Birthing my business was the most electric and exciting time, every spare moment and many late nights were spent piecing it together and bringing it to life.

As much as I believe that there are no mistakes and everything happens for a reason, there were definitely lessons that may help you avoid some of the mistakes I made in the start up and early days of business.

1. Trust your intuition.

Owning my own business has been a dream of mine for a very long time, the desire to make a difference in the world has been with me since childhood. I have made a lot of people very wealthy and changed how people feel about themselves my entire career. I gathered material, researched and created the vision my entire working life… before computers, I dedicated an entire section in my laundry cupboard to marketing material that resonated with me, coaching materials I had studied and learnt, newspaper clippings, ideas, thoughts and concepts. It was bursting at the seams!

In the beginning I followed the breadcrumbs, I sorta-kinda knew the vision, but I the steps in between I had no clue. I had been running successful businesses for years, but business was changing in a very big way 10 years ago. In the beginning you are so open and so pumped sometimes you jump in and say yes at every opportunity. I said yes to a business partnership because I thought we would balance each other out and bring something different to the table. I knew very quickly that it was the wrong decision as doubts were creeping into my awareness.

I didn’t listen and I put it down to being a startup and teething problems. Business partnerships aren’t wrong, however you need to think about some things to ensure it’s right for all parties.

• Make sure your values are aligned, business and personal, as well as your working values.
• You both have to be fully invested, whereby you are both working equal amounts within the business. (Unless other arrangements have been discussed and agreed upon)
• Open communication and mutual respect.
• A clear outline with job roles and expectations of each other.

2. Don’t get swept away in perfection.

For years I carried “perfectionism” like it was a badge of honour, until I realised it stops you from moving forward. A mentor once said, “Perfection is the poison of all possibility.”

Nothing is ever done or perfect and the sooner we realise that the better, don’t wait to increase your range, sell this, do this, add this or tweak this to start sharing your message. Get it out there. It’s not a case of build it and they will come, have you noticed how much noise, websites and businesses are out there?

3. Doing things differently when you don’t have to.

So many times I did things differently because I didn’t want to be like everyone else. Yes, you MUST be unique in business and practice deeply authentic business, however when it comes to some things… it is done that way for a reason.

For example, my first website cost me a ridiculous amount of money and we got swept up in the whole “design and look”. What happened? It didn’t rank because it had so many “bells and whistles” search engines couldn’t recognise the content. Not to mention the “user experience”, they had to click through about 3 different pages before they even seen a product. (Bare in mind this was 10 years ago and the web was a very different place.)

The customer experience is EVERYTHING in business. Yes, make it amazing however, we also need to create it in a way that serves them and in a way that is aligned their needs.

4. Doing things the same as everybody else when you shouldn’t be.

I had no idea about marketing and yet I had to learn very quickly, because all those people who said “Oh yeah, I would buy that.” …. Wont.

We did all the “traditional” things to market a business and we were just adding to the noise, and trying to speak to everybody.

Narrow down your audience and target market and speak to them in a way that no one else is doing. Don’t wait for them to come to you, go and find them. I became so proactive in my business and when I spoke to the right people it transformed my business.

5. Passion and persistence pay off.

Don’t give up at the first hurdle because there will be many, the universe will test you and how you respond is crucial. Stay positive, look for the lesson and move on. Try and try again, trust the flow and your vision. Keep going and if your hand is too tightly on the pulse and you can’t see clearly, get help! We all need it and it will be the best thing you will do for your sanity and your business.

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