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

Intentional Living

Something that I have really tried to focus on recently is living intentionally in all areas of life.  The past six months have been a busy whirlwind of travels, events, business growth, and new projects but lately have been feeling the urge to step back and really think about what my values are, what is most important, and how I can spend my time not just crossing things off my to-do list but actually focusing intentionally on the few things that matter most. 

It's funny that I picked today to write this post because I am actually in the process of preparing for a hurricane to hit the Hawaiian Islands later this week! There's nothing like preparing for a natural disaster to make yourself focus on the things that truly matter the most. 

Intentional living can truly have so many different meanings. For some people it has to do with finances and possessions and for others it relates to goals and ideals. For me, its a little bit of both. 

This month I spent some time going through my closet and getting rid of a ton of clothing items that I wasn't in love with. There have been so many times where I have purchased something just for a specific event or just because it was "trendy" and everyone was wearing it only to realize that I don't actually love it. This month I have really been trying to hone in on what my personal style truly is and so I can avoid those types of purchases and only get things I really love and will wear over and over again. 

I also have been keeping track on how I spend my time and I've been trying to be really intentional about what I say yes to and what I say no to. I really been trying to distinguish the difference between my strongest desires with my deepest desires. 

Your strongest desires are the things on your to-do list, the stuff you feel pressure to get done and the responsibilities on your plate. My strongest desires are cleaning, cooking, housework, social media, managing my skincare team, etc.

Your deepest desires are the things that truly light you up inside but oftentimes get put on the back burner. My deepest desires are writing, empowering female entrepreneurs, working one on one to help people find solutions for their skin, reading, etc. 

Most days it is so hard for me to distinguish between my desires. Oftentimes, my to-do list wins over my deepest desires. I'm trying to be really intentional about this, though, and focusing on how I can incorporate my deepest desires In every day life. 

Lastly, I want to live intentionally with how present I am. I am scatter-brained about 99% of the time and there's always a million ideas swirling through my head. I really want to focus on being more in the moment and present with the people I am with. I have been focussing on putting my phone down more and really being present. here. right now. 

I would love to know your thoughts on intentional living and how you try to live intentionally in your daily life! What is an area that you are aiming to be more intentional in? 

xo,

Lo