5 Things I've learned after almost 3 years in business.

I honestly can't even believe it's been almost 3 years.  I remember sitting with my friends when the idea to turn a hobby into a business came about and saying to my roommate later that evening "don't let me fall asleep to this idea".  In other words, don't let me give up on this dream.

I'm notorious for that!  Having great vision but absolutely horrrribleeee execution.  Anyone else feel me on this?  Even starting a small, simple blog like this has been a dream 3 years in the making!  Alas, better late than never.

So here they are.  Five things I've learned after almost 3 years in business. 

 1. You will never be 100% ready or know everything there is to know when you start your business.

Sure, there are certain things that you DO need to know and have prepared before you launch (especially if you are a food based business such as licensing, health department approval, etc.) but if you're anything like me you'll never feel 100% ready to take the leap.  So do all that you can to prepare as much as you can and then trust the process and learn along the way!

2.  Don't make Instagram your entire marketing strategy. 

 Instagram is where I started building my business, but only because I was clueless about other ways to market my business.  Instagram is now just one small part.  I'm also a part of various networking groups and publications that have really helped get my name out there.  

3.  Start email marketing immediately and foster and grow your email list.

To go along with not making Instagram your entire marketing strategy, developing an email list is something I wish I would've done from the start!  I would now have 3 years worth of time developing and cultivating an email list instead of just 1 year.  Email marketing has been a game changer for me and my business and really helps to keep my name at the top of mind for my customers and email subscribers.

4.  Learn how to analyze your business week by week, month by month, and year by year.

Something else I did not know how to do at all was learn where my money went each month!  If you had asked me even a year and a half ago "how much money did you spend on cheese last month" I would've had to just guess.  I wasn't good at making this a habit in order to continue to grow my profit.  I'll have some resources listed at the bottom of this page to help with this.  

5.  Don't give up when you have a slow season.  Create a plan and stick to it.

I'll be honest with you, the beginning of 2023 almost had me giving up on my business.  I didn't know if I was going to make it through January and February.  I knew that these first two months of the year were notoriously slow but I didn't think they would be THAT slow.  But what got me through was not only the community of business people I surround myself with but also the sales plan I created at the beginning of this year.  I accounted for the fact that the first two months would be slow and I knew I would make up for it in later busier months.  And when I was in the middle of that slow season I had to constantly look at the plan and remind myself that this was just that; a season.  Seasons change.  Stick to the plan.

My favorite business resources:

Marketing:

SocialSam 

MyaNichol

Brock Johnson

The Scout Guide (look up your city's TSG!  Highly highly recommend)

Flodesk

Mailchimp

Business Coaching/Sales Strategy:

Edit Evergreen

BoardsbyMo

Bookkeeping/Finances/software:

Kirsti Dory

Quickbooks

Her First 100k

Honeybook

Shopify

Books to read:

The Financial Feminist by Tori Dunlap

We Should all be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers

The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

Badass Habits by Jen Sincero

Podcasts to listen to:

The Financial Feminist

The Heart and Hustle Podcast

Goal Digger