When I first started my singles functions business, I was terrified of being discovered as an imposter. The business model was based on securing venues with dance floors (for free) and advertising to singles 40+ who were over nightclubs and not being catered for in the marketplace to get together to meet each other.
Little did I know the learning curve I was about to embark on. As this was a new idea and never tried before it was my job to convince events managers to give me their venue for free in exchange for the sale of drinks. I started with clubs, not swanky, high end venues as I really believed that they would laugh at me.
To my surprise the first venue I approached not only said yes, but wanted my business there permanently, which was every week. That was such a relief to me but truth is that was my Upper Limit at the time.
Some time later, I was approached by an opportunistic shark with partnership on his mind. He could see I was onto something with the formula I had, and told me basically that I was playing small.
Watch me and learn was pretty much what he said to me. So I did. We went together to the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Brisbane and met with the events manager. I hung on Trevor’s every word, wondering how the hell he would convince him to give us the ballroom in a 4.5 star hotel for free and one phrase stood out in that conversation. Downtime.
I had never heard of it before but events managers dread it. It’s time the venue stands empty. Empty means no people, no drinks being served, and no income. And that’s bad. And Trevor was offering him a solution to his problem, not trying to convince him to give us a free venue. And in a moment, not only was a business relationship formed that saw the Grand Chancellor became one of my top venues, but my Upper Limit around this was smashed. It was no longer about me, I was solving their downtime issue.
I learned a lot from Trevor. I learned to start thinking in possibilities instead of limitations. I learned that people pay to have their problems solved. Although I had never heard the term Upper Limits back then, I certainly understood that thinking small was about us, thinking that others are not interested in what we have to offer and holding back because of it limits us in so many ways.
Trevor never realised his dream of partnership with me. I might not have been too business savvy when I met him, but my intuition had always been strong and I could spot a shark a mile away and I could see very clearly that our values were not aligned.
The concept of Upper Limits is pretty much a buzz phrase these days, but never the less, they are real and we need to pay attention to where we have ours set. These days when I hit an Upper Limit, I work on it until it cracks and that allows me to stretch it just that bit more. It’s a never ending process, but then again, so is life.
If you need help smashing through your Upper Limits, let’s chat. Alternatively, you could join me in this beautiful little Facebook group where we talk about all things mindset, metaphysics, neuroscience and how to rewire your brain for results
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