Last week we hit a milestone. We hired our 4th science communicator and 5th freelance employee. This is a HUGE step for Insanitek. We could have done more, but I hesitated.
Growth is exciting and scary.
I mean it. I’m excited to have more communicators on staff to fill the blog with great content, sharing their passions, and their knowledge. I’m honoured to have an amazing graphic artist that kicks ass. I’m positively giddy that the Science Café outreach is not just happening, but also growing. But then reality sets in, and I remember that I have a responsibility to these people to keep the money flowing in. It isn’t just my dream, but theirs as well that’s at stake.
Despite of this latent sudden case of sweaty palms, I’m thinking clearly. I know what needs to be done:
- Keeping clients that we have
- Getting new ones
- Producing things
My to-do list is a lot longer and far more detailed than this, which is good. It gives me small, measurable tasks to take on. There are thousands of things I could be doing, and yet the thought of a few extra dollars less in the bank account makes me hesitate to continue growing.
There is benefit to growing slowly.
In a world where everyone wants to grow quickly and make an impact, there is a benefit to moving slow and steady. Have you ever had a time when you’ve rushed through a project, only to find that you could do better if you’d just taken a little time and care? Building a business that means more to you than just using people to rake in cash so you can go on cruises is like that.
When you grow slowly, you build a solid foundation upon which you can build something greater. This foundation gives you confidence that your business, your life, and what you make of your life will be there. It gives you a sense of pride as you build something to fulfil your beliefs, your mission, and reach out to others to fulfil their beliefs and missions which align with yours.
Growing slow means you also have time to attend to life.
Life happens no matter what you have planned. It doesn’t matter if you have everything delicately balanced or if you’ve left yourself a wide margin for error. Eventually Loki will come to toy with your life leaving you feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, and even a little sick from trying to keep up. After all, you have a responsibility to those you work with and for now, and you can’t let them down. You need to make sure everything is running smoothly in your company, even when the shit hits the fan.
I had something like this happen to me recently, which is why you didn’t see my normally weekly update. I over did it. Again. This shouldn’t come as any surprise to you, but when I say over did it, I don’t mean “grab a glass of whiskey” style of over did. I mean throwing up blood due to an ulcer type. I should have taken a day off to work on Insanitek, update systems, and get manuals in place instead of answering the same questions over and over again via email. Did I? No. I got too focused on a detail instead of the big picture.
You should never have to do this to yourself, which is why slow growth means you can be responsible… and relax as needed. When you do, you don’t end up bemoaning your fate or swearing you’re going to quit.
For those of you that want to know, I’m doing much better. It’s been a difficult week with lots of obstacles, but as always, I came out on top.
