Do you dream of starting your own business and be your own boss?

I did. Entrepreneurship is in my blood. When I was 6 years old, my dad quit his job to start his own business with a couple of friends.

Their bet paid off. But since that day, I hardly ever saw my dad again. Those business owners who make millions working from the beach a couple of hours a day?

Liars. I knew the truth. Starting a business is hard work. Long hours spent away from your family to try and get the word out about something no one seems to care about. Sleepless nights worrying about money and if you’ll be able to pay the rent this month…

But the rewards are worth it. The freedom of being the mistress of your time and take a day off whenever you need to. The fulfilment that comes from doing work your love and bringing your vision to life every day. Finally seeing the money coming in and knowing you’ve created the financial independence you’ve always craved.

I thought I knew all there was to know about starting a business. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Boy, was I wrong. Nothing can really prepare you for the challenges that lie ahead when you go for it and start your own business. 

But I’ll do my best and share with you 5 business lessons I wish someone had told me before starting my own business. I hope they’ll help you get a clearer idea of whether this path is the right one for you:

5 Business Lessons I Wish I Had Known Before Starting My Business

1. 10% Strategy, 90% Mindset (Out Of All The Business Lessons, This Is The MOST Important)

When I first started my business, I was looking for that one silver bullet, that one secret strategy that all successful entrepreneurs were surely using to reach success.

I tried EVERYTHING. Masterclasses. Networking events. Social media. SEO. You name it, I’ve done it. Each strategy helped me grow my business… a little.

It wasn’t until I hired a coach that I understood what was happening. I had a belief that, if I made more money than the men in my life, I’d emasculate them and they wouldn’t love me anymore.

That fear was irrational, but it made me sabotage all my efforts. Yes, I was doing all the strategies… and spreading myself so thin, I didn’t give myself the chance to grow anywhere.

This pattern kept me stuck where I was, earning just about enough to be comfortable, but not enough to outshine the men in my life.

When you’re trying all the strategies without much success, there’s always a limiting belief running the show.

Your business is only as good as your mindset is.

If you don’t believe you have what it takes to make it happen…

If you don’t feel worthy of charging high prices for your 1:1 offers…

If you believe you’ll be criticised and judged if you do live videos…

If you’re scared you won’t be able to handle the money and lose it all…

These limiting beliefs are going to sabotage all your best efforts. It’s like driving a car with the brake on. You won’t go far.

If you want your business to succeed, every limiting belief is a luxury you can’t afford.

The sooner you do the mindset work to identify and heal those limiting beliefs, the sooner you’ll reach your business goals – without anything bad happening in the process.

Ready to identify and heal the limiting beliefs that have been keeping you stuck and broke up until now, so you can finally build a wildly profitable business from your passion and enjoy more freedom in your life? Book your FREE coaching session to get the clarity + plan of action you need to make it happen.

Related: How To Overcome Self-Doubt And Build That Business You’ve Always Dreamed Of

2. There’s NO Such Thing As An Overnight Success

Those entrepreneurs who build 6-figures businesses in 6 months?

They’re the exception to the rule. Plus, when you dig deep, there’s always a reason why success happened so fast for them:

• It wasn’t their first business, so they already had plenty of knowledge and connections to help them succeed.
• They had a huge budget to invest in a big advertising campaign.
• They worked for free (or little money) for big names, so they had access to their mentorship and networks.
• They’re incredibly good sales people with no fear of rejection, so they’re able to put themselves out there and make outrageous offers to everyone without feeling uncomfortable.

For the rest of us, success happens slowly. I’ve worked on my first business, investing my own money in it, for a few years before it started generating any revenue.

It takes time to hit on the right business idea, build your audience, master selling, and heal those limiting beliefs that keep you from showing up and making offers.

As long as you keep doing the work, learning new things and business lessons, and healing the limiting beliefs that keep you stuck, you’ll make progress and eventually reach your goals. Don’t give up.

Related: How To Balance Your Side Hustle With Your Full-Time Job

3. As Your Business Grows, It Will Evolve

So, you have a great idea for a business you’re sure will change people’s lives and make you a ton of money.

Great, get started. But don’t be afraid to pivot. The first idea is rarely the best one.

When I first started my beauty blog, I thought I’d used it as a portfolio to get gigs writing for women’s magazines. It worked… and in the process I found out I didn’t like the job one bit!

So, I pivoted and started ghost-writing blogs for beauty businesses. This kind of work was more up my alley, but not fulfilling enough to keep me going.

I realised I’d never be happy writing for someone else, so I decided to turn my blog into a full-fledged business and monetize with affiliate marketing and skincare consultations. 

This business was more profitable than the others, but I still wasn’t happy. That’s when I realised I was in the wrong industry. I made the switch from beauty to self-help and the rest is history.

When the original idea doesn’t work out, it’s not a failure. It’s redirection towards that thing that you’re really meant to be doing.

P.S. This is one of the hardest business lessons to learn when you’re multi-passionate. But how freeing to know you’re not stuck with the first idea. As you change and evolve, give yourself permission to pivot your business, so it can grow and evolve with you.

Related: Why It’s Ok To Change Your Mind About What You Want To Do With Your Life

4. Community Is Key

Want to know why it’s always the same people who get the best business opportunities? It’s the power of your network.

No one ever became a successful entrepreneur on their own. They had:

• Mentors and coaches who helped them master their mindset, implement the right strategies, and gave them access to their networks.
• Business friends who inspired them to play bigger, encouraged them to keep going even when they felt like giving up, and promoted them to their audience.
• Networking organisations that gave them access to exclusive collaboration opportunities.
• Contacts in the press and podcasting world that helped them spread the word.
• Supportive family and friends who recommended their services to their friends and colleagues.

You get the point. You can have the best product in the world, BUT if no one knows about it, you’re not gonna make any sales.

The bigger and more influential your network is, the better opportunities you’ll get and the faster you’ll grow.

If your network is small or you don’t think you have a network, don’t fret. Join Facebook groups. Attend networking events. Hire a coach. Start a conversation with a colleague on Instagram.

It’s never been easier to build your network. Start now.

5. When You Feel Like Giving Up, Remember Your Why

Success isn’t a straight line. There’ll be times when you hardly get new clients, are working overtime on a launch, and invest more money than you make.

During those times, you’ll wonder if all this hard work and sacrifices are really worth it, and you’ll tell yourself, “This is too hard. I should just give up now.”

It happens to me every now and then, especially when I get turned down for a collaboration or I’m dealing with another tech crisis.

Then I remember why I’m doing all this. I started this business because I believe the world would be a much better place if we all pursued our calling and used our passions and talents to help others.

My mission is to help you heal all those limiting beliefs and old stories that tell you your calling isn’t possible for you and that cause you to self-sabotage and play a smaller game than what you came on this planet to do.

I won’t let anything derail me from my mission. Don’t let anything derail you from yours either.

Whatever you have to offer, there’s someone out there who needs it. Someone only you can help.

Don’t let them down. Don’t give up. 

Wrapping It Up

The truth about building a wildly profitable business isn’t all unicorns and rainbows. I’m sharing these business lessons with you because I believe in going all in with your eyes wide open, so you know what to expect and what to work on to make the impact + income you want to make in the world. It’s not a path for the faint of heart, but it’s 100% worth it.

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