7 Things I Wished I Knew When I First Started my Business

I’ve been self employed for 10+ years now, and over the last decade I’ve learned a LOT of things that would have been so helpful for me in the beginning.

SO I wanted to share some of those things with you today.

* There are NO affiliate links in this email.  My intention is to share all that I can with you to get you out of the gate running on the right foot.

Grab your FREE Stock Photos for Your Business here!

1. All the things MONEY

The first thing I wished I would have learned was everything about money.  Over the last few years, I’ve developed NEW money skills from reading the right books and putting in practice their recommendations.  It’s definitely made a difference in my biz and personal life.

I highly recommend you pick up a copy of “Profit First” by Mike Michalowicz .. I WISHED I READ THIS BOOK AT THE BEGINNING OF MY BUSINESS!!!

2. Mindset, Mindset, Mindset

Starting a business, or even continuing to grow a business is A LOT OF WORK .. I’m not going to lie to you.  BUT It’s so rewarding & totally worth every minute.

One thing I cannot stress enough, is to have a good business mindset.  Don’t worry if you start off with doubts and all the crazy mind talk that goes along with it.  Having a good mindset when it comes to confidence, money and well all the things really .. takes practice and skill.  We get better every day!!  BUT start practicing good mindset skills right out of the gate.  You will thank me for this later.  I’ve done this by reading, watching anything about mindset really.  There are so many options out there on this topic.

A few of my favorites:

• “The Universe Has Your Back: Transform Fear to Faith” Book by Gabrielle Bernstein
• “The Secret” (Movie or book) by Rhonda Byrne (Movie or book)
• “On Fire: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life” Book by John O’Leary

3. Enjoy the Journey

Love the struggles.  Learn from every challenge.

Like anything in life, challenges always come up.  But I like to call them .. learning opportunities.  If you remember only one thing from this list .. this could be a good one to remember.

When a “challenge” arises, I always look back and think “What is the lesson in all of this, what if the gift?”.  And I promise, there is ALWAYS a lesson for us to learn.  ALSO it’s important to EMBRACE our challenges or mistakes.

FAILURE IS NOT A WORD I USE EVER!!!  We don’t fail at anything .. we learn + grow!!!

REMEMBER To have fun .. this is important and also ALLOWED!!

HAVE PATIENCE!  Rome wasn’t built in one day.

STAY TRUE to your authentic self.  This is SOOOO important, and I cannot press upon this one!! We spend so much time comparing ourselves to others, and it doesn’t serve well.  Just be yourself! YOU ARE PERFECT The way you are, and people will LOVE you for it!!

DON’T give up EVER .. you will get discouraged at times but don’t give up.

REMEMBER to always  work hard BUT ALSO Remember to PLAY HARD!!

4. Set Boundaries

When you start a new business, it’s easy to get caught up and find yourself working ALL THE TIME!!  Make a schedule and stick to it – set yourself work hours.  Also remember to spend time with the people who support you and your dreams.

It’s so easy to walk by your work space, and go check a few things .. next thing you know it’s hours later.  Trust me, I know from experience that this happens easily HAHA!   If you set work hours now, and get good at sticking to them, you will find more peace of mind, and will be able to re-charge better.

I take weekends off of computer work.  Yes I do sometimes shoot on weekends – but that is FUN for me and not really work.  SO I don’t mind meeting up with cool people on weekend to capture memories for them.  But I never do “desk” work on weekends.

5. Make Friends

Starting a business of your own, on your own can get lonely.  From the beginning, I’ve made friends with like minded boss babes in the same field as me.  This has resulted in genuine friendships for me, and I ALWAYS have someone to turn too for advice, help or just shop talk.  Who doesn’t love a good shop talk date!!!

Today, I love making new cyber friends.  I have friends all over the world, and technology today makes it so easy.  We have video chat meetups, or ongoing messenger chats.  There is always someone I can turn too at any point to talk to about biz stuff or just chat about random stuff.

6. Community Over Competition

We start a business to make money.  And I know .. Money is not everything.  BUT it’s up there with oxygen right??

Starting a business is in part because of the money, BUT MOST Importantly, it’s usually because we have a purpose and we want to help others.  It’s important to NEVER forget that!!

Remember to love what you do, and TO LOVE serving others.  The more we serve + care about our audience, the more money we will make.

7. Business is Business

Don’t ignore the business stuff.  It’s important to learn all that you need to know about your industry in order to run your business successfully.  You can do this on your own, or you can also invest in coaches or courses.

I’m grateful, that I invested in workshops, coaches and training from the get-go.  It 100% made a huge difference in my biz and the way I run things.

Don’t be afraid to invest in your business + yourself.  It will pay back ten folds!! I promise.

READ READ AND READ SOME MORE + There are so many great books out there.  I always let myself be guided to what “feels” right at this moment when I’m choosing my next book to read.  I currently have about 15 unread books in my drawer LOL.

START an email list ASAP.  Create a simple freebie for your business, and start collecting those emails.

If you are reading this and don’t know the first thing about starting an email list, or creating a freebie.  I have to share a group program that I am part of, and it’s AMAZING.  You will learn ALL OF THE THINGS to start your biz and MORE!!

Find out about SOCA here!

I’ve known Lindsay for a few years.  I first hired her as a 1:1 coach for my biz + then I joined her group coaching program because well she’s awesome and ALWAYS is present + ALWAYS over delivers!! If you want to get to know her a bit more make sure to join her FB Group “Book Your Dream Client” or listen to her Podcast!

I hope this was helpful to you!

Take care, and hope to see you in the field!

Grab your FREE Stock Photos for Your Business here!

Stay Beautiful,

Julie xo