We all have our comfort zones in life and let’s face it, they can be nice places to reside, but what about in business? Do comfort zones have a place in business? Or do they simply hinder our professional growth?

Comfort Zone
Definition: an environment or situation in which a person feels secure or at ease; also figuratively, an established lifestyle in which a person feels comfortable as long as there is no drastic change
Dictionary.com

After living in my professional comfort zones last year for longer than I care to admit, for the most part, I believe they are a hindrance. Some might argue that a comfort zone in business is finding your niche, sticking with that niche and not exploring others. Is that necessarily a bad thing? Depends on your business goals and other factors. However, for today, I’m just going to talk about comfort zones that you need to run beyond. The ones holding you back.

The reality is, when you step outside of your comfort zone once, you’ll find yourself wanting to take more steps down new and exciting paths. Essentially, your expanding your comfort zone and causing a ripple effect. Here’s how…

For me, the first step outside of my comfort zone will be getting my wholesale division up and running. In 2009, I approached this project intermittently, often putting it down after a day or two. There were many reasons but the main one was fear. Would retailers buy my projects? Was my line-sheet and catalogue professional enough? Did I have enough products? Would I be able to handle the orders? How would I handle invoicing? The questions where endless and perhaps if I’m honest with myself, just served as great excuses to stick where I was – in my comfort zone.

The matter of the fact is, I won’t know until I try. I can’t leave my business in the hands of the “what ifs”. It’s my job to steer it. Of course, I’m not saying that one should jump right in to things with the blinders on and hope for the best. Some planning has to be done and certain structures put in place. However, sometimes you have to leave things to the unknown because you won’t find the answers until you truly ask the question and that can mean taking a walk to the other side.

Funnily enough, I was chatting with Jan DiCintio of Daisy Janie yesterday regarding wholesaling and here’s some advice she gave me…

“Try not to get too hung up on the precedent-setting nature of how you handle your first forays into wholesale – if you do, you’ll miss out! I know I did – I got so worked up about everything being just so that I often missed the window of opportunity.”

This mindset can be applied to many areas in business (and life!) and here’s what she went on to say later that is equally relevant…

“So many times we feel our presentation to the world has to be so perfect and impressive that we waste valuable time getting ourselves out there. Like… my logo’s not good enough, my website isn’t right, my photography looks horrible… and while it definitely is a good idea to have these things look good and properly branded, sometimes we set the bar so high for ourselves that we never get over it!”

This advice was just what I needed. Sometimes you need to reach out to others and simply learn from their experiences. Often, you may hear what you already know, but sometimes you don’t truly hear it until someone else says it. Again, this can mean stepping outside of your comfort zone.

Now, here’s where I think the ripple effect comes in. Deep down, I’m confident retailers will respond to my product offering positively. If I wasn’t, then really, what the hell am I doing here? Do I believe that once I see a “return” on my wholesale adventure I’ll have the confidence to expand my product line? Yes! Do I believe order fulfillment will eventually lead to production outsourcing? Yes! Do I believe the increased revenue will allow me to explore other business ideas outside of paper goods? Yes!

Guess what? All these answers mean I’m successfully adhering to my business plan. My goals. My hopes for modernemotive. And all I had to do was step outside of my comfort zone. Of course, I don’t expect it to be easy. I’m sure I’ll be stepping on the “roller-coaster” of business many times. But this time, this year, I’m going to sit back, let my hair blow in the wind and scream in excitement. I’m ready for the ride.

Now, my question to you is… what are you going to do to step outside of your comfort zone this year?