January 16, 2023

I’m at the stage in life where I know a lot of people who’ve had or are going to have knee jobs and hip replacements.

Those who’ve been told they must have one naturally want to know, from those who’ve been through such a procedure, what it’s like, what’s involved, and most important, how long it will take to recover.

From time to time, I’ve talked to individuals who’ve had a knee job and they’re a bit bummed out. They think they ought to be moving around like say, Sally or Antonio, both of whom talk about their former knee problem like it was a case of the common cold.

You can see it in their eyes and hear it in their voice. They feel like they’re “behind,” or there’s something not quite right with them. Maybe they could have had a better doctor.

These thoughts are baloney. This just in:  not all knee jobs are created equal. For some patients, the procedure is complex, maybe because of a previous injury. For others, it’s a relatively simple and less invasive procedure. Beyond that, not all knees are created exactly the same way, and each of us have had different stresses placed on our knees over our lifetimes.

So you can’t compare recovery times.

For business owners, it’s easy to look at others and have “knee job envy.” You think that “such and such” looks like they’re getting around better in their business than you are.

In the few days alone, I’m spoken to four different business owners who told me:

• That they’d hit an air pocket in their sales pipeline as some of the deals they’d received commitments for are getting postponed.
• ”I had to burn it all down and start over”
• That they didn’t feel like they were well-positioned in their messaging because they weren’t attracting their ideal clients
• ”I’ve been in business for eight years now and there are some days when I feel like I’m still a startup.”

There’s not a business around that doesn’t have dysfunction under the hood. If a business owner tells you otherwise, they either aren’t very self-aware of their own business, or they don’t want to tell you the truth.

Behind the elegant website, the well-dressed owner, the fancy deck prepared for investors, or the busy storefront with customer cars parked out front, there are issues, concerns, and some sleepless nights.

Don’t compare how fast you’re getting along in your own business to anyone else. Just stay on your plan and keep delivering value to clients, improving a little bit every day as you go.

 

Image from Jumpstory

©Ray Business Advisors, LLC and John Ray

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About me: I help solo or small professional services firm owners with the confidence and positioning necessary to improve their pricing and change the trajectory of not only their business but their life.

I have a podcast called The Price and Value Journey, which features interviews with industry leaders and audio versions of my blog posts. You can find the podcast on your favorite podcast app.

I also have a book coming out in 2023:  The Price and Value Journey: Raise Your Confidence, Your Value, and Your Prices to Grow Your Business Using The Generosity Mindset.

For more information, go to PriceValueJourney.com.