Nikki Lane: There’s no need to leap – you can walk into the water slowly

I never really had the clarity around how I could do this and it has been a slow-burning desire inside me, whilst attempting to do other things that I thought were the right thing to do. Turns out they weren’t.

In 2019, with the comfort of having an income via a part-time role, I was able to take the time to create something that I was passionate about without the stress of it having to make money straight away. I started with creating a workshop and ran that for 9 of my friends. It was terrible. Then I turned the content into an online program and ran that for 20 people on Facebook for free. Not as bad as the workshop but still not great. I had too much content and wasn’t sure how to deliver it.

A friend of mine suggested I write a book. I had no desire to write a book yet it seemed a great way for the content to be delivered in a way that people could work through at their own pace. In March 2020 I started writing and by October 2020 it was finished. By December 2020 it was published and being sent out to my first book purchases, which was very exciting.

I also decided to self-publish so went on a big learning curve of how to do that: sourcing my own editor, proofreader, and printer, etc. was a great experience and I learned a LOT!!!

I’m also loving how people are loving the book. That my message and learnings that I now live by are helping to empower other women to do the same. That it gives them clarity on what they want to do and a direction to head in.

When this happens I just try and pull myself up and remind myself that my book is not for everyone and whilst there are those who haven’t responded about it, they have all been people who have purchased the book because they know me and would have been interested to see what I created, not because they wanted the message. I also remind myself that there have been many people who love the book and have bought extra copies etc to pass onto their friends.

I also get stuck in what to do to market the book. How to reach a wider audience and find the women who will really benefit from the message in the book. My self-doubt cripples me here and to be honest this is where I struggle the most to get out of it and move forward with marketing. This is a pattern that repeats in all my ventures. I’m great at building it, not great at getting the people to come.

The second one is in alignment with the first and it’s that we all want to take the lift to the penthouse and be earning millions overnight. When in actual fact we aren’t energetically ready for that so it never comes. Instead what we need to do is take the staircase one step at a time. Grow our businesses as we grow. Each time you get to a landing, look back at how far you’ve come, what you have achieved, and then look forward to the next staircase. This way you are always in energetic alignment with what you are creating and achieving and you both grow together. If you do this for long enough the universe will see you are dedicated and momentum will kick in and you’ll start to move faster up the staircase. (I’m still waiting for this momentum – LOL, due to marketing issues above).

I don’t think age is the biggest factor that makes a fabulous entrepreneur. I think it’s a mindset and dedication that does.

I’d say, rather than leap, walk into the water slowly. If you are working in a job, start your business after hours and on weekends. As it picks up slowly transition your time. Maybe you can work in your job 4 days a week, then 3 days a week. Maybe you can organise a job-share arrangement with someone else in the organisation. There are many solutions that you can come up with that enable you to still earn an income and also start your Next Chapter without the financial pressure.

When you do this, you’ll find it will be a lot less stressful and you’ll be able to attract more clients as you’ll be wanting to help them, not wanting them for the money they will be paying you.

Having my Change Journey characters become as popular in the self-help world as Mr. Men did in the children’s book world. My goal is to raise the level of happiness in the world, one woman at a time.