What I Wish I Did When I Started My Business

(00:01):

Hey there, grab your coffee and let’s talk a business, how to grow it, how to sustain it, and how to harness the wonderful worldwide web. To do it with me, your host, Jennifer Sakowski. Let’s get started.

(00:23):

Welcome to a new episode of Raney Day Talks. I’m your host, Jennifer Sakowski, and today, this is like my heartfelt message. This episode is for the listeners who are wanting to start their own business and have it, maybe they’re, maybe they’re on the ground floor and trying to put their business plan together. Does anybody remember what that thing is? Um, who, maybe they’re the ones who have a dream of working for themselves and not for someone else. Maybe they’re the ones that have been doing this on the side for so long and they’re ready to break out and go full-time. You’re the person who’s on the fence. Well, I’m here to talk to you about that. I want to talk to you about what I wish I would’ve known when I was in your shoes, and actually this episode is even for my hustlers who are trying to get their business off of the ground, who are pulling in those crazy long nights and trying to figure out everything from how to get your website up to how to work QuickBooks Online and read your p and l, and what the heck is a p and l?

(01:34):

I’m talking to you and I really, I want you to hear this because when I started,

(01:40):

I, I didn’t know this and I wish I would’ve, I wish I would’ve got these points in my head then and not later on. I think it would’ve made a big impact on my business. I think that I would’ve scaled and hit where I am now, even sooner. So the first thing is, and this is hard for me, this, this is something I even struggle with now, but I continually tell myself, it does not have to be perfect because it won’t be perfect. This entrepreneurial journey you’re on is nowhere near perfect. It is hard. And some days you’re gonna have everything go wrong. Some days it’s gonna be the day that the project that you’re working on and you’re busting your tail to get it done, and it goes wrong. It doesn’t launch, um, the client’s not happy. Maybe you’re something with your product, your service, it gets broken and you’re having to call for support or work through that or troubleshoot it. Um, it’s just everything goes wrong. You’re gonna have those days and then you’re gonna have great days, but most likely it’s, it’s not gonna be perfect because the only person I know who walked this earth is Jesus. And I haven’t, um, seen anyone else who come close to that. So if we could just take the picture perfect path that we think that this is gonna happen. Once you start your business, it’s, and um, and you know, tell, let me say this. I hope that you are the one that

(03:16):

You just nailed it right off the front, that it is perfect for you. But in my reality, it’s not. It’s long nights. It’s trying to get that right sales page or that right product <laugh>, oh, or back then it was the right business card that would make me stand out and the right, um, one sheet that when I would pass out to a networking group, that it was just perfect that it catch somebody’s eye. And I would sit there and I would stress about those things. I would stress about putting something on Facebook. I would stress about putting something on, um, Twitter and Instagram was just coming out then. Like there was so many things that I just, I was stuck because I wanted it to be right. In reality, I was trying to get it to be perfect and it’s not. And so that’s one of the reasons, and that’s why we’re here and that’s why I’m talking about this and even on this podcast or having a podcast, is to break through that mold, that mindset that it doesn’t have to be perfect. That hitting start hitting publish is so much better if you just do it and then fix it as you go than waiting and trying to make it perfect.

(04:29):

The next thing is, and it goes right in to my next point actually, it’s hit launch quicker. So what does I mean by that? And in my world, just like there’s another web person right up the street, there might be a, another, I don’t know, baker down the road. The quicker that you put up your sign and that you start promoting yourself, the quicker that you will get out in front of someone else, the quicker that your flavor, um, how you work, the type of business you are, your culture will stand out and get ahead. And I find that sometimes with going back to 0.1 about trying to get it perfect is that it takes us longer to hit launch. It took me a long year to get this podcast off the ground. Um, it it, we start to get in that mindset of we’re, well, we gotta do this, we gotta do that.

(05:24):

If we would just hit publish or if we would just go and launch the business and start without having a perfect website, a perfect logo, a perfect message in place, the quicker that we could get clients and the quicker that we could figure it out as we go <laugh>, to be honest with you. Um, because without doing it, without the experience, you’re not gonna know. And you can assume and you can, um, get, you know, try to plan for all of these scenarios. But until you actually walk it, until you hit launch, till you start your business, you’re not gonna know. So my challenge is for you, whatever it is that you’re on that fence about to hit launch, hit record and hit publish. Because the quicker you do it, the quicker you can fix that process, the quicker that you can get better, the quicker that you can learn.

(06:10):

Because I truly believe that everything is figure outable, thank you Marie Folio. And the quicker that you do the thing, the quicker that you can get better, better at it. So that’s what I wish, because back then when while I was trying to get my perfect little sales page or my perfect little website or my perfect little logo together, I was wasting time because people who were needing my services were going down the road. So launch, just launch. Um, if it’s a service that you’re butting out, package it up and just hit launch and sell it. Because once you sell it, that’ll validate that this is a need or this, you are solving a problem that people are gonna buy. So walk through it and figure it out as you go. Number three is, uh, and this is was crucial for me, is seek out people like you.

(07:05):

You need at least one person in your corner who has started a business. And it would be even better if they’re further along than you are because this entrepreneurial journey, once again, this road can get lonely. And I know you have, you may have a spouse or significant, or maybe you have friends and family, that’s great, but until somebody’s worked through starting a business and the days where you’re ready to just put up the for sale sign and sell it, or the days that it’s, you’ve worked 12 hours to work on this project to get it right and you did it. And so you wanna tell somebody that feeling or maybe you just hired your first person and you know how hard you work to vet that person and, um, work on your interview questions and make it unique to your own culture. And that person works out.

(08:00):

You wanna share with somebody who can get the, without having to spill it all out, but they know that’s why you need that person. You need that person too. When on those days are hard that they’re gonna tell you to suck it up and it’s gonna get better tomorrow. Just finish it. Or if you’re dragging your feet, they’re the ones that’s gonna tell you, just do it. Just do it. Or hold your hand through the thing that scares you the most. They’re the ones that you can lean on. Cuz whoever said it, that if you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room. Same thing with if you’re the only person who’s owned own business in the room, you’re in the wrong room. Find more people that are like you that you can lean on. Um, I found one of my tribe girls in a local networking group when I first moved this state and she had a salon.

(08:50):

She had already built a team. She was already doing the thing. It wasn’t the same, but at least she knew what I was trying to build toward. And having someone that you can bounce ideas off of or brainstorm, collaborate on, it’s a game changer. Because for me, when you work for yourself, and especially if you’re used to working for someone else and, uh, j o b, nine to five, whatever it may be, you have a set standard, you have a position, a description, and they are holding you accountable for whatever your deliverables are for that position. So you have a way to measure your success in that position in when you’re walking in your own business, you don’t have that. So it feels lonely. It, you don’t know how to measure your success. And it’s not always in dollar signs. That’s the thing that people don’t realize.

(09:47):

Yeah, that’s a great marker cuz you have goals and you wanna make X amount and whatever it may be, that’s great, but there’s so much more to it when running a business. So that’s my encouragement. And if you don’t have those people, they’re, they’re out there. Look for groups on Facebook, look on groups, on LinkedIn, local meetups, um, like I said, mine, one of mine was from a local networking group that I joined. Put yourself out there and start talking to people. It’s gonna be uncomfortable, it’s gonna feel weird, but I promise you, in the long run, those are the people that you’re gonna lean on the most on the days that you were just ready to shut down and sell the thing. They’re the ones that are just gonna say, you know what? This happens. And they’re gonna give you that little piece, that little encouragement to take a step back, take your emotions out of it, and then hit it hard the next day.

(10:41):

Going along with those people that you need to seek out. You need to ask for help. I like to do it myself. I like to figure it out myself. I like to see something through. And especially when it’s a challenge, I like to do it. And the thing is, is that you waste a lot of time doing that cuz the fact is that there’s probably someone else who knows how to do the thing that you can seek out their input, their help, their guidance and overcome that hurdle quicker. And that’s something that I wish I would’ve known and I wish I would’ve done sooner because it wasn’t until year three, three or four that I found myself into a really great freelancer’s web developer group online, and they became those people that I was able to ask for help. When I got stuck with a development question, when I was doing all the web development myself, when I was up against and I was trying to figure out, manipulate this piece of code that I just was so close on, um, instead of sitting there and trying to figure out and spending hours on end, when I found that group, I was able to ping in and say, Hey, does anybody know how to fix this string?

(11:57):

And the comments? They were so helpful. Find those people because the fact is, why are you wasting so much of your time sitting there staring at your screen trying to figure it out when the answer is out there. Now let me walk you through my favorite thing to do when I get stuck, pull up my tablet, my phone, sit down on my desk, I pull up this thing called Google Chrome, and I type my question in because there is a plethora of information right at your fingertips for free. And so that’s where, if you can’t figure it out, go to the internet, hit search and start looking it up. If you don’t like that option, check out YouTube. If you’d rather watch somebody do it, do that. iTunes, Spotify, look for a podcast. And you know that good old fashioned place, that trusty place called the library, I know my library, I can get free eBooks.

(12:55):

There are no excuses for sitting there and being stuck and trying to figure out if it’s QuickBooks online. They have a great, um, support area and they’re quick, they have a great forum. There’s no reason why you have to sit there and try to feel like you can’t figure something out, ask for help and do it quicker. I feel like that should probably be the theme <laugh> is, is just do the thing quicker. Um, and lastly, ugh, this is good. This is so good. And even in now I I lean on this is to give yourself some grace because in those early stages there’s gonna be a lot of things that are hard. It’s might take late nights, it might take early mornings. If you are a mama with little ones trying to balance, I’m just gonna go ahead and say it. You’re trying to figure out like you’re, you’ve got a newborn and you gotta figure out the breastfeeding plus Phil still put food on your table, plus you need to write a blog post out and then do the client work.

(14:02):

It’s hard. I know it. And those long nights and oh my goodness, those sleepless nights, those nights pay off. Um, no, and and here’s another thing, like knowing that for me, there was a period where I knew I had to step back from the client work and, um, trying to solicit and, and bring in new clients. I just focus internally. I focus on our processes and that was awful and we’re still going back to our pro processes. But for me, like that was so hard to sit down and focus and writing those processes out. But I knew in the long run that once I hired somebody, they would be able to take over that area and run with it. I knew that my business would be stronger for it, but it was hard cuz trying to balance with writing out that process plus the client work and plus, you know, maintaining what was going on within the business.

(14:58):

But I knew, like, I just knew, I, I knew it would pay off, but it was so hard. It’s so hard. The sacrifices that you’re gonna have to make, um, especially if you are a family member and you have small ones or you have a husband, you have a significant other, whatever it may be, or a wife. Um, it, it gets hard because some days I’m up here working and my kids are going to the park with my husband or, um, I am trying to better myself and going to seek out to mastermind with the group of international new friends that and that I’ve made and they, and I have to leave my little ones. But it just give yourself some grace because it will pay off the hard work that you’re gonna put in now, how uncomfortable it is. The oh and the like the indecisiveness I that comes with.

(15:49):

When you’re stuck with a solution and you don’t have a boss to go to, you don’t have someone else, it’s lays on you. I know it feels heavy, but making a decision and moving forward, it will work out because if it was a, it’s if it turns out wrong now, you know, I, I I know I try to sprinkle in some of my faith into this, but right, wrong or indifference, make a choice. There’s a scripture and revelations that says you’re either hot or cold. If you’re lukewarm, I’ll spill spew you outta my mouth. And for me, like that’s something that I’ve always held to is that I want to be hot or cold. I want to go full force, go big or go home because I know at least I’m doing something. I’m hot for something. And in that, that’s hard because I’ve made along a lot of wrong decisions, um, along the way that have crashed and burn or tried to start something and it did not work out and I had to pull out from it.

(16:44):

And that was hard. But the fact that you do it, you’ll learn from it. Your business will be better, you will be better, you will grow from that. So I hope you find comfort in knowing that just giving yourself a little grace as you navigate the next few years, because the next few years, those first years are the hardest. And I’ll be honest, even after those first few years, it’s still hard. It’s a just a different kind of hard. And, um, looking back now, like I’m thankful for those hard nights because it makes knowing that when we’ve got a team of four and they need input, they need direction on some of these projects that I have to sit down and do it. That’s hard because I know I’m gonna be up super late. I know I’m gonna be up super early tomorrow, but it’s worth it.

(17:39):

It is so worth it. So that’s, that’s my heartfelt message for today on, on this episode is just speaking to right into your heart that it being an entrepreneur, starting up your own business, it is an awesome, awesome journey. It’s awesome to be able to make your own schedule. It’s awesome to be able to say, Hey, these days I am home with my littles. These days are my office time, my client days. Um, and being able to confidently do that, I can’t even tell you how awesome that is. But I want to encourage you, if you can just dig in and know that it’s not gonna be perfect, that you just need to hit launch quicker than the next guy. Just put it out there. If you seek out people like you to lean on during those hard times, you will be able to move through those hard times so much quicker.

(18:33):

And most likely you’ll be able to gain some good knowledge through it. And then when you do get stuck, don’t wait. Don’t, don’t sit there and try to figure it out. If it’s taking you a long time, get on Google, ask for help. And of course, when you’re feeling that you are just ready to toss in the towel, don’t give yourself some grace. Go to bed. Tomorrow’s a new day. Thank you so much for listening to today’s podcast and I hope that you find it helpful. If you do, do me a favor, hit subscribe. Take a screenshot of my Raney day talks, um, cover. And by the way, did you notice I updated it? That was a lot of fun. Shout out to Mark Lavander at Mark Lavander Productions once again for helping me out that studio, um, photo shoot. But if you find it helpful, don’t forget to tag me.

(19:24):

I would love to hear your viba. I would love to know if you are in that startups zone and trying to figure it out. If you are, reach out to me. Let’s talk a huge thank you to Mark at Mark Lavander Productions for sponsoring season one of Raney Day Talks podcast. I’m very particular who we partner with, and Mark was a no-brainer. Mark does all of our video editing and puts all of the components and pieces together for our YouTube channel and podcast. If you are looking to publish your own YouTube series podcast or need photography work, please contact Mark through mark levander productions.com.

---

Thank you to our Sponsor

A huge thank you to Mark Levander of Mark Levander Productions for sponsoring season one of Raney Day Talks. It truly is because of Mark that we’re able to put these podcasts in our YouTube channel and a lot of our videos and load the animations together. So, if you’re interested in launching your own podcast or need work with photography or videography, please contact Mark through MarkLavanderProductions.com.