5 Essentials to Starting a Business

Hello, hello!

It’s been a minute since I did a post on building a business, and hey, that’s what I came here to do… so I’d better get cracking!

Recently I’ve had a few women approach me (whether it be an old friend, an Instagram follower, or a client), and just want to sit down and ask questions.

Where did you start?

How do you brand yourself?

How do I scale?

What is the next step?

These are just a few questions that these wonderful women came to me with.  Although I am no expert, I feel like I have a semi-functioning business and that I do have *something* to offer them.

It was then I realized that my efforts are naturally going to slide to consulting.  Right now I’m very much in the learning, gathering, and resume building stage… and I feel like I’ll be here for another 5 years. However, the skills I’m fostering and the knowledge I’m collecting is all building towards that “next thing.”

You think that an executive at a large accounting firm is getting paid half a mill to just “do better spreadsheets than their peers?” No.  They are paid for decision making, advising, leadership, and experience. Large companies are making hundreds of little choices that make big differences, and they’ll pay top dollar to make sure that the right ones are made.

So, this brings me back to these women and their questions.

When you’re starting out, here are a few things I think are absolute necessities when starting a business:

ONE : TESTING

Do you think a pilot just starts out by flying a 747 with 300 people on it? No. They start small. They start with simulations. They start by researching and practicing.  They start by experimenting with situations and solutions. They practice. If you want to start a salon, don’t go to the bank and ask for $50,000 and sign a lease to a huge space.  Maybe practice doing friends in your house or apartment for 6 months, build a clientele, make sure you like it!  There are some businesses that need an initial investment to get started, and you can’t get away from it.  If you want to do Botox, you’re going to need to get licensed, right? Well, take some time to call up, interview, or meet for coffee with someone who does it. Ask them about the pros and cons. Gee, didn’t know about the lawsuits? Maybe you want to rethink it. Don’t have the start up money? Start to save it.  The worst possible situation for a new business owner is simply to jump in too deep. Test the waters, dip your feet in, start with floaties.

TWO : BRANDING

Branding is not just Nike’s check mark symbol.  I want to make something clear.  A logo is not your brand.  A brand is much more than that.  It’s a mission statement. It’s textures and colors and vibes. It’s a target market. It’s the goal of the product. It is stable, yet ever changing and evolving… more and more into the vision of its creator.  If you don’t know your purpose, then you won’t get far.  People want to trust that your business does what it says it does.  They are here to build a relationship with you and your product or service, not just hit it and quit it.

I’d suggest making a list of brands you love. Make a list of emotions, words, phrases, and styles that come to mind.

THREE : START SMALL

“Think Big,” they said. It would be huge, they said.

You don’t have a viral video to spark your fame, like Kim Kardashian.All you have is an idea, a skill, and a passion.  Start by investing in a few really good clients, going the extra mile, and doing the things that eventually won’t scale. (Thanks Gary Vee, for the tip). If you can’t handle doing hair for more than 2 hours straight, maybe beauty school isn’t for you.  If you only like doing makeup on flawless acne-free faces, maybe makeup at Nordstrom isn’t for you. The only way to know is to start small and inch forward.  Learn from your baby mistakes while they’re baby mistakes.

FOUR : SEEK GUIDANCE

Rome wasn’t built in a day… but it also wasn’t built by one person.  When Cleopatra lived, the pyramids had been around for some thousands of years (crazy, huh?).Do you think she started from scratch when she wanted to build more?  Here’s the thing. Whatever you’re doing or going to start doing… it’s already been done a million times. Unless you’re trying to build a start up that will blow up into millions of dollars and customers, you need to look at how you are going to make it work, market, expand, and grow within the confines of your personal relationships! Ask for help. You never know who will be more than happy to meet with you!

FIVE : MARKET

I just read a book called Growth Hacker Marketing.  The focus and point of the book was basically that you shouldn’t market a bad product.Most of your time should be spent on “product-market-fit,” or in other words a badass service or good! If you aren’t good at sewing and the first 5 people you sewed dresses for were super unhappy, either go back to school or find a new hobby.  It’s just my opinion, but if you don’t feel something comes (in the least bit) natural to you… I don’t know if the gig is right for you! If you are having trouble getting business…maybe it isn’t your marketing and exposure; maybe it’s you. Maybe you aren’t in the right space!  It seems harsh, but it’s the reality many people face. 

When it comes to a great product, marketing will be SO much easier.

If you are starting a home business, you need to get over “the ask.” What is “the ask?”That thing you have to do (and sometimes dread doing) where you go around to your friends and family and reach out saying, “hey, I just went to beauty school and I’d love to do your hair for free… tips encouraged!”  This all gets fuzzy in the Multi-level marketing sphere. I dread getting a million facebook notifications from people trying to sell me things that everyone else is trying to sell, but this is not speaking to those folks. I’m talking about people who have their own original trade who want to make it their full time gig!

All in all, the second you start to share your story… people will listen and tell others.  If you feel your clients are happy and there’s a positive SPARK that is kicking off your at-home business, just know that it takes a lot of time, effort, and years of hard work to really have it pay off.

Don’t give up.  Don’t settle.

Do your best work, but also listen to your clients and customers (especially your first ones!) People you know may be the kindest or the most brutally honest, but if they love you… they just want to support you and make you better!

Let me know if you have any questions below!