It has been tried & tested, the concept works (testimonials & recurring customers to prove it) and it has huge potential.

Coming from a business background I witnessed how my parents and both sets of grandparents worked diligently in their businesses. Growing up in this environment I knew that being in business takes true dedication and hard graft but that the benefits of being one’s own boss, although tough at times, it’s what you put into it that makes the difference.

I cashed in an endowment policy in 2010 to set up Positive Parties & last year bought the company name. A year ago I started working with a business coach who has really helped move forward in particular the sales process.

So here are my top 5 tips for being & staying positive in business:

Truly BELIEVE in your idea

I have always believed that Positive Parities® would work, down to my very core. Now there have been days, I can tell you, that I felt it would be easier to give up and go back into full time employment. The salary for one thing would be great BUT when I actually thought of letting go of my business and the whole concept of Positive Parties® I would feel sick. I knew I couldn’t, I believe in it too much, I have the testimonials to prove it. When I am preparing for the workshops and delivering one or telling people about it, my heart sings, I could burst! That’s when you know your idea is part of you and if you keep believing it will work, then it will.

Network

When you believe in your business you have to tell others and no better way than networking. There is so much social media these days and it is a fantastic way to spread the word about your business but there is nothing like good old fashioned networking events where you get to meet people face to face and build up relationships to exchange business opportunities. I joined Women In Enterprise when I was freelancing and it was the best move I ever made. When I shared my idea about Positive Parties® my peers really supported me and encouraged me to take it further. I made my official announcement about the business at our June Gala event 2010 and by that Oct I launched the website. Networking events keep you fresh and excited about your business. You have to make the effort and be enthusiastic about it, no matter what kind of day you have had. You are hardly going to be negative when talking about it, are you?

Make mistakes

You are going to make mistakes,but that is fantastic, because you will learn from them. Sometimes it may take a few times before you decide to take positive action! At the beginning I delivered Positive Parties to my comfort zone sector – communities and schools! When I started moving into SME’s I put the prices up slightly, but not enough. Then I pitched to corporate and when I look back now I cringe, my prices were far too low. I had to do the same thing again, twice!! Why, I don’t know! The lesson is learned now and NO, it hasn’t happened since!

Go with the flow

Very different from the normal business advice but in my experience crucial! Yes, is it is so important to plan and set goals but that isn’t everything. Sometimes we just know what is right for us and our idea/business and we have to go with ‘our flow’, NOT what other people are telling us. Yes, take advice from mentors, business coaches, family & friends when needs be BUT nobody knows your business or your idea like you. Go at your pace. Your soul knows when to move you up a gear or when to slow down and reflect. For me when I am so busy my creativity gets blocked and I can get in a ‘tizzy.’ The last time that happened my server was down for 4 days, my printer broke & my iPhone wasn’t taking calls! It was as if the Universe was saying SLOW DOWN! So I did, I had to, I went on a personal development course (that I didn’t think I had time to attend) and I got back to basics again starting with my morning meditation using teachings from Jack Black’s ‘Mindstore.’ Then the positive flow began to come through again!

Have a BIG VISION

It’s the BIG VISION that keeps you going, especially on those days when you feel like packing it all in. If you didn’t have the dream what would you have? Remember, what you think about you bring about. Write it down, create a vision board, draw mind maps. Do whatever you feel makes your idea/business constantly in your mind’s eye and part of your core. Use your other senses too. How does it sound, what are people saying to you about your idea in the future? How does it feel to be part of this amazing business that you started? Keep talking about it in the BIGGER PICTURE! I am always talking about the Global Enterprise I am creating, I believe it, it’s happening. Watch this space! Good luck everyone. Hope these tips are of some assistance. Here is a great motto ‘Have big dreams, will grow into them!’ Sending you all ‘’positive vibes’ for your BIG ideas!

Denise Devlin is the founder/CEO of Positive Parties®. Positive Parties® is an inspirational, motivational & transformational coaching company delivering fun workshops, promoting ‘positive mental attitude,’ in a unique ‘party style’ environment. 

The vision is to grow a global business network of individuals (NLP Practitioners, Life & Coaches etc) delivering the service & selling the brand products in their respective regions.

If you like this article you might also like our article on Mindset - Top Tips when feeling the startup pressure

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Published on: 29th April 2013