Heyo friends!! I am SO excited to chat about this topic with you! If you’ve been listening to us since the get-go, you know that Audra has been in the entrepreneurship space for 10 years and (Francesca here!) I’m just about reaching my year and a half mark! I love that we’ve teamed up to chat business with you because you can really get a sense of the beginning of a journey and someone who’s a bit of a pro!
But today, we want to step up our game for all of the dreamers out there who have debated starting a business, primarily a creative business. And show you what the first year of your business will look like mentally and emotionally.
We also want to hear from you!! We love chatting about mindset and growth on this podcast! But if you’re looking for a deeper dive into some of these business topics, like financial planning, legalities, leadership, client service - send us a message! We’re here to serve YOU!
But for today, we’re chatting all about an entrepreneurship mindset and what 5 things you NEED to get you through your first year in business!
HERE’S OUR TOP 5:
1. The unrelenting dream
So the first thing you’re going to need is a dream. Uh, DUH! Right? But I’m not talking about any plain ol’ dream. When you decide to become an entrepreneur, a dream is placed on your heart. And if you are an entrepreneur, you know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s like this dream has chosen you and as hard as you try to ignore it, you can’t. I call this the “unrelenting dream” - I’ve also heard this referred to as “sacred rage” because it is something that fires you up SO much.
I’ve chatted about bits of my story on here before, but to give you guys a timeline - I first started daydreaming about owning a photography company in 2011, during a high school film photography class. Fast forward 7 years, LOTS of learning, and I finally decided to take the leap and go for it. I went off to college, debated dropping out of college, working at a handful of other companies, until I realized that this dream was not going to go away. I needed to TAKE ACTION.
So my advice to you - is keep leaning into it. That dream of yours, that is fueling your soul but you’re ignoring it because it isn’t practical or you don’t have everything figured out yet - JUST LEAN INTO IT! You don’t have to have everything figured out yet, just take the NEXT BEST STEP.
2. An Arsenal of Resources
How many of us have made a new year's resolution and then 2 weeks in we’re right back to where we started, our inspiration lost? This lesson comes from an idea similar to that concept. Motivation comes and goes. You can be super fired up one day and then “eh” about the same goal the next day. We still want the same end goal, but our motivation to put in the work is lacking. Right? It’s human nature, we all have days where we feel off.
This is where an arsenal of resources really pays off. This “arsenal” so to speak helps us avoid stagnancy in our off days. These are tools that we can use, call upon or integrate into our schedule to make sure we’re still moving the needle forward on our goals. For me in the wedding industry, this looked like developing a network with other wedding professionals, speaking/assisting other wedding photographers, scheduling time to take classes or listen to webinars or investing in courses.
And honestly you guys, having an arsenal of resources is amazing with every goal you’re trying to tackle! Audra first introduced this to me when we were chatting about confidence - remember episode #2? She writes handwritten notes with every MK order she sends out and they all include something so personal and unique to the person who’s receiving the note/gift. She loves to provide an ARSENAL of tools so that when women put on their makeup each day or go throughout their house, they’re reminded by these little notes that make them uniquely them.
3. The Power of Consistency
The Rule of 5 is a concept I learned from leadership coach, John Maxwell, and it goes like this!
There’s a tree in your backyard that you’d like to cut down. So, you grab an ax! Every day you go outside, hit the tree with the ax 5 times, and then walk away. The next day, you hit the tree with the ax 5 times and then walk away. And then again the following day, you hit the tree with the ax 5 times and then walk away. You don’t hit the tree 15 times some days or 2 times other days. Every single day you hit the tree with the ax 5 times. It doesn’t matter if you hit it left handed or right handed or in the morning versus the evening – you just hit it 5 times each day.
John Maxwell then asks us, “what will eventually happen to the tree?” It’ll fall down. DUH! Right? Without a question, eventually the tree will fall down. It might be a really big tree that’ll take 3 years to fall down, but eventually it’ll fall.
The rule of five basically says, find your tree. And determine the 5 things you can do everyday to get closer to knocking it down. Whether that’s starting a company, passing a test, - whatever your “TREE” is, how are you going to knock it down? Be consistent and you’ll find success – without a doubt.
4. Think Big Picture
As with most things on this podcast, I’ve turned to Lizzo for inspiration on this one!
Lizzo’s music career began while playing the flute for her high school marching band.
Slowly, she started to put herself in the same space as other talented artists. She went on to collaborate with TONS of artists, including Prince, Clean Bandit and Bastille, prior to being known for her solo career.
She released her debut album in 2013.
“Good as Hell” came out in 2017 but didn’t hit the charts until 2019.
You guys, Lizzo’s net worth is over 10 MILLION now. We all have the power inside of us to do something great.
I know it’s cheeky and we’ve heard it as little kids - but the saying, you can do anything as long as you set your mind to it - is REAL! The only difference between starting your business and being successful in your business is NOT GIVING UP! Keep trying. Even when it’s hard, even when it’s messy, even when you don’t know what’s next, even when you need to pivot because there’s an international pandemic. Keep going. Keep moving forward.
5. Grace. Always. In everything.
We talk about grace a LOT on this podcast. And if I’m honest, this is still something I work on every day.
You’re not going to sit down on the first day of starting your own company and be amazing at it. Not every day is a walk in the park, it’s hard work. This has been the hardest year of my life. But I’m always learning and I’m continually getting better.
In this world of social media, there are TOO many people to compare ourselves too - do not be hardened when you see other people doing what you want to do with your life. That only shows you that it can be done. You are your superpower when being an entrepreneur - because at the end of the day, 10 people can be selling the SAME product but only YOU are the one selling yours.
You are your biggest strength. Failure is okay - it’s necessary.
SO keep your head up and just keep going.