Help! I Started My Own Business. Here are the Lessons I’ve Learned So Far (Part 1)

In April of 2023 my career took an unexpected turn. I was left asking myself, “What’s next?”

Was I going to just get back on the LinkedIn/Indeed bus and begin applying to new marketing roles? I was no stranger to that exhausting song and dance, having relocated three times in the last five years and applied to dozens of roles each time. Is that what I wanted though? To learn a new company, a new job description, meet yet another marketing team?

Nope. Not this time, I decided.

Instead, I began the work of researching how I might start my OWN marketing business. Was it possible? Had I soaked up everything I needed to learn from others? Probably not, but I decided, “If not now. When?”

By July I had jumped through all the fun logistical hoops they don’t teach you about anywhere. I had brainstormed a business name, registered said business, wasted some money on a lawyer (who spelled my name wrong on all my paperwork), built a website, offered my services for free in return for testimonials, and more. I was ready to launch.

Fast forward four months and here we are. What have I learned? Well, A LOT. Mostly about myself and my leadership/project management abilities. But I also think I’ve learned some lessons other people starting a business could benefit from. Without further ado, here is part one of the list of things I’ve learned about business ownership! Stay tuned for part two.

Lesson 1 - Launching a Successful Small Business Takes TIME.

I know. This isn’t what anyone wants to hear. Especially me, the person who has decided to put all her eggs into this one business basket. But every other small business owner I’ve spoken to has agreed on this point. Which, in some ways, is reassuring. Every time I start to get down in the dumps thinking I’ve failed because I haven’t met all of (or any of...) my goals yet, I come back to this point, and I take a deep breath. It may take time, but I’m hopeful that as long as I put in the hard work, soon-ish it will pay off.

Lesson 2 - Staying Positive is HARD.

Similar to lesson number one, but still important. Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy. I’m not sure why I thought it would be. In moments where I am doubting myself and my business, I like to remember my WHY. Why did I choose this? For me, I decided I was tired of working for someone else—for the first time in my life I wanted to be CONFIDENT and trust my own abilities to lead.

I’ve also found that it’s important to look at the facts/evidence when the voice in your head is telling you that you’ve failed.

What information do I have to support the idea that I HAVEN’T, in fact, failed?

Have I had some promising networking calls recently? Have I received any positive feedback lately? Are there businesses that are interested in working with or partnering with me? Even if none of these questions are a complete “yes,” I like to jot down some positive moments I’ve experienced in recent weeks to combat the negative thoughts in my head.

Lesson 3 - There’s almost TOO many resources out there. (And it’s easy to spend time on the wrong things.)

This is a big one I’ve struggled with.

“I’m new to entrepreneurship.” “I have no idea what I’m doing!” Because of this, it can be tempting to sign up for ALL the resources and ALL the things.

There’s a person who’s an expert at branding? I must subscribe.

He knows everything about funnels? SIGN ME UP!

Free templates for email campaigns? Well, I haven’t even purchased an email marketing software yet, but sure! Where do I download?!

You see where I’m going with this. While it’s never bad to want to learn new things, especially about a new subject or challenge in your life, I think it IS bad to learn too many things at once. In my case, doing so has resulted in:

• Cognitive Overload:

It’s been way too much new information at once for my little brain! And I find myself not retaining much of said information.

• Lack of Focus:

I never seem to fully focus on ONE thing. Instead, I’m scattered between different tabs, emails, and videos, making it difficult to delve deeply into any one subject or decide on one strategy to start with.

• Reduced Productivity:

This is the biggest thing for me. I don’t know if I’m subconsciously procrastinating or what, but by learning all the things, it causes me to do none of the things.

Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t download any small business templates or subscribe to those entrepreneurship gurus. I’m just saying it’s important to set aside a healthy amount of LEARNING time, while still saving a good chunk of your time for EXECUTING the things you’ve learned.

I also think it’s important to take what you’ve learned and prioritize it for YOUR business. Is what you’ve just learned the right strategy for your business? Just because a digital course creator has focused their energy on funnels and webinars, is that the right strategy for your service-based business? Do you need to be on TikTok like the six-figure business coach recommends? Make sure to take what you’ve learned, analyze if it’s the right strategy for your business, and PRIORITIZE your to-do list based on what will move the needle most for YOUR industry/niche.

Lesson 4 - Distraction is REAL, so is procrastination.

As you can tell from lesson number three, I struggle with procrastination. Deeply. Chances are a lot of you other small business owners do too. For the first time in most of our lives, we are our own boss, and as Adrian Monk once said, “It’s a gift…and a curse.”

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I need someone to just give me a kick in the butt. The only problem is, when you’re your own boss, that person is YOU.

WHY have I been watching a Youtube video called “Songs That Stop on the Word "Stop!" Supercut” for the last three minutes? Is it really necessary that I get my inbox down to zero before I can start my day? Why has MY FIRST BLOG TAKEN ME FOUR MONTHS TO WRITE? The list goes on and on.

To be honest, I’m still working on this lesson. As you can probably tell, I get distracted easily. And when there’s no one else keeping me accountable, I sometimes fall victim to my procrastination.

This is why I’ve learned that sticking to some sort of routine is essential. Maybe you only read your email for 30 minutes in the morning every day. Or, maybe Wednesdays are your networking day and you don’t get bogged down with LinkedIn messages and Zoom meetings any other day. A lot of small business owners I’ve talked to swear by “batching” their content. For instance, Tuesdays they work on drafting all of their social media content, Wednesdays they’ll focus on blog writing. Others swear by fancy time management clocks they’ve found on Amazon, or techniques with fun names like “Pomodoro.”

Find what works for you, and stick to it. Like I said, I’m still trying to figure out what works for me. But at least I know it’s important!

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Thank you for reading part one of the lessons I've learned so far about running my own small business! If you’re interested in reading part two, sign up for my email newsletter to get alerts each time I post a new blog.

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