Ace Your Biggest Opportunity Yet
Woohoo! What wonderful news. After all of your hard work it must feel fabulous to have this offer on the table. Such a great opportunity. Your biggest yet! This could be the beginning of your empire. Of your dreams becoming a reality. Of being able to finally step into your might as an Ambitious Entrepreneur. This. Is. BIG.
Oh Shit.
This. IS. Big.
Scary Big. Worryingly Big. So far out of your comfort zone you’re frozen Big.
Congrats! ... ?
A question I get asked a lot is ‘Why do your clients decide to call you?’ and usually, the reason is either that they’ve had a royal screw-up and want to salvage the situation or avoid making the same mistake again (what I call a ‘negative Oh Shit!’ moment) or they’ve just found themselves in front of a frightfully fantastic opportunity and want to make the most of it (those are the ‘exciting Oh Shit!’ moments).
I can handle both.
But the exciting Oh Shit! ones are the most fun.
Sometimes it’s a VIP Client that’s knocking on their door.
Or the biggest piece of client work they’ve ever seen.
Or a collaboration opportunity that is the stuff dreams are made of.
Whatever has my client shaking in their boots with both excitement and fear, my help in navigating that situation lets them enjoy the thrill of it, minimize the stress, and ultimately know that they’ve built a skill that they can put to use the next time an ultimate opportunity comes their way.
Here are my essential tips for handling your own Oh Shit! moment with ease.
Daydream
It’s important to build a really clear picture of what you want this opportunity to look like. Financially, creatively, time-wise – get clear on what the absolute best outcome would be. This is what you’ll be aiming for when you negotiate. Also give some daydream time to figuring out what a scaled back – but still acceptable – outcome would be. This is your bottom line for when taking on the project, client or opportunity just stops being worth it and you’ll need to walk away.
Scratch the surface
In love, they say that fools rush in. Blinded by all that excitement and those butterflies people can find themselves with a partner who falls a bit short on meeting their needs. Same goes for business. Put on your slightly-skeptical glasses and ask yourself if this opportunity is really as good as it seems? Review contracts for head-scratching clauses. Double check the time commitment. Get a feel for the people you’ll be working with. Go in with eyes wide open.
Explore
Now that you know where you want this opportunity to be (from your Daydreaming) and where it actually is (from your Scratching) start to explore how you can transform it. Ask questions, ask for changes, have some solid conversations with the other company or individual to explore what may be possible. (pssst…congrats. You’re negotiating!)
Put things into Perspective
My dear Ambitious Entrepreneur…sometimes those exciting Oh Shit! opportunities don’t turn into solid deals. Sometimes the gap between where they are and where we need them to be is just too big to close. There will be other deals. There will be other Oh Shit! moments. Learn from this one by tapping into what about it lit you up in the first place, then get back in the saddle and pitch another client or collaborator who will hit the same sweet spots. You don’t have to wait for these moments to come to you…you can create them.