What I've Learned After 10 Years of Business
Running a business for over 10 years has forced me to work through many things I didn’t expect. I’ve learned a lot about how to work with people, and about myself. I knew the work would be rewarding, but doing client work and working ON the business are two very different things. Building solid systems and habits within the business ultimately allows you to produce better work.
1. Being Available All the Time Isn’t Productive
When I first started my company, I essentially worked when my client’s wanted me to work. That meant days, evenings, and weekends. That, my friends, lead to mediocre work, burn out and being resentful of demanding clients. Admittedly, that was my fault, because I didn’t create the boundary. I allowed my clients to think that I was available to them at any time of day like an on-call emergency room nurse.
I knew I needed to change things in order to enjoy design again, have better client relationships and to produce the work I knew I was capable of doing. Once I got good at maintaining client boundaries, everything changed in my business for the better. My clients actually love that efficiency and organization are top priorities, my firm produces great work, and I can be more productive which makes me happy. Now I’ve made it a habit of creating boundaries from the very beginning, even before someone becomes a client.
2. Managing a Team is Challenging
My team is the best I could ask for, honestly. They actively try to help me stay sane, they have allowed me to keep our clients happy, they get very upset with me when I don’t take my vacation days, and they get along so well it’s sort of unreal. But as someone who worked alone for 6 years before hiring a team, management is a completely different ballgame.
You learn a lot about yourself, the importance of systems, and the challenges associated with being clear about your expectations. As a control freak, the toughest part for me is still letting go and trusting my team to take things off my plate. I need to consciously make sure I’m delegating enough work so we can keep projects moving as efficiently as possible.
3. You’ll Need to Built Your Group of “Business Owner Friends”
Most don’t realize that entrepreneurship can be a very lonely place—there are times where non-business owners are not going to understand your struggles as an entrepreneur, no matter how hard they try to empathize with you.
If you are a business owner and haven’t already, find your group of entrepreneur friends. At the very least, conversations with those in the same boat with confirm you’re not nuts. I have run into so many challenges over the past 10 years that I never considered. For a while, I just thought I was doing everything wrong. Turns out that no matter what field you’re in, a lot of challenges are universal. Five years ago, I found Wellstruck and it’s resulted in my business growing exponentially and finding a core group of colleagues that have become amazing friends.
4. Looking at the Numbers will Force you to Improve your Business
I used to hate looking at the numbers. It felt icky and it stressed me out. I didn’t actually take a hard look at revenue, expenses and profit until I worked with my first business coach. And guess what, that’s the year I doubled my revenue from the previous year.
Looking at the numbers helped me realize that what I was charging for my expertise wasn’t sustainable. I’m fortunate to love what I do, but my job needs to allow my team and I to build the lives outside of work. Numbers don’t lie. They will tell you if your company is profitable (or not), and ultimately highlight things that need to change, so that you don’t go out of business.
5. Follow Your Gut
It’s so weird that sometimes your gut will tell you things that your brain hasn’t quite processed yet. The times I’ve ignored my gut I’ve absolutely regretted it. If alarms are going off when you correspond with someone, whether that be a prospective colleague or a client, it’s likely for good reason. Don’t rush into anything. Stop and evaluate the situation to figure out how to move forward in a way that you feel comfortable, or leave the situation altogether.
Take Advantage of Your Resources
Working with more seasoned business owners has given me so much insight in how to grow my own business. I’ve learned different things from every mentor, coach and fellow business owner I’ve interacted with. Many business owners, like myself, want newer entrepreneurs to succeed and avoid a lot of the challenges that they had. That’s why I now offer 1:1 Pick My Brain sessions, so you can get some insight on what you can do to make your business work for you.