It’s my 9th business birthday this month, so all my posts are about me! This week, I’d like to share the 9 most valuable tips I’ve learned over the past 9 years. 
Apply advice judiciously.
While it’s a must to continue to learn and to ask for help when you need it, don’t feel you have to do what anyone tells you. A lot of “experts” aren’t and some real experts may not have the right advice for you. Take all the advice you’re given. Think about it. Talk about it with people you trust and who know you. Then make the best decision for you and your business.
Accept that you’re going to make mistakes.
If you’re not making mistakes it’s only because you’re not trying anything new. So don’t beat yourself up when you do something that causes problems. Learn from it and move on. Sometimes, you’ll learn that it’s something you should never try again. Sometimes you’ll learn that you need to finesse your process. But as long as you’re learning, it’s all good.
Make it enjoyable.
Nothing is fun all the time, but being self employed is hard. So if you’re not enjoying it most of the time, why on earth would you do it? You’re the boss, so don’t feel you have to offer services you hate doing. Don’t work with people you don’t like working with.
Be yourself.
This kind of works with the advice above. If you’re authentic, you’re more likely to pick up clients who are the type of people you want to work with. You don’t have to overshare or give out personal information you’d rather keep private. But just by being who you are when you’re writing blog posts, talking to clients and sharing on social media helps find the people that are just right for you.
Ask for help.
I know this may seem counterintuitive to my first point, but it’s really not. Asking for help when you need it is really hard to do, but the only way to avoid burnout and failure. Whether you’re asking your partner, friends or family to help out or give opinions on something – or you’re hiring people to help with services you don’t like or don’t have the time to do. Asking for help is essential if you want longevity in business.
Start the way you want to go on.
This is almost a “don’t over-service” tip. When I started I was available 24/7. If someone said they were a bit short when it came time to pay, I’d say “no worrries, just pay whenever you can”. Naturally, my clients expected me to be available whenever they wanted me – because I always had been. They never paid on time – because I always said it was OK. That was a really hard and painfull lesson, but one I learned fairly early on.
Don’t think you’re alone.
Be vulnerable. I’m sure we all have times when think we’re the only people having these doubts, or the only people having this issue or that others are smarter and more successful than we are. I’ve found that most people have similar issues and if you mention it, you’ll get a chorus of “me too!”. And there’s nothing more reassuring than to know that others are in the same place as you. Plus you’ll often get some great tips for dealing with whatever problem you’re having.
Networking is gold.
Seriously, networking is one of the most valuable things you can do. Whether it’s online or in person, talking to others and learning about them and their businesses and letting them get to know you and your business networking is amazing. Networking helps build contacts so that when you need services, you have someone you can go to. It gives you contacts that you can refer to clients and other contacts. And sometimes, you get work from the people you network with.
Don’t wait until it’s perfect.
I left this until last because it’s probably the most important piece of advice I’ve received. I’m a perfectionist. I want everything to be neat, tidy, refined and re-jigged before I put it out there. And truth is, I’d never get anything out there if it was up to me. I’d always be “sitting on it for a day or two in case I think of something” and that doesn’t help anyone. So just getting it out there, and refining later if necessary is something I’ve found to be unbelievably valuable.
That’s my 9 most valuable tips, but I’d love it if you shared your favorite or most valuable tips with me.
