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No matter how talented or motivated you are, starting a business can be difficult and arduous. In 2021, I left his 21-year career in finance to become a success coach, leadership consultant, and author. I had heard the statistic that 90% of all small businesses fail, and I thought starting a business would be miraculously easy, but it wasn’t. Here are four things I’ve learned since then.
1. Self-control is harder than you think.
Owning a business means you’re the boss. There are no assignments to submit or deadlines to meet. No one will write a performance review for you. However, this can be very difficult for some people and I had to learn this unexpected lesson the hard way.
I’ve always been very organized and structured. For the last ten years of my professional career, everything I did was planned and scheduled in advance. Things were different when we became independent. Conference calls and meetings weren’t happening regularly, leaving a big gap in the calendar. At first, it was difficult to get into a rhythm. I started to realize that I wasn’t making good use of my time. When I said I would check my email for 10 minutes, it often turned into an hour. My day wasn’t full of the same difficult stops as before, and I found myself getting distracted throughout the day.
Start creating a schedule for yourself. The only way he was able to write two books in his first two years was by scheduling writing time. At the beginning of each week, write down your most important priorities for the week and set goals for yourself. List what actions you need to take to achieve those goals. I have an appointment scheduled on my calendar. Then I’ll stick with it. This requires willpower, but if you don’t take action, you’re wasting your time.
What gets measured gets done, so set goals and KPIs for yourself too. It’s easy to lose motivation if you aren’t evaluated against a scoreboard, so we created our own scoreboard. I set goals for how many hours, pages, and words to write each week. I set goals for how many people I would respond to and how many prospect calls I would make. When my book hit the market, I tracked sales, revenue, and income. The social media platform has set several KPIs for engagement rates. Knowing what metrics to monitor is key to success.
Related: 10 Things I’ve Learned in 10 Years Running My Own Business
2. Choose the right clients and partners
Not everyone will be a good fit for your service or product, and you won’t be a good fit for everyone else’s needs. One of the mistakes I made in my first year was taking on people who seemed willing to take me on as a client or partner. Since then, I have parted ways with my business coach, two vendors, and two clients. Anyone who sucks your energy or wastes your time with nonsense shouldn’t be on your calendar.
In the case of my “fired” clients, they resisted all of my suggestions and were hesitant to accept my advice. In the end, we both realized that neither of us were getting much out of the relationship. I think it’s great to be able to only include people on your calendar who are like-minded and want to achieve great things. At first, I was scared to part with my income because I was just starting out. If someone was going to pay me, I was going to take their money. That’s no longer the case. Great companies only work with great customers.
When it comes to vendors, I’m shopping around right now. Early on, I hired the first coach, web designer, and publishing team I could find. Some of those decisions were wrong. Since then, I decided to widen my search process when looking for the right vendor. I do my homework and ask for referrals. In other cases I would like to refer to examples of previous work. If a vendor can’t provide it (or seems annoyed that I’m asking for it), I know I’m not dealing with the right partner.
3. I feel lonely sometimes.Find ways to add human interaction to your daily life
Before going solo, I was always part of a team. For most of my career, I interacted with hundreds of people at work. Everything changed when I became a private coach and consultant. Suddenly it was just me. When you work as an office worker, you are constantly talking to other people. When I started out on my own, I didn’t have a few hours a day. Immediately, I felt a tinge of loneliness. I didn’t have an infinite number of people to share ideas with.
I now try to schedule lunches with clients, prospects, and colleagues several times a week. I also take great pleasure in sharing videos that I call “Transformation Tuesday” with my network and interacting regularly with like-minded people on several social media platforms. I feel it. By sharing videos and articles about leadership and mindset, you can start conversations with others about things that are important to you. It helps me overcome these lonely feelings. If your job is mostly done alone and you’re feeling a little lonely, find ways to connect with others on a regular basis.
Related: I started my business at age 17 in my mom’s basement.Here are 5 rules I wish I knew but had to learn the hard way
4. Building a network of peers is essential
Initially, I was hesitant about meeting other authors and coaches. In a way, I saw them as competitors. Since then, I’ve completely changed my mind. Last year I was introduced to another coach who was doing exactly the same thing as me. When we met, we were both publishing our first books. We have since written each other’s forewords for his second book. It is an honor and a pleasure to support each other in this way. For my third book, I would like to collaborate with a publisher. I recently attended a group of authors, agents, and publishers, and he attended one of the events. I couldn’t believe the camaraderie and values ​​I found there. I’ve also met other writers who are facing (but overcoming) the same challenges as me. I also met a lot of agents and publishers who seemed to be able to help me. There is power in numbers. We are stronger together. Networking with others who are doing exactly what you are doing (and doing it well) will only help you, not hold you back.
I wish I had known these four things on my first day as an entrepreneur, but I’m grateful I know them now. Implementing them will only make you and your business even stronger. I guarantee it.
