5 Business Lessons For Early Entrepreneurs
It has been five years since I quit my job, and I have learned so much! It's amazing how much things can change if you just put yourself out there, be consistent, invest in your craft, and trust the process. Since I quit my job, I have paid off my student loan debt, positively impacted many businesses, hit several six figure years, and hit my first $200K year in 2021! If I would have allowed fear to keep me paralyzed, then I would still be teaching with a $40K salary. Let's just keep it real, that $40K was really $29K after taxes. Earning $29K was not going to allow me to live the life I envisioned for myself. You know, nice home, 3-4 vacations a year, time to spend time with my family, nice car (I’m a car girl), and being able to do nice things for myself and my loved ones. Quitting my job has given me the opportunity to build wealth, eliminate debt, become a homeowner, and experience the world.
Quitting your job and building a six figure business sounds pretty simple on paper, but in reality it’s hard as hell! I have invested so much time and money and have made so many mistakes! I’m shaking my head thinking about how many mistakes I’ve made. However, those mistakes only made me a stronger business woman. If you’re working on quitting your job or you’re in the beginning stages, here are 5 lessons that could help speed up your progress and success.
Handle Your Money Like A Boss! You have to keep track of your finances, no matter how much you're making. You absolutely must understand where your money is going, where it's coming from, along with saving for rainy days, filing, and paying taxes. You cannot be afraid to talk about money because at the end of the day you need money to pay bills and provide a life for yourself. Now I'm not saying money is everything, however, “If you're not making money you're just running a hobby.” If you don't have your finances in order here are 4 things you can start working on today…
Hire An Accountant
Read Financial Books
Be Productive Not Busy! The truth is, everyone is busy but is everyone being productive? You can be busy answering emails, cleaning your office, filing your taxes, building your website, creating content, writing blogs, packing orders, and all the things. However, are you doing the task that is going to bring the business more traffic, increase brand awareness, and drive sales? When I first started my business I was trying to do everything myself. Edit photos, answer the emails, make the phone calls, be my own book keeper, and my own accountant. My first year of hiring my editor, I hit six figures. The year I hired an assistant and bookkeeper, I hit $200K. I couldn’t grow my business because I was wearing all of the hats. I know in the beginning we might have to wear all of the hats due to funding, but do not get comfortable doing all of the tasks or else you’re going to grow and then plateau or you’re not going to be able to grow at all. It is very important that you are on the business and not always in the business. I pour my efforts into content marketing, relationship building, testing new offers, and A/B testing new marketing techniques. Not to say that I don’t get busy with other tasks, but I really try to outsource as much as I can so that I can be productive and not be a busy bee.
Good Customer Service Skills! Have you seen these types of statuses, “My city doesn't support me” or the people who are always complaining about their customers? I always wonder how they treat their customers and what their client experience is like. One thing I have learned is that if you take care of your customers, they are going to take care of you by way of referrals and becoming repeat customers. It costs less marketing dollars to keep your current customers versus marketing to find new customers. I’m not saying to allow your customers to do what they please because you do have to put boundaries in place. However, good customer service skills will keep your clients coming back. Here are a few good customer service skills that you can implement right away…
Be responsive. Work on answering emails in less than 48 hours.
Have clear policies so that clients can easily understand the payment process and refund policy.
Positive body language shows that you care and are interested in serving.
Address conflict head on. Do not ignore client complaints or feedback.
Under promise, over delivery. (Do more than you promised.)
Take responsibility for mistakes, because you or your team will make mistakes.
Bonus: Appearance! Did you show up like you just rolled out of bed or did you put effort into looking appropriate for work?
Stay In Your Lane! Running a business online exposes you to pretty much every single business there is. If you’re not careful or if you lack brand clarity you could be doing all the things; selling hair extensions, life coach, nail tech, and boutique owner all at the same time and all on the same website. Bwaaahhhh! I’m cracking up because I’ve worked with clients who had so many businesses and it was a hot mess. Yes I said it! A hot mess! There's nothing wrong with being a serialpreneur, but there is something wrong when your messaging or website doesn’t make any sense. So let's take myself as an example. I’m a brand photographer and content creator; on my website that is all you will see. My website showcases a portfolio, services, and blogs that are geared towards branding, marketing, and content creation. I see other photographers doing some pretty cool things, and it’s very tempting to hop on the bandwagon. I have to remind myself that it’s okay to admire other entrepreneurs, but I don’t have to do what they do. I can simply admire, support, and stay focused on my own business endeavors. Recently, I secured a $10K photography contract but guess what?! It wasn't just any type of photography contract. I was hired to specifically serve entrepreneurs, particularly headshots and brand videos, for their businesses. This is what it looks like when you stay in your lane. If you ever had the opportunity to work with me, then you know that I’m not one to boast but to encourage and support. I’m sharing my win because I want you to own your lane! “Be the Beyoncé of your industry.” “Be the Oprah of your industry.” “Be the Morgan Debaun of your industry.” “Be the Jance Chartae of your industry.” “Be the Morgan Casey of your industry.” “Be the Dasha Kennedy of your industry.” Okay I’m done. You get what I’m saying.
Understanding Your Business Analytics, such as website traffic, page views, traffic sources, conversion rates, geography, social media engagement, social media account reach, age groups, etc. These are basic analytics to get you going, but it is important that you are paying attention to your numbers. Knowing your numbers will help you to understand how to make moves in your business. For example, let's say you are attracting 25-30 year old women who are in corporate America when you service 30-50 year old women who are looking to transition out of corporate America. Understanding your numbers will reveal if you need to change your brand messaging or marketing platforms. If your analytics show that more of your traffic comes from Facebook then maybe you need to pour more marketing dollars into Facebook. If your website has a low conversion rate, that may mean that you need to increase your website traffic or there is something on your website that is not resonating with your audience. However, if you’re not paying attention to your numbers you will never know what you need to do next in your business.
Running a business is a ton of work. I’ve been at it for 5+ years and I’m still figuring it out. The market is forever changing with new trends, new marketing platforms, new tools, new processes, and even new laws. However, if entrepreneurship is truly what you desire then go for it! I enjoy the challenge and I enjoy helping others get to the next level. I hope by sharing the lessons that I’ve learned, it will help you on your journey.