Thursday 20th October marked the 8th anniversary of registering my business name and going into business for myself. At the time, I would never have dreamed that I’d still be in business 8 years down the track. And I certainly never would have thought I’d enjoy it as much as I have – and still do.
Over the past 8 years I’ve learned a lot. Most of the things I needed to learn involved having confidence in myself, as I suspect, is the same for most of us. There were a few other things along the way though. So in celebration of my 8th business birthday here are 8 of the most important things I’ve learned in that time.
It’s all on you, bad and good.
As much as you might like someone to handle all the horrible things for you, and as much as you will find some amazing people to help you along the way, in the end it’s all on you. So, while it might be tempting to beat yourself up for any failures, and pass on credit for the wins. Truth it’s they’re both all on you. So celebrate your wins & give yourself a pat on the back, and learn from your mistakes and put policies and processes in place to make sure they never happen again.
Make your own path.
There are a lot of people who will tell you that you NEED to have this, or you NEED to do that. Honestly, you probably don’t NEED to have anything, other than a healthy work ethic, persistence and a bit of luck. So by all means, read everything you can get your hands on and listen to all the experts and anyone else who offers you advice. In the end, remember that it’s all on you so it’s best to work in the way that works best for you.
Oh, and when I say you don’t NEED to have anything – there are certain legal things you do NEED to have. So make sure to take care of them as soon as possible. It will save you a lot of time and effort in the long run.
Don’t take it too seriously.
I mean, your business is important, but if for some reason it doesn’t take off – it won’t be the end of the world. The best entrepreneurs and business people in the world have had plenty of failures before their big success. So don’t let yourself get paralysed by fear of something bad happening. Even if the worst happens it probably won’t be as bad as you expect it to be. And if something does go wrong, have another go and keep trying until you get a result you’re happy with.
Life’s too short to work with people you don’t “get”.
When I first started I was so anxious to succeed that I worked with anyone who wanted to hire me doing pretty much anything I was asked to do. The only problem is it’s so hard and draining trying to provide great service when you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, or don’t love the people you’re working with. So say no to clients that aren’t the right fit. It doesn’t have to be a flat out no. I usually say “sorry, I can’t help with that but I’m happy to help you find someone who can”. It may cost me a little time, but hopefully people remember that I helped them, even if I couldn’t do what they wanted and it leaves people with a good impression.
Clients who value you are worth their weight in gold.
In the past, I’ve had a lot of lean times caused by clients paying late. Nowadays, while I totally understand that sometimes you’re a bit late with the payment – I don’t work with anyone who regularly makes late payments. Originally, it was my fault as I kept telling people to just pay when they could. So naturally enough they did. Unfortunately, providers of services like electricity, phone and mortgages do not have the same leniency.
The same goes for clients who feel you’re OK to drop everything and do something that needs to be done urgently. If a client doesn’t respect your time you’ll end up always struggling to meet their deadlines. I now have an optional fee that goes on top of my regular charge for urgent and outside business hours work. So far, I’ve never used it because any urgent work I’ve had has been very rare and generally caused by a legitimate problem for my client. So I’m happy to pitch in and help out.
It’s not rude to stand up for yourself.
When I first started my business I’d answer phone calls at any time, allowed clients to drop things over to my house whenever they wanted to, pay a little late if they were a bit short, and in all honesty, I didn’t really mind doing it. For a while. Eventually it becomes a real drain on when I had to be ready for business 24/7 and financially tight because the same people who were happy to drop things over at 7am were paying later and later.
So think about who you want as a client and how you want to work with them, then let them know. Be polite and kind, but let your clients know how the relationship will work and then DO what you say you will. For me, it took months of not answering the phone outside of business hours before a couple of people started keeping their calls to my working hours. So make sure you’re not creating bad expectations for yourself.
Look after yourself.
It’s really important to be prepared to put the hours in, particularly in the early stages of a business. But if you’re not careful, “putting the hours in” becomes your norm and you end up exhausted. It’s important to take regular breaks. Leave the office for lunch and go to a local café or take a walk, or go sit out in the sunshine. Have some breaks during the day so you’re not sitting at your desk from dawn to dusk.
It’s also important to take longer breaks during the year. It doesn’t have to be a world trip each year, or even a long holiday. I find that weekends and public holidays are all the break I need most years. But on weekends and public holidays I try to avoid work all together.
Look after your people.
Your people, your clients, friends, family and fans are the best resource you’ll ever have. So make sure you spend time building relationships.
When you get busy the last thing you might want to do is go out networking, or meet someone for lunch, but keeping good relationships is hugely important in business. Of course, you need to nurture the right ones, so make sure to notice the relationships with people who are a good sounding board, give you encouragement when you need it or the honest truth when you need that. Try to avoid having too much to do with the people who drain you, try to reduce your confidence to make them feel better, and the ones who have a bad word to say about everything.
So that’s 8 of the most important things for me that I’ve learned over the last 8 years. What’s been the best thing you’ve learned in your time as a business owner?
