Mistake #1 | Being a DIY Daisy

The entrepreneurial path is a tough one. Not investing in yourself & deciding to do it ALL myself really cost me time – and in the long term Money + my mental health. Even if you don’t have the funds to outsource right away, look for others that may be interested in a services or product swamp.

Mistake #2 | Not Getting Organized

I don’t just mean in business, but also in actual life. I started my design biz in the midst of a divorce, & a big school change for my only child. Not having to be stressed that I was somehow dropping the ball in other areas of my life left my brain free for creative expression & focusing on my business when I had the time to rather than living in stress-mode.

To organize my life & business I use & love ClickUp, check this blog insight for a brief overview of all the ways ClickUp can destress your life! From managing lists like my grocery list to my monthly meal plan & monthly budget to managing tasks specific for my clients, projects, or my own business growth. I even use it to track my business goals broken down into daily tasks so I know I’m pushing the needle forward on tasks that will help me accomplish my monthly/quarterly/yearly goals!

Mistake #3 | being Perfectionista patty

Perfection. It’s truly the enemy of progress. Progress over perfection. You can’t know that your ads won’t convert until you start running them. Of course try your best, always but be sure that as you strive for your best while ensuring that you aren’t impeding your own progress. Is it important for your website to look professional? Absolutely. But to spend hours redoing a website that is fine (it’s there right?) rather than writing content to drive people to that site is where the mistake lies. Let’s be real totally legitimate businesses ranking in the dough sometimes don’t even have websites. I’ve come across successful coaches with only an Instagram or Facebook page. Of course once you have your feet wet, invest in your business with authentic & professional web design, but when we are just starting out it’s easy to compare ourselves & the current chapter of our life story we’re on to someone whose way further along in their journeys. You’re on chapter 1 or 2 don’t hold yourself to the expectation of someone who’s in their chapter 10 or even starting their book 2, you’ll only let yourself down. I do yoga everyday, if I were constantly judging myself against the yoga teacher I would feel like crap about myself & my efforts. But remembering that she’s the teacher for a reason & I’m the student for a reason gives me the grace & space to show up in the best way I can.

Mistake #4 | Thinking you have to do ALL the things.

It’s easy with so many experts in your face saying do this & that to be successful, to lose your own inner guidance. Remember your why for starting your business & remember that it’s YOURS. While such & such tactic may have worked for this other person, but you’re not living their journey, this is yours. The whole point of starting a business is to design a business you love, one that you don’t need a vacation from, but if you get caught up in running it in all the ways that everyone else tells you to you’ll find you have no more freedom than you did before you became an entrepreneur. The steps that are meant for you are ones that feel good to you. Ones that you can stand behind. If you’re dreading writing that Instagram post every day or are just doing it because social media sally told you to in order to have a successful business your actions will only backfire. It doesn’t serve you, your business nor your audience to only show up from a “have to” energy rather than a “get-to” energy. Look to serve in the ways that feel good for you. What matters is putting yourself out there. When something doesn’t feel right, lean into & ask yourself honestly why is that you feel like an imposter? Then get to work on that first! Check this blog insight: Imposter Syndrome Cured | 8 Simple Steps to Being Confident in Life & Business.

Mistake #5 | Profiting & not re-investing

Reinvest into your business. Pay yourself, then reinvest the rest whether in courses, tech, tools, outsourcing tasks, etc. Be a boss at this, decide on what your monthly pay will be then everything after put it back into your business. Remember where attention goes, energy flows.

Mistake #5 | expectation of success

Expect to fail. Life is all about experiences. The ones that propel us forward are the ones that don’t usually go the way we thought they would. The reality is we learn more from failing than from success. Fail hard, fail often. Train yourself to see failures as nothing more than learning opportunities & success will inevitably find you.