6 Tips For Starting Your Own Business

Hey girl boss!

So, you did it. You woke up this morning and decided “I am going to start a business.". Well, congratulations! The thought alone is amazing, now all you have to do is put some work and passion behind that thought and make it happen! This blog is a little different, it’s not about laws and great websites to use to help you with your business, it’s about understanding yourself and knowing how to stop talking yourself out of following through with what you want to do for yourself and your future business.

When people ask me what I would change or what I would do differently in my business I always say "I would have started when I really wanted to!" When I originally wanted to start a business the people who are confided in told me "No it’s not a good idea, no somebody already does that, no don’t you think you should just go to school, don’t you think you should just work for someone else?" But, that wasn’t what I wanted to do! Unfortunately, I allowed the thoughts of others to get in my head and I started to think the same way. That was horrible probably the worst mistake I ever made. What I should have done was kept my goals and ideas to myself, believed in me, and got started early. These tips are all about getting yourself ready to start run and grow that business you always wanted.

#1 Believe in yourself.

I know it sounds crazy but that’s the most important step to starting a new business. You have to actually believe that you can do it. Everything we do starts with our thought process. So if the entire time your planning a business you’re thinking to yourself you can’t do it then nine times out of ten you won’t do it or you’ll do it and fail You have to believe in yourself enough to know that even if you don't succeed the way you intended too, you tried your absolute best and that just because you didn’t succeed the first time doesn’t mean there won’t be a next time. My first six businesses were complete flop’s my first online store made $500 in a year, that’s horrible. But it was my store and my $500 so I kept going. Believing in yourself and knowing that you can do it no matter what it is is always the first key.

#2 Know that you will get discouraged so plan ahead.

You’ll definitely be discouraged. What I like to do is plan ahead, I know on days where everything is going smooth and great I’ll go ahead and write down ideas and thoughts of things for me to do on the days that I’m feeling down about my business. For example, I'll write "If you are feeling down about your business take a break and look at some of your business inspirations", (Like

other girl bosses I look up too) or I’ll write, "If today is a blah day do something creative and give yourself a pat on the back for all the things you’ve accomplished so far.". Don’t let a day or two or a week or two of discouragement make you stop the progression of your business permanently.

#3 Don’t tell everyone about your business.

This is almost up there with number one, the truth is many people don’t understand why people become entrepreneurs some people can only see in black-and-white gray areas don’t exist for them. But for all of us gray seeing people we know there’s more to do in the business world then work forever (working for someone who followed their business dream) retire, and die. When you tell people about your business the truth is eight out of ten of them will not have something positive to say. Some will say but "why are you going to do that? Don’t you already have a job? What about your family? Don’t you have a good job already don’t? You make a lot of money already why would you do that?" Now I'm not saying walk around being secretive and feeling like there's no one to share the joys of your business with, I’m saying that when you tell people about your future endeavors because they don’t understand or agree with it sometimes they can be very discouraging. Also telling others about your business can put pressure on you to feel like you need to hurry up and finish your or get it out sooner and the pressure is really unnecessary.

#4 Make sure your business is realistic.

Now I know I said believe in yourself but also be real. If you wake up and decide today I’m going to make shoes and I’m going to sell them for $100 and make money in three months that’s not realistic. Research your business, make sure that the thing you want to do can actually happen and make sure that your current living situation can afford you to really take time and grow your business the right way. You don’t want to rush into business with unrealistic goals or not enough planning, and then not succeed and wonder why.

#5 Figure out your Why.

Why makes a big deal and difference. If your only reason for starting a new business is to make money then that’s great but you might not make a lot of money unless you were starting a franchise or a business that someone else already created using their brand or buying them out. But if you are starting a new business from scratch on your own you’re why has to be meaningful for example my "Why?" was because I wanted to be able to spend most of my free time with my family and focus on spiritual and marital goals, my next why was that I love helping people specifically women, bring their business and their selves to life! But when your sole focus is money sometimes you tend to forget about the people who have to spend money in order to make you make money. In other words, sometimes your concern for your consumer goes out the window because of your greed and love of money.

#6 Never underestimate a good planner.

A planner can help you out so much! Personally, I like to write things down but if you don’t like to write things down and you’re all about using technology, utilize the calendar or planner in your smartphone, iPad, or tablet, and plan everything out. ALWAYS have a goal. The saying "Failing to plan is planning to fail" is 100% accurate 99% of the time! Also, sometimes writing things down help motivate you to really get into motion and make it happen. And don't just write it down, give yourself a deadline. Giving yourself timed goals will help you stay on top of your A-game and help you move along smoothly while pacing yourself out.

Hopefully, these tips really help you, let us know what you think!

Photo by STIL on Unsplash

Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash