10 Things I Wish I Knew Starting My Business

In recent years and with the popularity of working on the beach concept, more and more people are thinking about quitting their traditional jobs and starting a business. 

And with the advances of the internet and social media, it has never been so easy to start working for yourself. Not only because you can sell digital services that don't require any investments in advance, but also because there is so much information about starting your business online, that anyone can figure how to do it. 

The information that used to be only for the privileged and lucky is now available for the whole population; however, with that comes the misconception that starting your own business is easy. 

Let me tell you that straight away, it's one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life, and it doesn't get any easier.

Today I wanted to sit down and have an honest conversation with you about things I wish I knew before I jumped into being an entrepreneur. I wish someone had told me and prepared me for that, so I hope that me, sharing this with you will help some of you on there.

Let's jump in. 

10 Things I Wish I Knew Starting My Business

#1: Ideas are easy.

Everyone has ideas. No matter what is your background or education or where you come from, we all have plenty of ideas in a lifetime that we think could be a great business. 

Those people who have their businesses and who work for themselves are not special in any way. The only difference between a successful entrepreneur and an unsuccessful one is whether they execute their ideas or not. 

Trust me, it's not about how good your idea is or how many of them you have, it's all about you working your ass off to execute it and make it a reality.

Of course, I don't think that every idea is a good idea, but you'll never know if you don't work on fulfilling it. Many great things we have now are born from ideas that seemed silly at the time and lots of hard work to execute them.

So, if you're waiting for something to happen to you, remember that for your idea to be successful, you have to work hard for it.

#2: It's crucial to understand yourself. 

Having a good relationship with yourself and taking the time to get to know yourself, is crucial for a successful life, both professionally and personally. 

So, before you jump into entrepreneurship, really take your time and try to understand yourself better. 

What energizes and comes naturally to you? It is your zone of genius, and you should make the most of it. What drains you and feels very hard? Those are not your strengths, and you should try to outsource it as soon as possible. Sometimes we undervalue things that come naturally to us because it just feels so easy. 

If you do the work with yourself, your entrepreneurship journey will be so much easier.

#3: Delegate tasks and get help.

I know it can be hard to ask for help or even admit that you need help. Entrepreneurs are usually prideful, and they love their work very much. But you don't have to be afraid of delegation as it's going to serve you well, and it will save you from burning out.

Hire someone for at least a few hours a week as soon as possible, or you will be forever stuck in sweating on small stuff instead of working on your big picture. Also, if you want to succeed, you need to get people working for you that can take your weaknesses and turn them into strengths. 

It's way cheaper and more efficient to hire someone for a skill that you're not good at than spend time learning that skill when you already have so much on your plate. 

When my business started making money, I outsourced design work first, and then I hired VA to take little tasks off my shoulders and help me concentrate on what matters. It has been life-changing, and I could not recommend it enough. 

#4: You will feel lonely. 

One of the things that not many people talk about when it comes to running your business is that you'll feel lonely quite often. There are no co-workers to get coffee with during your breaks, and no one is there to talk to you. 

At least at the very beginning, while you don't have the team around you yet. So, prepare yourself for that as for some of you, who are extroverted, that can be extremely hard at first. 

Make new connections with other entrepreneurs & attend events (one of the reasons I started my She Is Glowing community is that we need to

surround ourselves with other driven people!). Join membership sites where you can meet other women in business. This way, you'll have people who can understand what you're going thought. 

#5: Stop chasing shiny objects. 

I see a lot of women making this mistake when they're first starting their business. They're indecisive and want to make changes often, according to what's trendy and fashionable. 

Don't make this mistake.

There will always be something newer, more popular, trendier, and you might want to change, but you need to be consistent with one thing first to make it work. 

Be protective of your energy, focus it on one thing that's important, and stick with it. Only this way can you achieve something that's meaningful for you. 

Also, there will always be time to get to other business ideas once you've successfully created one business, so you don't have to worry about that.

#6. Every mistake teaches you something.

We are so afraid of failure and making mistakes that we completely miss the point of why they're essential in our lives. 

Gary Vaynerchuk always talks about why he loves failure so much and why we should fail as much as possible in life. He always says that your twenties are for making mistakes, and I completely agree with him.

The only way we can learn and grow is by making mistakes and failing in life. So, stop being afraid of it. Instead, embrace it.

Next time you make a mistake or fail at a project, don't get too upset and don't beat yourself. Figure out what you can learn from your mistake and move on. You can't avoid it if you want to continue growing. 

#7: Some days, you will feel an absolute failure, and you will want to quit. 

No one likes to feel like they're failing or that they're bad at something. You're not alone. 

Even I have days where everything seems to go wrong and where I feel like I'm a total failure. But those days come and go, it's a natural way of life. 

So, if you get tired and want to quit or have days when you feel like a total failure, let youself feel those feelings and then move on the next day. Trust me, you're not a failure, and you'll be fine, you just need to let the bad mood pass.

I love this quote from Banksy, and I always try to remember it on the days when I feel like everything is going wrong:

"If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit."

#8. Being busy and being productive is NOT the same thing. 

With the rise of popularity in online entrepreneurship, being busy became very trendy. If your friend asks how you are and don't say you're busy, you're lazy and not productive in your life. 

But being busy is not something that we should glorify, and there is nothing cool about being 'busy'. Also, if you're always busy, it doesn't mean that you're always very productive. These two things are very different. 

So, when you find yourself going around and saying that you're so busy and productive, stop yourself and think about whether being busy makes you productive and whether you should feel proud of being busy.

Learn to understand the difference. Busy is not a badge of honor.

#9: If you feel that you can't do it, it is because you don't know how to do it. 

There is nothing wrong with admitting to yourself that you don't know how to do something. But somehow, when we feel this way, we tend to think that we can't do anything. When it's not the case. 

You can learn anything you set your mind to. So, next time when you feel like you can't do something, figure out a way to learn how to do it. Learning doesn't stop the minute we leave school or university, embrace it. 

#10. Online courses, Youtube, and Google, are your best friends forever.

The sooner you accept this fact, the better you'll be.

You can find any answer using these tools, and you can learn any skill you want. Want to learn marketing, graphic design, or coding? It's all on your laptop, and you don't have an excuse for why you can't learn something new. 

Utilize learning online to improve your business and your CV. Every single entrepreneur, you know, will tell you that online courses are the best way to learn and update your knowledge. 

We truly live in a wonderful world, and it is incredible how much we can learn from the comfort of our own home. Let's make the most of it.

Final thoughts

So, as you can see, there are so many things I wish I knew before I started my entrepreneurship journey. I had to learn them all the hard way, but you don't have to. 

Spend time learning everything you can from other entrepreneurs and learn from their mistakes, if you have the chance. I hope that you found this valuable and let me know what you wish you knew before started your business.

Oh, and do you know that you can book a FREE discovery call with me to discuss your business? Yes, you heard me right - don't miss a chance and book a call here.