Reason One: Do it because you said you would do it.

Seriously. You know that big idea got you so excited all those months ago and you talked to everyone about it and you couldn’t stop raving about how it was the big idea and you were going to build a business out of it.

And then, you procrastinated and hemmed and hawed and couldn’t get yourself moving. It wasn’t for lack of inspiration. You had plenty of that! It was for lack of motivation. It’s something we all go through. Your daily habits did not include starting a business, and so, you went about your daily routine and your new big idea languished in a corner of your heart, crying for attention.

Give it attention. REDESIGN your daily schedule and fit that big idea business into it!

Reason Two: The world is in desperate need of you and your big idea.

Often, after that first flurry of excitement, we stop and think and that worry voice in our stomach reaches up into our ears and says, “Who do you think you are? No one cares about your ideas.”

This is so not true! Banish that worry voice to the cellar or basement or dungeon, if you have one.

People do care. You are unique in your skin and your ideas are unique to you. By sharing them with the world, you build a better tomorrow for all of us. It doesn’t matter if your idea is similar to mine. What matters is that it’s yours and yours alone. Building that business you want to build out of that big idea will inspire others, as much as it inspires you.

Reason Three: Now is the best time ever! Embrace the opportunity that ‘now’ brings you!

Taking a big idea to the next level, turning your side hustle into a serious business, can start at any time. Why not start now? It’s still 2018 and you have plenty of time to plan for 2019.

I have never met anyone who isn’t good at procrastination, including the woman I see in the mirror every morning. We do whatever is easiest first (and more routine to us, because we've had many year to develop habits, good and bad. When the end of the day, the week, the month, arrives and we have not put that big idea into a business plan, we shrug and say, “I’ll think about it tomorrow.”

No, not tomorrow. Now. Now is the best time to start a new business or begin reviving an existing business.

Reason Four: To prove something to yourself.

It’s all well and good to mutter to yourself, “I’ll show them!” when your family or friends or colleagues pooh-pooh your ideas. Wanting to prove something to other people is a strong motivation.

But, what about yourself? Do you believe in yourself? Do you believe in your big idea enough to make it happen? Can you look in the mirror and believe there is magic in every ounce of your body? Prove it. Start today.

Reason Five: To set a good example.

Who looks up to you? Your children? Your grandchildren? Your mother or father? Aunt or Uncle? Cousins? neighbors? People you went to school with who voted you most likely to… make something of yourself? I was voted most likely to become a writer. And here I am writing. 

There are a lot of people who look up to you. Be honest about this and consider the example you will set for them when you start your new business. It’s all about perception. Whoever it is that looks up to you today, their eyes will shine with even more pride when they tell people you took that risk, that chance, that opportunity, to make something of an idea you had.

Why shouldn’t you be the subject of an, “I knew her when,” comment? The best part of this is -  you don't have to become Oprah to be admired and looked up to. You just have to make things happen. Believe in it. Build it. Become it. Where the 'it' isn't always for an Oscar win. 

Reason Six: To make money, sooner than later.

We’re all in this to get rich and famous, aren’t we?

No, we are not! Maybe rich and famous, or just rich, is a goal. Maybe that big number in your bank account is a motivator, but it can’t be your ‘reason’ to start a new business today.

Yes, you must show a profit for your company or solo-preneur endeavor to be considered a business. But, focusing on the amount of money can put rocks in your path; rocks you will probably trip over.

The goal is to make a profit. Sure, you can identify that profit, $25,000 this year. Or, $5000 a month. Or, less. Or, more. The point here is - you won’t make any money in 2019 if you don’t get that business off the ground soon.

By starting it now, you open the door to money in the bank in January.

Reason Seven: To fulfill a dream.

You can’t make things happen by “wishing and hoping.” That’s an old 60s song, remember? Well, I do even if you don’t. Dusty Springfield sang it and it was very popular. The message was, get out and do it if you want it to happen. Sitting around wishing and hoping and thinking and dreaming won’t make anything happen. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever.

The dreaming is essential, of course, but you can get lost in the dream until it becomes so big and so overwhelming, you despair of ever achieving it.

Taking the dream, the desire, the passion you have for this amazing talent you possess, and planning it into a business, needs to start now.

You need to begin the process and not let the dream die or become unwieldy. It’s your dream to make happen. So, make it happen.

Reason Eight: To make yourself happy.

I put this at the end to remind you that you deserve to be happy. You deserve to be successful. You deserve to take this dream, this big idea, and make a business of it because you want to. You deserve to do the happy dance, in front of crowds the world over. 

For years you’ve been responsible for other people’s happiness. Admit it. You have.

You’ve taken care of family and friends and church and maybe even a boss or colleagues. You’ve contributed as needed, to whomever needed you.

Now it’s time for you. Now it’s time for YOU to do what YOU want to do, and make your own happiness.

This is a hard one for most women. We are notoriously bad at accepting happiness for ourselves. Society has convinced us that we are happy - happy as Moms or Aunts or sisters. Happy as office assistants or partners who get the corner office, but it's a closet. 

I’m sad to say all this out loud. I’ve been fighting this for almost 30 years - the concept that women are afraid to be happy for themselves. They believe their happiness lies in the ability to please others. Or, in the way they compliment others. It does not!

Be happy. Be yourself. When you get out of bed today, or tomorrow, but no later, start that new business you’ve always wanted to start. Take the first step.

I’m here to answer questions. I’m here to cheer you on. Nurturing Big Ideas is here to nurture you along that winding path. @me in the comments below. I'll respond.