I’m an unfunded entrepreneur. After a personal and tenuous renaissance, I have been in business for 8 years. So, basically, I started a business and grew a couple of ladyballs.
But there was much to learn. Some of it wasn’t covered by Who Moved my Cheese?
These four rockstars can be thrown into a blender and you will have a composite drawing of me within the first three months.
As I left my job at a PR firm to pursue entrepreneurship, glitter literally exploded from my eyes. Living in New York City, with a group of friends who were also starting businesses, art, or gigs, I was full of optimism. It felt like the right time to be my own boss. I was now officially living my dream and working for myself, which meant that I was responsible for My Financial Destiny as well as Captain of My Promising Future.
Fortunately, my initial hyperoptimism buoyed and I was able to oscillate between euphoria, despair, and forced off The Magic School Bus to board the S.S. Battleship Long Haul.
Although I was an eager and quick learner, there were still some things that I couldn’t grasp, despite hours spent watching webinars, Friday nights spent writing site copy and learning HTML. To get the master’s degree in life sustainability that every entrepreneur gets on their “journey,” I had to do some serious stumbling.
These are 11 things that I wish I had known when I started my company. These tips will help you save time and anguish. The sodium in your tears is a corrosive agent that melts all premium ice cream brands (although it can make a great saline to your dirty martini). You can cry over a cup, you fathomless bird preneurial gumption!
1. Your first priority is to run your business.
Expertly managing your business will ensure your success and financial stability. This includes not writing copy, rebranding clients’ websites, running your candle shop, teaching yoga, selling real property, or making jewelry.
This means that you will spend 15% of your time doing what is most enjoyable (in my case, coaching and writing), and 85 percent on marketing, administration, selling, strategizing and answering a lot of emails. Your survival depends on how quickly and effectively you can take the role of creator of beautiful things first and business owner second.
It was a terrible decision for me as I didn’t want to be involved in running a business. I wanted to be a coach and writer who could write and coach all day. I didn’t get it.
2. Are you ready to find your soulmate? It’s you.
Entrepreneurship is one of the most transformative relationships (like marriage and parenthood) that anyone can have. Over and over again, you will be faced with your fears, insecurities. It was acceptable to hold yourself to a high standard in the workplace, but not enough to manage your own business and also you can do company name check here.
Through all of this, you will learn to accept yourself. You will begin to admire yourself while you are busy putting yourself out there despite your imperfections. You won’t be able to say “Self Love 2018” in the loud and frenzied way you think, but instead in a quiet way. After witnessing thousands of moments of transcending the worst aspects of yourself, it will sneak up on your.
3. Even if you are SpeCiaL or BRilliANt, your path to success will be as long as anyone else’s.
When I first started my business, I was familiar with the “two year rule”, but I believed I could accomplish it in six months. With every fiber of my go-gettin’, glittery heart, I believed that my work ethic (15-hour, seven-days a week) and my personal talent, skills, and talent could lead me to success. My Enneagram and Myers-Briggs profiles finally aligned, and I was #blessed.
Jesus had other plans.
Refer to number 4.
4. It is common to run out of money on the road.
It won’t happen because you weren’t prepared for it. You have a business loan or investors. Or you have sold your home.
Then suddenly, amid the blue sky and puffy clouds, your little Entreprenairplane starts to sputter and the gas gauge drops to zero. You will be left with only one option: Land on the abandoned wild air strip known as Bank Balance. It costs 14 dollars. Because you failed the test on No More Amazon Prime Island, this will be the last place that you think you’ll crash land.
Well.
This is a rite of passage which will launch you into League of Business Badassery. Once you have escaped the money hellhole, it will make you unstoppable. You have been to the worst prison in the world, faced your worst fears, and held your ground. You didn’t quit. You didn’t give up. The next day you got up, wrote your next post, storyboarded your next product offering and responded to customer emails.
Nothing is more wonderful than realizing you don’t have enough money, and knowing that you’re doing your job because you can push through your worst fears even when there isn’t any evidence of security. It is something you truly love and would do anything for it.
Irony is a hottie, isn’t she?
5. Create a mix of income streams.
Learn from my mistakes: If you need to have peace of mind, consider taking a second job. I was so resisted to “division my focus” or to take any action that I thought would undermine my commitment to being 100% successful in my business. In my heart, I thought that by creating a Plan B, I was saying to the Universe that I wasn’t 100% serious. But hello! Allowing financial stress to take my sanity was a worse mistake.
Do it if you believe that a steady income stream will give you peace of mind.
I realized that my assumptions about money, peace, survival and timing were wrong and got a second job. I stopped worrying about money and was able to use the creative space in my brain for my business.
6. Maintain a healthy distance from your work.
Is Lizzo a troll checking Instagram likes? She’s busy planning D-Day, honey.
Lizzo doesn’t identify with “Lizzo.”
Lizzo employs “Lizzo.”
7. Spend less time researching and more time doing.
It is possible to resist the urge to read, study, and consume Tai Lopez’s “5 Tips for Email Marketing”. You must take action to gain clarity.
Clarity doesn’t come from learning more . It comes from jumping in with your instincts, even if it’s not clear what you’re doing.
Turn off all distractions, such as email notifications, social media and phone calls, to take action that feels tangible. You can set a timer for 25 mins and then go to work on a task. Don’t look up. Don’t go to the toilet. You shouldn’t go to the bathroom. You’ll see a positive impact on your bottom line if you can piss into the wind at least four times per day.
8. Do not say yes to business partners or projects that aren’t worth your time.
You should carefully review any joint project and make sure you have qualified the person you are collaborating with, even if they are your friends and have been in business for longer than you. Before you begin the project, make sure everything is in writing. Include a clear division and dates. Draft and sign an operating contract if you have a business partner. This is a must-have document.
Most likely, you will split the profits. So keep two numbers in mind: The amount you need in order to pay your time and the amount you would like . You should set the financial deadline early to allow you both to leave if the project isn’t profitable. In case something happens, have a plan for a transition strategy. This will allow you to gracefully pass the torch to the other.
Summarising: Communicate about everything, even if you are friends, even if you love one another, even if you trust each other. Even though you have worked together at XYZ Company, projects can go sideways, making everyone a bit custodial and hyperactive.
9. To be a great marketer, you must put in the time.
You may want to spend your time making CBD candles or sarsaparilla-scented oil beard oils, or writing YA fantasy novels, but marketing is essential if you want to make money.
This was my greatest weakness when I first started. Marketing was to me a series of sales letters with large arrows and opt in boxes. It didn’t! So I decided to put my head in fairytale sand and insist that my customers would tractor-beamed into me budding practice by my pulsating, divine light from my vision boards, four blog posts, and my vision boards.
Then I ate spaghetti and canned food for a very long time.
What saved me? Understanding my marketing personality. There are three types of marketing personality:
- The Wisdom Advisor (Brene brown, Danielle LaPorte and Marianne Williamson), whose marketing feels like “This is how I’ve found it to work best.” Let’s have a brainstorming session and I’ll help guide you to the best solution.
- The Guru (Mel Robbins and Dave Ramsey, Gary Vaynerchuk. Marie Forleo. Tony Robbins), whose marketing proudly proclaims: “Listen to Me. Finally, I have the answers.”
- The Connector (Joe Rogan and Oprah, Tim Ferris and James Altucher), connects people with experts, resources, and other professionals.
Knowing your marketing personality will make selling to customers a lot easier. You will only be working with your natural abilities. Find out what you enjoy marketing and follow it. It’s important to do it consistently and often. You can still do some marketing, even if you hire someone. It is important to keep your website current and fresh. Learn the backend of Squarespace and WordPress. You’ll be in the heart of your website.
10. Don’t screw up your time economy.
Email will be your new best friend. Your inbox will explode. Although you care deeply about everyone, it’s impossible to help everyone. Learn more: Not everyone is your client. It is your job to quickly identify who’s who, and then respond in the best way.
To Your Customers:Acknowledge your customers’ situation and request. Invite them to a 20-minute conversation. Please include your contact information, including phone number and available times.
For non-customers:Acknowledge your situation, request, and problem, and offer other resources, experts or articles that would make a great fit.
- This tip is a hodgepodge.
Your business should not be operated seven days a semaine. From the beginning, protect your legal rights. Sometimes, you need to forget all that you know about how to run a business. Instead, run it like a local lemonade stand. You are not the ideal customer if you price your products based on your ability to pay. You can solve problems in other areas by solving complex issues within your business.
Every day, take a walk around the block during lunch. Last but not least, remember that your business is serving real, living human beings and not demographics, statistics, or your pipeline.
Good luck everyone!
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