Rome wasn’t built in a day
I know I’m not the first person to say this, but it is so relevant here. Don’t expect your business to be successful straight away, just because you are a hard-working person. It doesn’t work that way. Your first year will be a learning curve full of trial and error, while you find your feet.
Keep learning
You still have a lot to learn. Within the next 12 months, you will take in an amazing amount of information, both about running a business and industry-specific knowledge. Just be careful not to overdo the learning and sign up for every single useful looking course that comes your way!
It never finishes
Even with a small business like yours, there is always something you can be doing. There are a lot of small tasks to do that you won’t get paid for, but you just have to do them. It is worth it. Just keep going.
Take breaks
You can and you should take breaks. Relating to the above point that you will never actually finish work, it’s really important to make the time to switch off. It’s also possible to take holidays and days off, as long as they are planned in advance. Remember to periodically ignore your phone for a few hours. The world won’t end and it will make you feel refreshed.
Don’t give away too many freebies
It’s so tempting to help everyone because you know you can, but it doesn’t make you any money. When you’re first getting established, working for free in exchange for positive feedback is really valuable and a great way to get known. However, when you work for free, make sure you put limitations on it in terms of duration. Be wary of people taking advantage.
Use your intuition
Remember you don’t have to work with everyone who shows an interest. Some people just aren’t a good fit and intuition will often tell you that. Listen to your inner voice. It talks a lot of sense. Do not ignore it or you risk wasting a lot of time for nothing!
Don’t sign up to everything
You will be bombarded with promotions about all sorts of time-limited special offers and free masterclasses. Watch out for the hugely successful entrepreneurs who will share their secrets with you about how to earn six figures in the next two months, simply by downloading their PDF! They all sound amazing! They are meant to sound amazing and some will be useful. Many will not. You will need to learn to exercise will power and be selective.
Do it your way
Only move on with the next stage of your business when you are ready. You will know when this is because it will feel right. Don’t rush into anything before you properly understand it. Don’t compare yourself negatively to others. You are all individuals and will not work in the same way.
Give yourself credit
In the last year, you have had a lot of change in your life. This has all been working towards the goal of a better life for your family and a happier work-life balance for you. You have done incredibly well! Now you are starting a business. This is completely new and a little bit scary. Remember that you wouldn’t be doing it, if you didn’t think you could. You can and you will succeed. It’s so important that you know this and believe in yourself. If you don’t, nobody else will.
Don’t compare the beginning of your journey to the middle of someone else’s
It can be intimidating when you hear how well other people in your field are doing. But you don’t know how long they have been doing it for, or anything about their background. In time, your confidence in your abilities will grow and you will discover that there other people with less experience and knowledge than you. We are all at different points in our journey and we all have to start somewhere!
Get your hair cut by the middle of March 2020
This means you’ll look great on any photos taken throughout the spring when there will be fantastic weather! Don’t hesitate when you consider this, just book an appointment. You won’t regret it! 😉