3 Lessons I’ve Learned in My 6 Months of Being a Business Owner
Like many others, I was not happy with my job and I thought I could do better on my own, so I quit my job and started my own business. Originally, my goal was to be some kind of consultant and I wanted to help small businesses grow. For the most part, I have done that, but it has not played out exactly how I thought it would, so here are a couple things that I have learned and would like to share with you.
Networking is everything
Again, NETWORKING IS EVERYTHING! When I had started I foolishly thought, “there are millions of businesses that use consulting services, so it should not be hard for me to find work, right?”
Wrong.
Though it is true that there are a plethora of businesses that utilize consultants, I ,personally, did not know enough who not only needed my services, but were also willing to pay for them.
So what I have been doing is instead of focusing on expansion, I have found more tasks that I could do for the clients I already had and work to gain more skills to offer to future potential clients.
Ideally, I would have found a solid stream of work first before quitting my job, but I was not happy with where I was, so I dove in head first.
2. Expect failure
A level of confidence is necessary of course.
But.
I started a business on my own with no real direction. So failure to some degree was almost guaranteed.
I would find myself frustrated and unmotivated because I was not seeing the results I just assumed I would have.
Thankfully, I got over those feelings and got back to work. Because were it not for my numerous failures, I would not have found success.
3. Hard work does not matter
Hard work is only as effective as where it is applied.
There were many days where I was busy all day, but got nothing of importance done. On the other hand, there were times where minutes of work made me hundreds of dollars.
I have learned that calculated effort is much more valuable than the brute force approach I was taking with my business.
So of course, work hard, but also work smart.
Conclusion
Starting a business has been one of, if not the most, challenging things I have done. Naturally, I do not do well without clear instructions illuminating my next step. I like having goals already made that I can simply complete. Starting a business has challenged me in that area, and has helped me learn how to be truly productive.
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