Five Things You Need to Know Before Starting Your Own Business

I get a lot of questions about running your own business, starting a side-hustle, or being an entrepreneur. I absolutely LOVE having my own business and I truly can’t imagine ever not being self-employed. I think that there are a lot of misconceived notions about starting a business though, and so I wanted to address them in this post! Running your own business is not for the faint of heart and I think that many people start a business with the wrong expectations and that is why statistically most start-up businesses fail within their first year!

If you are thinking of starting ANY type of business, this post is for you! From running my own business, helping hundreds of other launch their own businesses, and studying top business leaders all over the world, I have found that these are some of the key expectations you must know and set yourself up for before starting a business!

1. You won’t feel ready to start:

I have never talked to someone who was 100% confident and ready before they started their business. Thats because starting a business is a risk no matter what type of business it is! It is very normal to feel hesitant and nervous before launching a business because you never truly know how it’s going to do until you launch it!

My biggest advice on launching your own business is to go with your gut. If you have a gut instinct that’s saying to go for it, then do it! Most people will never launch their own business (even if they want to) because of fear. DON’T let that be you! With great risk comes great reward and so don’t sit around waiting until you feel “ready” to start. Just go for it!

2. You will fail:

You will fail. ALOT. You’ll probably fail everyday in the beginning! I can’t even tell you how many times I have failed in certain areas of my business. We are humans, and especially if you are a first-time business owner, there is a huge learning curve involved! Don’t expect yourself to be a perfect right from the start and don’t let your failure hinder your efforts. As soon as fear creeps in, the game is over. Fear is a business owner’s worst nightmare, but thankfully, you get to choose that you think. If you are feeling doubt or fear creep in, it’s YOUR job to extinguish it!

When you fail, instead of doubting and letting fear steal your dreams, give yourself some grace and problem solve for the next time a conflict arises! I like the term “Fail Forward”. This means that every time you make a mistake or fail in some area of your business, let it propel you forward rather than backwards! If you look at failure as just a normal part of the process, you will have a much healthier perspective on running your own business and you will be able to learn quicker when you make mistakes!

3. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will:

This one is so so important. I have seen numerous businesses fail because the business owner doesn’t have adequate belief in themselves. Believing in yourself, your vision, and your goals is crucial to the success you will attain. I have seen people with amazing talent fail because they did not believe that they could truly be successful.

If you are not a naturally confident person, that doesn’t meant that you can’t succeed in your business! It just means that you need to focus on belief-building activities so that your belief in yourself will continue to grow over time. Because I know that belief is so important in the success of my business, I have developed habits that constantly build my belief in myself and my vision. when my belief is lacking, I dive into personal development. I love to read personal development books, listen to business podcasts, and journal out all my dreams and goals. These habits I have created help me to believe in myself even amidst trials and seasons of doubt.

It is YOUR job to believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, how can you expect anyone else to believe in you and your vision behind your business? It is your unwavering belief and confidence in what your business offers that will continue to grow and sustain it.

4. If quitting is an option, you will quit:

When starting anything, you need to have full confidence in yourself that you are going to succeed, no matter what it takes. Some of the most successful companies took over 10 years to see any positive profit. Any company or business takes a lot of time to grow and build if you want to have a sustainable business for years and years to come. I’m going to be straight up and say that if you give yourself the option to quit, you will quit. Many times when we start something we will think “well if it’s not working out I can always quit.” Let me tell you, if that is your mindset, there will come a time when the going gets tough and you will quit.

In business there are seasons of highs and lows, profits and losses, plenty and scarcity. Thats just part of having a business! If you give yourself permission to quit when it gets tough, I promise there will come a time when it gets tough and you will quit.

If you truly want to succeed in your business, quitting cannot be an option!

5. You must be a self-starter and self-motivator:

Being your own boss means that you have to continually motivate yourself to continue to work towards your goals in order to grow your business. Any entrepreneur will tell you that there are seasons when you don’t “feel” as motivated to work hard in growing your business. If you can’t push past those emotions and put in consistent effort despite your feelings, you will find yourself in a downward spiral.

As a business owner, it is your job to keep yourself motivated and keep trying new ways to grow your business! If you are a natural entrepreneur, this will come really easy for you. If you are not, this will be tough but it is not impossible to learn! If you are a business owner or want to be a business owner, know that it is up to you to propel your business forward. No one is going to work as hard as you in your business and so you must lead the charge!

I hope that these insights help to give you a healthy perspective on what it takes to start your own business! Starting your own business may be one of the most challenging things you ever do but it also may be the most rewarding! There is nothing like seeing your business grow after consistent effort, facing challenges head on, and overcoming doubt and fear. It is truly incredible to see people who have enough focus and determination to see their dreams come into fruition. I want that to be YOU!

Please reach out or let me know if you have any other questions about starting your own business! I love talking about these types of topics and so I hope you learned something valuable and I would to chat further about your personal dreams in launching your own business!

xo,
Lauren

5 ways to get out of a personal or professional funk

If you are anything like me, its hard to stay motivated ALL of the time. Lets face it, we are human and sometimes we may find ourselves in a funk or a rut that is hard to shake. Because I work from home, it's super easy to get into seasons where I don't feel as motivated or the passion for my career is hard to find. There are definitely times when I don't FEEL like working or going after my dreams. There are also times when I get down on myself for personal issues. We aren't perfect and things will come up! Life happens. We all have those days where it seems like everything is going wrong and we aren't happy with where we are at.

I want you to know something...

If you are in a lull season or even just having a tough week, let me tell you a secret, YOU WILL BE OKAY. We all get into a rut sometimes and its very normal to have a rough day every once in awhile. It's important though that whenever you are facing a personal or professional rut, that you work to grow yourself so you don't stay in that rut forever!!

*I feel like it is important to say that being in a personal funk or professional rut is different than suffering from anxiety or depression-if you feel like you are facing something more than occasional mood swings, you should seek professional help. If you want to read about my journey through debilitating anxiety, you can read that here.* 

When I am in a funk, there are a few things I do that help get me back on track! 

1. Process how you are feeling:

Oftentimes when I am feeling down and out, its really because I am feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes there can be so many ideas, to-do's, or projects swimming around in my mind that it can be hard to feel grounded. The very first thing I do when I am in a funk is journal out all of my feelings! I write out EXACTLY how I feel and I do my best to try to figure out WHY I'm feeling that way. I've found that oftentimes, the things we perceive as insurmountable in our heads are actually pretty trivial when you put them down on paper. I like to do a "brain dump" and literally list out every single possible thing that I need to do or accomplish. This helps me to clear my mind and refocus on the present.

2. Give yourself a mental vacation & do something creative:

After a good brain dump, give yourself a mental vacation! Remove yourself from your normal day-too-day and do something to give yourself a reset. For example, if you work from home, go on a spontaneous adventure to somewhere outside of your norm for an hour! If you work full-time, ditch the gym after work and go on a hike or bike ride. If you are a student, step on the brakes with studying and instead spend an hour painting or doing something creative. 

When you can remove yourself from your normal day-to-day routine, you allow your brain to reset and process. Oftentimes when I do something to intentionally go on a mental vacation, I come back feeling so refreshed and rejuvenated that I WANT to start working towards my goals again. 

3. Tune into personal development:

If you are still not feeling inspired after step two, it's time to dive into personal development! There's nothing that fires me up like a personal development book or an inspiring podcast! I will link my all-time favorite personal development books down below but some of my favorite podcasts to listen to are: The Goal Diggers Podcast, Rise Podcast, or Second Life Podcast! There's few things I love more than going on a long walk and listening to a podcast! 

4. Write out possible solutions to the problem you are facing:

After completing steps 1-3, you should be feeling pretty good! Now is the time to problem solve any potential triggers or issues that could be causing your stress or "funk". Is there a toxic relationship in your life? Are you always finding yourself overwhelmed because you don't know how to manage your time? Is there a personal insecurity that is keeping you from the next level? Asking yourself these types of questions and then creating an action plan to find a solution is one of the best ways that you can move on from the rut you are in and begin chasing your dreams again! 

5. Set daily small & achievable goals to get you back on track:

At this point, you should be feeling pretty good about yourself! You have reflected, rested, re-gained clarity, & problem solved! Now is the time to put your reflections to ACTION! What is one thing that you can do TODAY to make your life better? Maybe it will be to call an old friend to reconcile a broken relationship. Maybe it's choosing healthier eating habits. Maybe it's completing specific tasks that is going to move the needle in your business. Whatever small goals you have, create new habits to help you achieve those goals to improve your life and just DO them! It doesn't have to be anything drastic or life-changing but I'm a believer that developing small habits each and every day have the power to create massive change in your life. 

I really hope that these tips help you problem solve and gain clarity so that you can truly live the life & calling you were meant to! I believe that we are ALL called to do great things with our lives and so don't let a funk get in the way of you being your BEST self!!

All my love,

Lo

My Favorite Personal Development books: