It all started at the end of last year when I was evaluating my business and was looking for new ways to improve it and develop certain areas. It was then when I came across with the concept “diversification”. I realised that, as translators and interpreters, we have a lot of skills that we don’t use on a daily basis, and that’s a shame.

Some translators decide to combine translation and language tutoring; others offer services to complement their translation services such as business consulting or website development.

That made me think about what I could do to develop my business in way that I would be able to use all the skills that I really wanted to. And I came across with a plan to offer content creating and design and layout services. However, to reach this point, I had to get out of my comfort zone, and explore new fields skills. Today, I’m telling you how beneficial this could be.

What’s a comfort zone?

When we talk about comfort zones, we are talking about all these situations that don’t alter our level of anxiety, those actions that we feel comfortable when we do it. For example, watching the TV or talking to a friend.

However, when we talk to a stranger, we don’t feel that comfortable. Or when we have to do something that we aren’t use to do, such as the first time that we drive a car or when we have to do a presentation before the rest of the class.

In business, you get out of your comfort zone when you start developing new skills or exploring new field through which you can expand your business.

Regarding some experts, it’s good to challenge ourselves and make our mind experience some anxiety. That could make us be more productive or learn new skills.

However, we have to try not to get to the panic zone or things can get out of control. But do not panic!

Why should you get out of the comfort zone?

1. It will help you to grow: learning new skills will help you evolve as a professional.
2. You will expand your comfort zone: the more you challenge yourself, the hardest will be that someone can put you in a difficult situation.
3. As you experience new situations and scenarios, you may find that you really enjoy some of them and you can actually implement them in your business. This will motivate you to keep achieving your goals.
4. Opportunities arise from taking risks. You don’t know what you’re missing out until you try it. And this is why…
5. Playing it safe is never safe. You need to seek new opportunities for your business. You can’t afford stop looking for them!
6. You will fail. As we all have failed as some point. But the only way to overcome this fear is by failing and learning from our mistakes.

How to get out of your comfort zone?

You should start little by little. Try to plan ahead. I was a bit scared at the very beginning. I had never used design programs before such as InDesign or Illustrator. So I had to craft a plan to tackle these issues.

Write down the action you are going to take to reach your final goal. For example, I did some research and sign up to some CPD courses to get to know these new tools and how to implement them in my business.

Surround yourself with a new environment. I also manage to get to know some designers that were glad to share with me their points of view regarding my idea. I even had some help from some of them!

Don’t be scared to fail. You will fail if you don’t try it. But as long as you are tying, you will be making progress. And that’s a big success!

What about you? Have you ever got out of your comfort zone? What did you do? Leave a comment below!