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8 Things I Wish I Knew I Before I Started My Own Business
Building a successful business doesn’t come with a manual. There are a lot of trials and errors along the way. Just to make sure that this journey goes smoothly here are useful tips that’ll ensure the success of your brand new business.
Starting a business for the first time will have you dealing with real-world problems that you've never dealt with before. And the beauty of the journey is that every challenge turns into a lesson! We become better as an entrepreneur because of the hard-learned lessons. But if you can turn back time and do things again, what would you have done differently? What are the things that you wish you knew before starting your own business? Here are mine:
You’ll Do the Work
Let’s start with the most obvious – you will do all the work. The fun stuff comes later. You will wear many hats — selling, marketing, copywriting, designing, etc. All the work that comes with the idea that your business is built on, you’ll do all that. And in between your tasks, you plan for ways to spread the word about your business, deal with administrative work, or answer emails. If you laze around, you won’t achieve the stability and revenues that you expect.
Instant Success? No Such Thing
So you finally got your business off the ground, and you’re not close to your projected revenues at all. What could you be doing wrong? Nothing. You need to do what you do, do it well, do it consistently, and wait. Success doesn’t happen overnight, and you shouldn’t give up just because you do not see the results you expect two weeks, two months, two years after opening shop. The road to success is slow and long. There is no guarantee that you’ll achieve all the things you expect from your business within just a few months. Just do the work, and you will be rewarded in time!
You’ll Feel like Quitting but DON’T!
No matter how passionate they are about their business, some people quit because they think they did everything they could to keep the company afloat. And perhaps, that’s the case for some, but not for others. Some people are just too impatient to wait for the rewards of their hard work. Others just dwell too much in the disappointment of not living their fantasy life.
That’s why it’s essential to do the work and believe that the rewards will come in their own perfect time. There is no timeline for success. What you don’t want is to quit immediately just because things didn’t turn out the way you expected. A promising business can have real potential, but only if you give it a chance. So do not quit, be patient, and always find a way!
Be Consistent
It’s hard to stay consistent when dealing with a million and one things at work, I know. But such is the life of an aspiring entrepreneur, my friend. You will wear many hats, you will juggle many things, but you will make it work! Stay on the right track by being consistent in whatever you do.
If you’re getting loads of client inquiries, respond to each one. If you are selling a product, be sure that every time has been checked before shipping out. If you are selling a service, provide high-quality work consistently. Practice consistency, and soon, you will make a name for yourself and achieve success in ways you never thought possible!
Build Multiple Streams of Income
What separates millionaires from ordinary people? Apart from having virtually limitless access to money, millionaires have at least seven streams of income. And when you think about it, this is the best way to go if you want to achieve financial stability, you should earn money from different channels. It takes work juggling other businesses all at once, but you will learn how to do just that, as you gain more experiences with your first one. Don’t be afraid to find ways to create passive income streams; it will take a lot of work, but you will achieve financial freedom this way over time.
You’ll Wear Different Hats (But don’t be Afraid to Ask for Help)
Because you're a one (wo)man team, you’ll wear many hats to keep your business going. You’ll juggle different tasks, some of which you’ve never done before. For example, if you’re building your website, you’ll learn basic design concepts or even a bit of Photoshop. You’ll learn how to talk to prospects and even resolve technical issues on your own. Of course, if you’re overwhelmed with all the things you need to know, don’t be afraid to ask a friend for help. If your website is having technical issues, go ahead and find a web admin who can help troubleshoot your website.
Keep it Fresh
… your website, that is! From the content to the design, keep your website fresh so that the platform works smoothly. Remember, a website that can handle customer requests is key to better user engagement and customer service! Keep your content fresh by checking out the trending topics in your industry and blogging about them. You can work with influencers to attract more readers too. If most of your customers are on Facebook or Twitter, find ways to market your business to these popular channels.
As for your website design, keep it updated at all times to process orders or requests with ease. Be sure that your website is mobile-friendly, so it looks good on all screens.
You’ll Spend Money on Success
You need to spend money if you want to make money; that’s the truth. If you’re not comfortable investing in your business, it won’t see much growth. Any business requires actual expenses, and you have to be comfortable with the idea of parting ways with your money if you want to see your business thrive. If you’re working on a limited budget, that’s fine. You can look for ways to minimize your expenses, so your proper amount of money goes to growing your business. Don’t worry; if you believe that your business has potential, all the investments you made will be worth it!
Most of us build our business not knowing what to expect. With these hard-learned tips, you’ll know exactly what to expect as you build your business empire! There is no shortcut to success, but hopefully, these tips will help you overcome avoidable problems and overcome whatever challenges you face on your journey to the top.
[…] adage goes that you must spend money to make money, but this can be challenging in business. Spending too much money at the wrong time will have a major negative impact on your bottom line […]