mistakes were made. (what i wish i knew before starting my business)
it’s often said that if you make it five years in business, you’ve beaten the odds. what isn’t often shared are the things that happen in those first five years that contribute to the high number of people whose businesses don’t make it.
since you know i’m all about transparency, i wanted to dedicate our time together today to sharing some behind-the-scenes battle scars from my early years in business.
why? because if someone had told me about these, i might have saved some tears, prevented an early wrinkle, and lowered my blood pressure.
and, because i want to help you navigate these choppy waters and move through them with much more ease to get to your goals for profit and impact much more quickly!
so, here goes… some of my battle scars, turned lessons learned, which i hope will help you on your journey:
1. it can be incredibly lonely...
and your hours will become nontraditional in the early days. but keep in mind: this stage is temporary. find people who have been there before. they can demonstrate that it gets better and help you take your mind off work.
2. money can be tight for a while...
unless you have a trust fund, a huge savings account, or a wealthy partner, chances are high that you’ll be scraping by for a while. in the long run, this will help you make savvy financial decisions. but while you’re in it, it won’t be easy. every decision begins to look like it’s colored by a financial lens. you’ll realize that you might not be able to go to dinner with your friends, take vacations, or go shopping (which is kind of perfectly suited for quarantine living). you may cancel things like your gym membership and cable (i did). this is all a great training ground for when you do have money — hopefully, you’ll remember these tough times and be considerate with your earnings.
3. it's way less sexy than you think it is...
we see a lot of images of cool entrepreneurs who made it big. most of these business celebrities went through hard times but don’t get the opportunity to talk about them in the media, can't remember them well, or don’t want us to know about the hurdles they jumped. this is like the entrepreneurship version of airbrushing: it looks great on paper, but deep down, you know it’s fabricated.
4. you will doubt your abilities...
your business will challenge you. you’ll face forks in the road you could have never predicted. when you lose your first (or 10th) client, your employees quit, you divorce your business partner, or your balance sheet looks dismal, you will likely start to doubt yourself. dig deep to get through these times. ultimately, you need to be your biggest cheerleader.
5. you're not the only one who has gone through this...
let me be the first to assure you, many have been through this before and came out on top. keep moving forward and find someone who’s more seasoned to mentor you.
6. you will never know what to expect...
think of the life of your business like the stock market. there will be ups and downs, but hopefully it will make a positive upward trajectory over time. address the issues, make a plan, and execute. we are defined more by how we got up after issues arise than by how we scoot through the easy times. napoleon hill once said, “most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.” don’t be afraid to take that next step.
7. mistakes are inevitable...
if you fear mistakes, you’ll never make progress. do your best to trust your instincts, ask for guidance from trusted sources when you need it, and keep moving. don't make the mistake of doing nothing.
8. you will feel clueless at sometimes...
it’s impossible to know everything about running your business. when you have questions, get referrals to trusted experts from people in your network.
9. don't compare yourself...
it’s natural to want to benchmark your success against peer businesses. be wary of doing this. regardless of how successful they are or are not, be the best you can be and don’t waste energy comparing. after all, success is defined by you alone.
10. your family and friends may question you...
or doubt you. i’d be lying if i said i never got a call from a close friend or family members who “lovingly” asked me if i was sure i was doing the right thing. stay strong in your self-belief when these constructive criticisms come your way.
11. if you build it, they might not come...
this is the cardinal sin of many founders who create something and expect people to just walk in the metaphorical door and buy from them. you have to have a marketing plan in place and execute it to be sure customers are finding you.
12. you can't have black without white...
without bad, it’s tough to appreciate good. take the hard moments and remember them in the good moments. it helps to give you perspective and be grateful for wins, big and small.
13. there is no such thing as "overnight success"...
no matter how you frame it, it takes years of hard work to become an “overnight success”. just because someone’s business is a couple of years old and gets sold for a billion dollars, doesn't mean it was an easy path.
but here’s what: it gets better. and the freedom, full bank account, and/or impact you desired when you first started are within reach! just go back to these reminders whenever you feel stuck or like it’s too hard to go on.
*blend that advice with your own intuition. only you know when it’s time to keep going versus call it quits. just don’t confuse your inner voice with the voice of fear.
wherever you are in this journey, continue to know that i’m here in your corner to be that mentor in your inbox every week, on your instagram feed each day, or in more depth through one of my coaching programs.
