As someone who had always strived to one day be her own boss, to make her own schedule and operate with her own expertise, here are three things that I wish someone would have told me before I launched Lululevents:
You're going to have to learn to be your own best friend
You should hopefully be best friends with yourself anyways, but when you start your own business, you're forced to learn how to accept the 'why' of how you operate on a day-to-day basis. There's no going home from work when your coworker bothers you, because a) you are your own coworker, and b) if you're like me, you work from home!
When I launched Lululevents, I didn't tell anyone that I was planning to launch a business because I already had my own doubts, and I didn't want to be influenced by external parties on top of it. I kept my head down and my mouth shut for over a year while I worked on my branding, my website, my mission, and most importantly, why I was pursing this in the first place. Starting a business means that you have to stand by your own side and be confident in not only your work, but of yourself, because at the end of the day if no one is going to root for you, you're going to have to root for yourself. That may just be how you got here in the first place.
You're your own team
Unless you're someone who starts a business with a partner, or you have resources allocated to hire a team, you're in a sense 'on your own' for all of the back-end and day-to-day operations.
Imagine having a position in every single department of your company: marketing, sales, operations, finance, human resources, customer service, executive team, and the list goes on. That is what it's like to independently self-employed.
It's no joke when you hear people say 'owning a business is hard', and it is, but what people also don't tell you, is how rewarding it is. Yes there is frustration, late nights, and times that you want to throw in the towel, but it is so rewarding when you sign on your first client, and continue to build your brand. It is hard work, but you slowly realize that you're not alone, people do believe in you and your vision, even if you decide to stay quiet about it for years.
Lean on the community
As much as you grow to be your own best friend and your own team in launching and maintaining your business of one, it's important to lean on the community. Through family, friends, social media, and referrals, once you are confident in your mission and the why of what you are doing, support and community is what's going to keep you going. I don't wake up everyday and operate for me, but for my clients and those who've been supporting me along the way.
Sources
Kristina's brain.
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