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Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting A Business
12 Plays4 years ago
In this week's podcast, I discussed things I wish I knew before I started a business. I share my thoughts, my lessons and my mistakes in business.
If you want to send me an email you can email me at [email protected]
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Transcript
Welcome and Purpose of the Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to the Eliana Nita podcast. The podcast created to inform, challenge, and empower you. Now let's get down to business.
Thanksgiving Break and Pandemic Safety
00:00:24
Speaker
Hi, guys. Welcome to the Alion and Nita podcast. I'm your host, Alion, and I am so excited to have you join me for this week's show. I took a break last week because it was Thanksgiving, so I hope that you guys had a wonderful, wonderful holiday. I hope that you were able to spend it safely with family and friends, considering the fact that we're in the middle of a global pandemic. So I hope that all was well and that you all enjoyed your family as much as I
Series Introduction: Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting a Business
00:00:52
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enjoyed mine.
00:00:52
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and just was able to rest and relax. So I didn't record because of that reason, but
00:01:00
Speaker
I do have a podcast this week. So if you have been following along with me, you know that I am in the middle of a series called things I wish I knew before I, and this week I am going to talk about things I wish I knew before I started a business. So if you are familiar with my podcast, you know that I have talked exhaustively about things that I've learned in business and things that I've learned about being in business throughout
00:01:24
Speaker
my journey as an entrepreneur. So I have a bunch of shows and I don't want to go and rehash old notes and just be like, man, here's all the things. So I think I have a bit of new things that I haven't mentioned before on the podcast. So let's hop in.
Defining Success Beyond Financial Gains
00:01:41
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So the first thing I wish that I had have known before I went into business was I wish I had to define what success looks like.
00:01:49
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So for me, when I first started my business, I thought that success was going to be me selling a ton of products, me making a ton of money and me making a mark in the industry. Right. And that is all success. But as a new entrepreneur, that isn't the only success. I wish that I had had wish I had had a real grip on success and like not just money or financial success, but like
00:02:19
Speaker
How am I growing as an entrepreneur? Am I making more impact? Am I staying firm to what I believe in? Is my company representing what I wanted to represent? Am I sticking to my values? To me, all of those things are success. It's very rare, especially as a new business, that you jump out of the gate, you come out of the gate making money.
00:02:44
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I wish that I had a defined success at more than just a dollar amount, but having true success about, I wish I had a defined success as like me having the courage to sell my product at an outdoor event, or me having the courage to promote my company and invest money into advertisement space or whatever.
00:03:11
Speaker
All of those things are success and overcoming fears and overcoming different obstacles are all success. So I wish that I had a great definition of success as I started my company. And what I've learned is that when you have a definition of success, it stops you from comparing yourself to others. So you may look at a business that's been in existence for two or three years, right?
00:03:38
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and they may have numbers, they may have influence, they may have a following, but your company is new and you're coming into the game and you're like trying to get in and you're comparing yourself to a company that's been in existence for a while. And so when you have a definition of success, that stops you from comparing because every single milestone matters when you're counting your milestones and when you actually have a definition of success.
Finding and Excelling in Your Niche
00:04:06
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So I wish that I had that.
00:04:09
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Another thing that I wish I had a new was to find my lane and stay in it. Sometimes we find ourselves trying to follow trends and trying to do what everybody else can do, what everybody else is doing, and how they're doing it to stay on trend and stay in topic. And I do believe that you should be trendy and should be on trends, but
00:04:30
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Um, a lot of the times we find ourselves just swerving in and out of lanes, trying to figure out what works and, or trying to be relevant, not necessarily trying to figure out what works, but just trying to be relevant and trying to be within the end crowd when, in all actuality, what you really need to do is just find your lane and be excellent in that, stay in that vein. And once you know it's yours, like.
00:04:54
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Over time, things will work out for you, you know, I had to learn that like once I found my groove in business I learned that things just happen to work out the way that it should always so finally stay in that.
Starting Small with Excellence and Building a Support System
00:05:09
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The next thing that
00:05:11
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I learned when I was in business, but I wish I had just knew this, this was drilled in me more, was just start small and work with what you have. I did a whole podcast on that about starting with where you at and being excellent on your level and just starting small. So I'm going to link that in the show descriptions, but I just wanted to
00:05:31
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mention that in this podcast is just starting with what you have, even if it's just one product, just be excellent at selling that one product or if it's one service that you offer, be excellent at that and then expand and go from there.
00:05:48
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Another thing that I learned about business is to never do business alone. I don't have a co-founder. I'm the sole owner of my company, but I don't do business alone. Just because I'm the owner doesn't mean that I do it alone. I have a tribe of people that consult me, that I talk to, that I bounce ideas off their head. I have a business coach. I have an attorney. I have a mentor.
00:06:15
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I have friends, I talk to people about different business moves or different business ideas I have and I listen to what they say and I listen to the feedback. A lot of times when people try to do everything on their own, they burn out and they always miss the mark. I didn't want to be that person and I learned that it is so vitally important just for the sanity of you as the owner of the business,
00:06:40
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to have people around you that can pour into you, people that could challenge you, people that can even check you to say, no, you was off on that. It's good to have a balance of people around you so that you can have a successful business. Having a team, I believe that a team, it makes a dream come true and a dream doesn't exist without a team. You need people in your corner
00:07:07
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to really help manage you, engage you as you propel forward, so never do business alone.
Decision Making and Setting Standards
00:07:14
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I also learned that you need to sleep on every decision before you make it. It doesn't matter
00:07:20
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what kind of decision it is, whether it's the color, like if you want to, if you're painting a wall, like it doesn't matter what you're doing. You need to be able to just sleep on every decision because this is your business. It's your, your livelihood is what you're going to make money from. And if you don't have, um,
00:07:41
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a well-balanced decision, or if you don't make a well-balanced decision, you're going to find yourself coming up short every single time. So it is vitally important that you sleep on every decision. Take your time. I did a podcast on this once before where I talked about how somebody wanted to do a business deal with me and they wanted me to make a really rushed, quick decision without me having the time to really think about it.
00:08:09
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And because I slowed down and I was like, hey, let me just have a minute to kind of think this through. They were they was like, you know, you're going to run out of space. You're going to run out of space. You need to hurry up. You need to hurry up. And it was like trying to make me anxious. But it ended up being a very bad business deal. And if I would have took it, I would have been in so much stuff. So I'm glad that I took my time. I'm glad that I had people to bounce the idea off their head to talk to them about and say, hey, what do you think about this?
00:08:38
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And they was able to give me feedback. I was able to make a will, a sound decision, and it ended up turning out good for me. So, as I said, sleep on every decision before you make it. Just take your time. Slow down. Another thing that I learned is
00:08:57
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Don't be afraid to make or set standards for your business. A lot of times people are going to try to manipulate you. They're going to try to talk you out of your prices. They're going to tell you that you're not worth it. They're going to try to make you change, but don't be afraid to set the standards. I don't care if you're a new business or not.
00:09:20
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You need to be able to set a standard and stick to it because if you're offering a service or product and you know that the service of product is excellent, you know that you have put in blood, sweat, and tears, you've done the work, you've mastered your numbers, you looked at how much it's going to cost you to be able to do this and all of these things, right? And you came up with a fair price, whatever your price is. You came up with this price.
00:09:44
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And you made a decision that this is what you're going to charge. Set that standard and don't let anybody move you from it. People are either going to buy it, try it, or leave it. The decision is always theirs. But don't feel like you have to shortchange yourself because people around you or certain people don't want to invest in what you have.
Adapting Businesses During Crises
00:10:08
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Set your standards. If you have a standard, even when working with vendors and different people, like set a standard. If you're going to work with me, if you're going to be a part of what I'm doing, I have a standard of excellence. I have a standard of this, you need to match this or exceed it. Don't be afraid to set these standards just because you're new.
00:10:31
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have your vision, have your thoughts all thought out, and set your standard. Another thing that I learned in business is likes and voices are two different things. So a lot of times we get stuck in comparing ourselves to other companies that have a huge following on Instagram or whatever social media platform it is. And here's the deal.
00:10:56
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You could have a ton of likes, you could have a ton of followers, but they don't matter if they do not convert into dollars. It is companies that I follow that I just enjoy following just because maybe I think that their page is entertaining or maybe it's inspiring, but I have never purchased anything from them. So you can have a ton of followers, but that doesn't mean that you have a ton of money.
00:11:21
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So learn the difference between that. You want to be able to convert your following into customers. You want to be able to convert your following into dollars. So don't get caught up with a ton of people liking other people's page, because it doesn't mean that all of those people are purchasing from them. So always remember that. Likes and follows are not always converted into dollars and cents. Remember that, OK?
00:11:50
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I recently learned this lesson in the middle of this pandemic and it is be willing to reinvent your business as needed. I noticed that a lot of companies had to convert and make a huge shift like packaging companies had to make a quick shift and making bottles for hand sanitizer. There are tons of companies that had to
00:12:15
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stop their whole product production line just to be able to start making hand sanitizer and soap and different paper towels and wet wipes and all of those things to accommodate the current pandemic. And I was going to do a podcast on this later on, but
00:12:34
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It is so vitally important to be able to respond to turn on a dime as the times are needed. I know that a lot of companies did not imagine having to become what they had to become to be able to sustain throughout this pandemic, but so many companies had to make a U-turn or complete shift to be able to accommodate the needs of the current pandemic.
00:12:59
Speaker
You have to be able to be flexible enough where you can make a shift no matter what happens in the world today. And as you've seen, no one knew that this pandemic would hit as hard as it did, but it did. And so many companies had to make an about face and go in a whole different direction that they never imagined having to go into. So be willing to reinvent your company as the times, the demand for it.
Balancing Work, Rest, and Growth Opportunities
00:13:27
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Another thing that I have learned in business is there is a season to grind, there's a season to rest, and there's a season to listen. In this grind, grind, grind culture that we live in, everything's about the grind. Everything is about getting stuff done, being the person that's doing the most, right? But what I've learned is that there are times where you just need to stop.
00:13:50
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And you need to rest and you need to listen and recalibrate and be prepared for the next level or the next move that you need to make. And you can't always do that while you're on the grind, while you're trying to release a new product, while you're trying to offer a new service. Sometimes it's good to just sit still for a minute.
00:14:10
Speaker
And I am big on grinding. I am huge on getting stuff done. But I also know that there is only one me. And if my business depends on my mind and my ability to create, I need to rest my body. I need to rest my mind and I need to recalibrate so that I could come out with the next best thing. So I learned that. And really, honestly, 2020 has really been drilling this in the heart and mind of all of us. It's like,
00:14:40
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Sometimes you just need to sit down and just stop. Like we just need to pause for a minute and just breathe because you need to heal. Your body needs to heal. Your body needs to rest because we've been going. And 2020 has literally brought a lot of us to a complete halt. So just take it easy and know when it's time to grind and know when it's time to rest and know when it's time to listen.
Embracing Failure for Learning and Success
00:15:05
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Another thing that I wish that I had a new when I started my business, and this is my final point, is to embrace failure. A lot of times, I for me personally, I thought that
00:15:22
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having a ton of success was all I needed to be successful in business. And what I ended up learning is you really don't need a bunch of success. You only need one. You only need one really good success that will open up a million doors for you. But it's the failures that teach you everything you need to know so that when you get to success, whatever that is for you, you'll be able to manage it, maintain it, and grow it.
00:15:51
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And that is a hard lesson to learn because failure hurts so bad and it's embarrassing and it's frustrating and you feel like you want to give up and you feel like you want to quit. But the truth of the matter is that it's failure that really
00:16:10
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helps you level up. It's failure that gives you everything that you need. It's failure that shapes you, that matures you, that grows you up. I read this in a magazine before where this lady who became a billionaire, she talked about how she had to become friends with adversity. She had to learn how to become friends with adversity.
00:16:35
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And the truth of the matter is that we harp so much on failures and we make ourselves feel terrible because we failed, but really you're just learning. That's all you're doing is just gaining wisdom so that as you gain this wisdom and go forward, you'll be able to walk easier into success. And remember, you only need one success. You only really need to have one good win.
00:17:01
Speaker
and that will sustain you for the longevity of your company. I say this to you and I'm saying this to me, is that embracing failure and having failures is a part of every success story. Warren Buffett does not even invest in a company unless they fail three times. That says that it is something very significant in failure.
00:17:28
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It's some lessons that you need to learn in failure. So I'm not saying just make a ton of mistakes and just go out there and just do crazy stuff. But what I am saying is don't beat yourself up because you've made a mistake or you failed at something because we all have. So embrace your failures so that you can get the win that you want.
Episode Conclusion and Next Episode Teaser
00:17:49
Speaker
And those are my things that I've learned, the things that I wish that I had a new before I went into business. And so I hope that you guys enjoyed this podcast. Next week, I am going to end this series with the thing that I wish I knew, which I think is gonna be really, really good. So if you enjoy this podcast, make sure you share with your friends and your family, your followers, everybody. Leave me a five-star rating if you enjoy this podcast as well.
00:18:18
Speaker
And as always guys, stay blessed and be relevant.