1) Start with Small Goals
Don't worry about a 5k run, worry about a short walk for 2 minutes.
2) Be Consistent About Getting off the Couch
Get into a habit. Go at 8:00am to the park every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
3) Stay with Something Simple
Don't take up windsurfing or something that requires more effort than you have available. Stick to walking or biking or anything that gets you motivated.
4) Don't Go Overboard
Windsurfing and running a marathon are lofty goals. They can be done, but if you have trouble getting your butt off the couch, then try a small goal like running to the grocery store at the end of 4 weeks!
5) Enjoy the Exercise!
You won't get anywhere if you think exercise is easy. It's not. It takes hard work.
Make sure you pick an exercise that you like. I like walking. For ten minutes a day, I can do that and be outdoors in nature. It's inspiring. It gives me energy.
Find an exercise that energizes you. If you can run 3 miles, go for it. But if you hate running, then try swimming instead. Try anything that motivates you to get up in the morning for 10 minutes...and even then, find a friend to join you.
More Top 5 tips from Shimanti will be coming soon.
In the meantime, try out www.storyez.com to capture your first memory of exercise!
1) Start selling immediately
I started selling with my prototype. I went to my chiropractors, to the tire shop, and to the airport with my pillow. Within a couple of hours, I had my first 4 sales...and I dropped off my prototype to the chiropractor because he needed the pillow the most.
I learned that I did not need to have a supply of pillows to sell my stylish, back pillow. In fact, I didn't need anything. I just needed to talk to the people around me. They wanted to buy my prototype...which I wasn't willing to do, except for the chiropractor.
2) Don't wait to produce the ideal website
It's taken me a few days to put up my website because I was waiting to have all the right pieces together. In the end, I just published my first edition.
In retrospect, I missed out on some sales by waiting. Even if I had used Weebly or Wordpress to build my site, I would have had a decent online store. Instead I waited, and just missed out on my audience of people with some aches and pains.
3) Be proactive in finding leads
I thought that my audience was only back pain sufferers like me. However, while I was waiting at the airport, I met a pilot on a break. He tried to buy my pillow off of me!
I never thought that I would have to fend off people, but the pilot almost sold me on my pillow. He tried it and wanted one for himself. He noted that it could easily fit through the seats and would be comfortable upright or sideways. He even told me that people brought all kinds of huge pillows onto the plane.
I was wrong...my audience was right in front of me, and I didn't know.
4) Take advice with a grain of salt
I asked advice from people who were not my primary audience. They were kind and sweet, but the fixes that I'd have to make to get them the pillow they wanted were over my head.
I adore advice, but at the end of the day, my own vision was good enough. I didn't have to listen to advice. (Don't get me wrong here...I think the advice will be helpful for version 2.0...which is already in development, but version 1.0 was great as it was.) The more important thing was just to try to get to my primary back suffering audience. They needed some relief from pain, just like me.
5) Listen to my gut
I revisited and revisited my strategies and my pillow. I still think there's an awful lot of adapting that can be done. However, I love my pillow. I take it to the gym and do exercises with it. I do yoga with my pillow. I lie on the couch with my pillow. I bring it along to the car for any short or long trips. I take it to my computer classes and can finally sit for hours. I take it everywhere with me.
I challenged my gut so many times, but at the end of the day, my pillow is perfect. It's made for me...and I'm the primary audience. I need this product to make my life better. Without it, I'd still have muscoloskeletal pains. It serves the purpose of fitting my life. It works.
After endless rounds of physical therapy, accupuncture and visiting doctors, chiropractors, and therapists, it's nice to go back to basics and find relief.
Visit www.theshimba.com for my magic pillow!
You can find more lessons from life from me, Shimanti, in future blogs or reach out to me at shimanti@theshimba.com