by Case Lane

This is Part One of Two posts about my new book Recast: The Aspiring Entrepreneur’s Practical Guide for Getting Started With an Online Business. The book is ten practical actions for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start a business online, live with purpose, and achieve their dreams

In this first post, I’m covering the Foundational Actions, that are often overlooked by aspiring entrepreneurs who just jump right in to the online business arena.

Part One: Recast

When you make a decision to stop doing everything you were supposed to do – college, work, mortgage in the suburbs – and start doing everything you have always wanted to do – you throw off years, maybe decades of indoctrination and start again – as someone else. 

An extraordinary moment for an extraordinary person?

Or just the right-of-passage for every entrepreneur?

Historically, most people were dependent on their tribe or community, and could not just walk away. Now you can be individually free, and that’s both liberating and terrifying. 

In a steel mill, to recast means melting the steel down and reshaping it into a new form. 

In Hollywood and on Broadway, recasting means replacing the original performer with some new. 

What does it mean to Recast Yourself as an entrepreneur?

The Consequences of Recasting

In the DVD extras for the movie The French Connection, director William Friedkin talks about the actor who played the movie’s memorable villain.  Friedkin had told someone to go to Europe and get the actor he wanted to play a rich French drug dealer named Alain Charnier.

When the actor showed up on set, Friedkin took one look at him and said something like: ‘you’re not the guy I wanted.’  

The actor said something like: ‘I didn’t think so.  And I’m Spanish not French.’

That bit of mistaken recasting created one of the most memorable roles in one of the greatest movies ever made.  Spanish actor Fernando Rey would play Charnier in both the original movie, which won five Oscars including Best Picture, and in the sequel The French Connection II.

Recasting is a Hollywood, and Broadway, reality that is loaded with disasters and successes.  But at it’s core, recasting means giving the part to a different actor.  On the screen, a new person comes in, and makes the role their own.

When I set out to write a book about getting started as an entrepreneur, I wanted to capture the essence of how you should adapt to your new role – and I called the book Recast.

When you decide to become an entrepreneur, you are recasting the role of your life, from playing perhaps an obedient adherent to the status quo, to someone who lives the life you have designed for meaning and purpose.

And you come out on the other side thinking of yourself differently. 

Start Your Recast With Yourself

Start your recast as an entrepreneur in a completely different place than most people…start with you.

Many aspiring entrepreneurs remain ‘aspiring’ because you are trying to jump right in to starting a business without any preparation.  Then when you get derailed by relevant details, you stay derailed and do not get back on track.

The Five Foundational Actions

When Recasting, begin with the foundational actions you need to take to BEFORE you launch into your business details.  Your five foundational actions are followed by five creative actions.

The five foundational actions are to:

1. Take a deep breath

2. Establish your workspace

3. Gather your tools

4. Remove distractions

5. Set your schedule

1. Take a Deep Breath

Taking a deep breath is shorthand for saying make sure you are mentally, and physically prepared to dedicate your time and effort to your business.

Entrepreneurship is a marathon of endless sprints.  You have to be prepared to constantly adapt and change to circumstances, to shift when something is not working, and to double-down when it is. 

You want to be able to move forward with confidence and security, and the only way you can do that is to make yourself prepared for the long-haul.  So once you have convinced yourself that is what you’re going to do, you need a good place to work.

2. Establish Your Workspace

If you do not already know for sure where you’re going to work, take a moment to walk around the house or neighborhood, and identify your spot.  This may sound mundane until you realize that you’ll want your own corner for maybe hours at a time to do business related activities.

Don’t skip this action, and then come back a day later and say you did not do any work because you could not find a good quiet spot to focus.

Take a whole day if needed. Identify several locations that you want to test, but select one to start that’s realistic and suitable for your work.

3. Gather Your Tools

After picking the place to work, avoid sitting down, and getting up five minutes later because you forgot coffee or a pen or the lighting does not work. 

Make sure you have around you all the tools you like to use when you’re working.

When you go to work in a corporate job, on the first day HR takes you around and shows you your desk, the break room, the supply room, and so on.  Do the same for yourself. 

Identify your coffee or water.  Get the supplies you like.  Even if you’re 100% digital, make sure the electrical outlet is accessible.  And you’re not in a wi-fi deadzone.

Although, these actions may sound trivial, these are exactly the setbacks that provide obstacles…and excuses for aspiring entrepreneurs who end up delaying their business…sometimes for years.

4. Remove Distractions

When establishing your workspace, be aware of potential distractions.  If you are sharing space, make sure you can work without being interrupted.  And interruptions do not only come from your household.  You could have external disruptions such as a school bell or trash pick-up that interfere with your video calls.

Also if people know you’re working from home, they will inevitability think you can be on the phone or sign for packages or run an errand – when you’re trying to get your work done. 

Removing distractions means letting everyone know you are working on your business, not having a vacation.  And you have to be serious and dedicated to this particular action.

5. Set Your Schedule

To finalize your foundational actions, you will create your new schedule.  In corporate life, you have a set time to go to work.  In online life, you want freedom and flexibility.  But you also have to do the work, or delegate to others and supervise.

The most common factor among successful entrepreneurs is the fact that they actually did the work. They created a business, and kept moving forward with their plans. 

Create a schedule where you put time aside every day to do the work.  You may only have a limited amount to do, or a lot, but establish the time you need to complete your daily tasks.

Account for conflicts with your household or location.  You do not want to be scheduling your calls at the same time your child is having a piano lesson. 

You want to have a picture of your entire day, and then identify the times within the day that work best for your work. 

Summary: The Foundational Actions

Setting up a solid foundation for your business will support you going forward, and make the next part – the creative phase that much easier.

To Create a Solid Foundation for Your Entrepreneurial Dream:

• Take a deep breath and get mentally and physically prepared to focus on your business
• Find a dedicated workspace
• Gather the tools you will need to do the work
• Remove all distractions from people to devices
• Create your schedule that fits your selections

If you take these actions first, before you dive in to your business, you will feel more confident and secure before moving forward.

For the next article: Click Here for the Creative Actions: Part 2 of 2: Recast: Ten Practical Actions for Aspiring Entrepreneurs Who Want to Start a Business Online, Live with Purpose and Achieve their Dreams

Disclosure: Links to Amazon.com are affiliate links which earn for eligible purchases at no additional cost to you.

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WANT TO READ THE BOOK?

You can Download Recast at Amazon.com

Get all the details about how to Recast your life, and become an online entrepreneur in this exciting new book!

Disclosure: Links to Amazon.com are affiliate links, which earn for eligible purchases at no additional cost to you