3 Things to Avoid When You're Starting Your Business
As someone who has worn many different biz hats in the process of my entrepreneurial journey, I know what it’s like to be seriously amped the fuck in the early stages of launching a new passion project, birthing your next biz baby or pivoting the direction of your current business.
It can be nerve-wracking, exciting, exhilarating, stressful, #AllTheThings.
Maybe you want to launch a new product you’re obsessed with, you want to step into a new business venture, or you want to move in an entirely new direction.
Maybe you want to pivot from MLM to coaching. Maybe you’re a fitness coach that’s sooo done with that shit and you’re ready to take on the spirituality world.
Or maybe you’re a baby grape that is ready to fucking #dothething already and start that online business you’ve always dreamed of. Whatever the case, wherever you are at in your journey, whichever of these above scenarios rings the most true to you - it’s all a very similar process, with similar challenges, emotions and pitfalls.
It’s all you can think about… you’re daydreaming constantly about new ideas or directions you can take…you’re filled with inspiration and passion… you’re so obsessed by this new venture, product or idea that you live and breathe it. You are consumed by it.
Ahhh, nothing is more exciting than the process of birthing your new baby!
But, slayers, just like a real human baby, it’s not always all sunshine and unicorn farts (and I fucking love my kids more than life itself, but the mom’s out there will feel me on this one).
As exciting and wonderful as birthing your biz baby can be - it can also keep you up all hours of the night, drain your finances and force you to deal with shit constantly exploding in your face (lol although fortunately it’s not the literal kind).
Because I’ve been-there-done-that-bought-the-motherfucking-T-shirt, it’s safe to say I know a *thing or two* about the most important things to be avoiding when you’re birthing your new biz baby, launching a new direction or pivoting your current biz.
Today I’m going to share 3 of the things that I talked about in my latest podcast episode (I share 3 more juicy and equally important things, so make sure to go check it out when you're done reading). Listen up, slayers, because I’m going to save you all a lot of heartache, effort and late nights filled with anxious bottles of wine.
But first thing’s first, before we go any further - cause if you don’t have this in place, it’s kinda like expecting a miraculous conception to take place (ya, not fucking likely)….
You have to decide - no matter what - that whatever you’re trying to do is going to fucking work because you fucking love it so much and are ready to throw everything you’ve got at it.
Not throw a hissy fit and quit after 5 minutes because your post didn’t get 500 likes. Not bail the minute things get hard or you have to get some skin in the game. The entrepreneurial game is no joke, slayers, you’ve gotta #HardenTheFuckUp and be prepared to push yourself to places you’ve never been before. And nobody is going to be looking over your shoulder doing it for you.
So if you don’t have this ambition, this drive, and this passion for your baby from the get go, then you might as well just stop right now and save yourself the effort.
Go find something else that lights you the fuck up.
But if you do have this level of commitment, you are ready to do what it takes and this thing’s head is beginning to crown - ‘somebody get a nurse!’ - then we may proceed with the list of things that you need to avoid when you’re birthing your biz baby…
What to Avoid When Birthing Your Business:
Selling more than you serve
This one is pretty simple, slayers, but when you’re coming out of the gates with your new venture/biz/product/idea/direction, do not jump straight in and start selling to your audience.
Do not announce your brand new biz and then the next day, drop a freebie or an opt-in page. Seriously. Your audience will just be like, ‘Ummm.. sorry… what? Who are you and why are you up in my face trying to sell me some shit?’
Your first and only motive when you are in the early stages of birthing your biz baby is to be serving with everything that you do. You want to be breadcrumbing your audience with a taste of what is coming, through stories, free content, tips, tricks and advice.
You want to be getting them excited, wondering ‘oooh I wonder where she’s going with all of this’. Think of this step as the necessary foreplay with your audience.
You are establishing yourself as the expert here and giving some actual value, instead of just seeing your audience as dollar signs.
Selling without serving is inauthentic and it’s gross, your peeps will smell that shit from a mile away. Which means you won’t be making any sales.
You do not need to worry about ‘yeah but where’s the money gonna come from?’ cause right now that shouldn’t even be on your mind - the money will always come if you’re passionate and you’re helping people. People will see you out there, spreading love and value, talking about the thing you’re so passionate about and that energy itself will draw the clients, the money, the following to you. The energy you put out will come back to you… it’s one of the laws of the universe.
And while you’re out there, giving free value and content and tips and tricks and establishing yourself as the expert, make sure you also avoid…
Selling yourself short
I am fully giving you permission (in fact, I am stepping that up so it’s a direct order) to brag. And FYI, you can use the humble brag without sounding like an asshole, for those of you who are terrified of coming across like that jerk on the internet that totally fucking self obsessed (we all know one of those). If you wanna know what ‘humble bragging’ is or how to master this skill, I teach this in my ‘Slay Your Stories’ freebie which you can find here on my website.
You need to get across to your people why you’re a big deal, without sounding like Ron Burgundy in Anchorman (“I have many leather bound books and my apartment smells like rich mahogany”). Your audience needs to hear your rags to riches story. They want to hear your vulnerability, your truth. Tell your stories about why you are doing it but please, for fuckssake, do not fall into the trap that most people do and sell yourself short.
You are more qualified than you’re giving yourself credit for. If you’re called to serve, then you’re qualified.
Even if you’ve not been in your biz long, you still have your degree at the University of Life under your belt. I’m sure you also have a bunch of experience you haven't yet considered in other jobs you’ve had in the past which totally makes you more qualified than some other jerk who is hitting their first 10k month as we speak because they have zero issues with talking a big game and bringing their leather bound books and mahogany smelling apartment into every conversation (#truthbomb).
And if you’re reeeeally struggling with this one cause your self esteem is low, then please go away for me right this second and write a list of 10 reasons why you’re qualified to do this work - what makes you a big fucking deal. Cause you need to believe this, boo.
And then bring your cute butt back here, and continue on with this list, cause I’m about to bring this shit home…
Waiting for everything to be perfect
Stop waiting for everything to be perfectly in place before you can make money.
Fucking stop it. Seriously. I need that to sink in.
Stop thinking that you need to do XYZ before you make your first 10k month. #Realtalk slayers, I made my first 10k month well before I even had a website. You don’t need the perfect website, the perfect headshots, the 10k followers, the whateverthefuck you think you need to have before you go live with this shit.
You literally just need a ‘buy’ button on Paypal or Stripe.
And your legal shit worked out. That’s it.
If you’re a coach or service professional then you probably want a booking platform or calendar system that your people can book in with you as well, but again, it’s not essential. You just need a way to get paid and a way to protect yourself legally. That’s it.
Focus and dedicate on just taking action, messy, imperfect action.
Don’t overthink shit. Don’t overcomplicate it.
If you can nail these three simple things; if you are willing to serve and help, if you are believing in yourself and sharing why you are awesome and totally fucking qualified, if you are consistently taking action, if you are keeping things uncomplicated and you are remaining patient and dedicated…. then you really can’t fuck it up.
The thing is, slayers, it’s tempting to think that shit will just blow up for you overnight and become impatient and want to give up if it doesn’t. But unfortunately that’s just not the reality of how this entrepreneurial shiz goes (for most people, anyway). You’ve gotta stick it out, stay consistent and trust that it will happen. Show up every day, without expectation of results. Whether five people or fifty people are watching you - it doesn’t matter, you just need to keep going, keep standing up for what you believe in and keep serving just to fucking serve, sista.
I promise you that if you do this you will get there eventually… but for those of you who are really looking to accelerate their process, starting out in a new niche or wanting to scale to 10k+ like, yesterday lol, then the waitlist for my next round of my most popular offer, Slay Your Business - Fast Track Program is now open. And for the next little while you get $500 off! You can do it alone, or you can do it with me in your corner.
