Top 5 Lessons I Have Learned from Starting my Own Business
After going from a corporate work environment to starting my own business, I had to learn a few hard lessons along the way. A lot of the early days were spent throwing my hands up in the air saying, “I don’t know what the heck I’m doing!”
Now, I have gotten over most of those hurdles and can look back and see what I did right, what I did wrong, and also see the hard things that just needed doing. I thought, maybe some of these lessons could be passed on to others to help them in their journey to attaining the dream of being their own boss. So, here are my top 5 lessons from my experience.
Curating the Client Experience isn’t a One Size Fits All
When I was first setting up my business, I thought having standard monthly bookkeeping packages with different tiers of service would work for most clients. And then maybe have a couple add-ons available, also. Although there are a lot of similarities with how things like QuickBooks, transactions, and expenses are handled, I quickly discovered that each client is unique and different and my services needed to adjust based on what their needs were.
Whether it’s a non-profit client, an individual, a small business, or a corporation, everyone has different ways of handling their business. The range of requests and needs were more vastly diverse than I was expecting. I really needed to hone in and figure out how to curate the best client experience for each client and where they were with their business. And as a business grows, I have to remember to make adjustments. This was a big part of my learning curve. It’s still good to have a baseline starting point to work off of. But, be flexible in how you offer your services so that you can meet their needs, as long as it is still in line with your vision for your company. A side tip to remember: Just because everyone can be your client, doesn’t mean they should.
What You Say Will be Taken Out of Context
Do you ever accidentally assume people can read your mind, when clearly they can’t? Yeah, I do too. I sometimes think I am being very clear about something, but someone will take it out of context or misunderstand me.That goes both ways, too! I can easily take things out of context, as well. This isn’t necessarily me doing something wrong or them doing something wrong. It is just a neutral fact. It just happens!
People's brains are often moving so quickly and on to the next thing that they don't necessarily catch everything you say. So, I have had to work on being super clear and say exactly the right thing when I am having a conversation or a meeting, but more importantly, in my emails.
For example, if I have a client check-in meeting, I am careful to verbalize what needs to be communicated, but then I follow up with an email to make sure that what I’m saying to them is really landing.
In the meetings, we are often talking about a wide variety of topics that are happening within their business. Thoughts tend to bounce around from here, to there, and back again, and it’s hard to tell if someone is really getting what you are saying sometimes. So, that’s why I always love to follow a meeting up with an email to recap what was discussed. That way I can make sure everyone’s on the same page. It’s hugely important in the business world to have things in writting.
People are More Concerned About Themselves Than They Are of You
Before I started my own business, I was working in a very corporate environment. Even though they were nonprofit companies, they were very large nonprofits and there were a lot of systems, structures, and deadlines to be followed and met. I was working within the confines of a deadline driven environment.
When I actually started my own business, I still had that deadline mindset, knowing that is what I needed to do to make sure that everything was running smoothly. I had self-imposed deadlines and I used Asana to make sure I stayed on top of things. Because in bookkeeping, there are always weekly or bi-weekly tasks to be done and of course monthly and quarterly deadlines to remember. Keeping track of all those different deadlines with different clients is really challenging. That’s why Asana has really been a lifesaver for me.
So, when I say that people are more concerned about themselves than they are of you, specifically in this context, what I am saying is that they aren’t going to pay attention or be concerned with your deadlines. They are too concerned about their own deadlines that need to be met. It’s important to get on the same page with your client about their schedules. I may have made a self-imposed deadline, but if my client is on vacation for a week and can’t get back to me within a couple weeks, I may have to make some major adjustments. I have had to learn that in order to stay on top of my deadlines, I need to be concerned about my clients deadlines and schedules as well.
For example, with my nonprofit clients, I find it helpful to know when their board meetings are. Because that’s usually when they will go over the finances. And, generally, they want the financial reports a week or two before the board meeting. So, if I know when the meeting is, I can set a deadline to have their work done a week or two prior.
Planning is the Most Important Thing I Can Do
At the beginning of every year, I like to plan out what I want the first quarter to look like and what I know is going to happen, or needs to happen. In a perfect world, I would be able to follow that plan consistently, but it doesn’t ever happen exactly as I planned. New things come into play, some things get taken away, and there are always outside influences that affect the trajectory of my goals for the whole year.
Does that mean it’s not worth planning? NO! Having short term and long term plans and goals is essential to running a business well. Otherwise, you don’t have direction and are just floundering. As the saying goes, “Failing to plan, is planning to fail.” So, make those plans and goals! But, this is important… You have to remember to be flexible and versatile with those plans. You will have times where you need to make adjustments to your timeline, or reassess what the endgame will look like, or completely pivot to something else. Flexibility and planning have to work in tandem. So, put down those three month, one year and five year plans and goals. But, remain open for adjustments.
There is More to Life Than Client Work
This was probably the hardest lesson for me to learn, but also the most important. Yes, the client work pays for my business and my contractors and the bills. Yes, it is important to take care of my clients. But, is there more in my life than client work? Yes! Of course there is! And if there isn’t, there needs to be.
For the longest time, I really put client work first in my life ahead of everything else. At the time, I was also working another 9-5, Monday through Friday job, so I would fit client work in every gap I could. During lunch breaks, after work, on weekends, late nights and early mornings. That did NOT lend well to a good work/life balance.
Whether you are just starting your business, or you have been doing it awhile, it is absolutely essential to the health of your business as well as your own health, to keep the mindset of a healthy work/life balance. Of course there will be times when you have to push a little harder than others, but keeping those times short and having a break right after is important. If you don’t maintain a healthy balance it will take a toll on every aspect of your business and life.
The best way to make sure you are maintaining that balance is by setting boundaries. It has taken me a few years to slowly work my way into this more healthy mindset. It is definitely an untangling that needs to happen for some of us, but giving yourself hard boundaries is the perfect place to start.
An example would be, having set office hours that you stick to. Like working Monday through Friday, 10-5. At 5, literally or figuratively, turn off the lights and lock the door. Anything after that can wait until the next day when you are back at your desk. I guarantee, implementing those types of boundaries will have such a positive impact in the long run.
My last point on this is huge… TAKE VACATIONS! You need an extended time off from work every so often when you can unwind, refresh, and reflect. When you get out of the day to day grind, it reboots your system. You may even find yourself having epiphanies of things that you can change or implement for your business while you are lounging on the beach or hot tub. But, save those for when you get back and resume relaxation. When you get back to your office, you will probably find yourself more alert and energetic and ready to tackle whatever comes next.
I hope one or more of these hard learned lessons from my life can help alleviate some of the rough spots in your journey. No one said being a business owner was an easy path. But, if done with the right motivations, methods, and mindsets, the hard work is absolutely worth it. Just remember why you are doing it. If you are like most, a big reason is for the freedom to say… “You know what, I think I am going to take a vacation. And I don’t need anyone’s permission.”
Best of luck on your journey and in your ventures!
