What 1 year in business can teach

I still remember the day I decided to resign from my job -?the fear, the mix of emotions running through my mind, the adrenaline running on my body. Seems a bit exaggerated but the truth is that we’re born and taught that this is the way to make a living. So, when we let go of this idea, it’s a huge change of beliefs. That’s it. It shakes you like a blender. Everything you believed was true, suddenly it’s not anymore. It’s just what we are taught to do and what everybody does, so when you decide to go against the flow, it’s natural to have questions, doubts, fears. Is it going to work for me?

I also think there’s a lot of “junk” around being an entrepreneur. There’s some flair around it too. There’s kind of this “magic wand” thing and the reason why is because we just see success stories as examples. We don’t see the failures, what didn’t work, the “dry months”, the sacrifices…. We don’t see this around. We just hear the story of “the guy that started in his garage and 2 years later became the next new hit”. The most interesting part of the story actually is what happened during those 2 years, specifically that 1st year (or even earlier than that). Nobody talks about it.

So today, I will share a little bit of my story in my 1st year in business and what I’ve learned in the process. I hope that inspires you and if you’re in the limbo of “is entrepreneurship the right thing for me”, then I hope this helps.

Being an entrepreneur is more about YOU than the business you will start, to be honest. Because entrepreneurship is a way of being. Honestly, it’s not for everyone.

There’s this thing that “everyone can be an entrepreneur”, personally, I don’t agree. What I agree with is that you can BECOME an entrepreneur. This means you can develop the skill. But we go back into the principle: Do you want to become one?

So, in my opinion, if you are the kind of person that: is constantly looking to innovate what you do, hate to settle for “what everyone is doing”, has a big vision in your head - like a big f** scary thing that you even feel embarrassed to share, is extremely creative, has an open mind, is willing to work on yourself (personal development/ growth), wants to impact the world (“your world” is a great start), don’t mind to take risks, invest in your education and learn from others, and has a relentless willingness to don’t give up….. I believe you are one of us.

If you aren’t, there’s nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing. Again, being an entrepreneur is not about the business, is about YOU. So whatever your personal blueprint is, whatever your goals are, whatever you want to achieve in life,….. I have the same respect for you as for anyone else.

My point here is…. If you fit the above traits and you just didn’t take the leap yet, I highly recommend you to give it a go, as you can find a lot of success and satisfaction.

I started my business in January 2021. I pivoted this idea four times during the year. As I started to attract clients and people interested in what I was doing I started to shape my business. There’s no other way for you to figure this out unless you start. Step 2 or 3 is not going to happen to you unless you make the first step. That’s why it is THE MOST important one. All the other steps kind of start to fall into place as you learn, progress and pivot, but just after you take the first one.

The other point I realized, and if you follow Simon Sinek, you will relate, and now I clearly understand WHY he was saying that is…. You must work with people that believe in what you believe. It’s almost impossible to be convincing people of what you do. When you are surrounded by people that believe in what you believe, things flow. When you don’t, things get stuck. So, if you feel like it’s time for you to make your leap, or make a change in your business, or whatever you feel like it’s right for you right now, then surround yourself with people that think like you and want the same thing that you want. That’s the best way to make huge progress and keep inspired.

And the final point is just sharing a bit of the online business space myth. There’s a myth (I think) that starting an online business is faster than any other business or even easier. That’s a myth. You must put the same (if not more) work than any other form of venture, you will find a lot of competition (if not more) and you will also need to learn how to operate in this space. When you are launching your online program, for example, you need to make sure you are covering really well your delivery, your lead flow and you have some sales skills.

By the way, if you are in business, you are in sales. It’s just how it is. I see sales as a way to help people. If I know I can help, and together we will make great progress and achieve results, why not work together? It’s just a trade of value, and this is how sales occur. If there’s no value, there’s no trade, there are no sales.

What I learned in this first year is that starting your own business is not about the idea you have but about yourself. I found myself a very resourceful, inspiring, positive, and resilient person. I also discovered more about my dark side, my fears, and anxieties and how to manage that to keep moving forward. I learned to deal with rejection, I learned that it’s impossible to please everyone, that not all of the people will be inspired by me, that I have the support of people that I didn’t imagine I would, I don’t have the support of others that I thought I would. I found that the best way to be is to show up in my business as 100% myself. Because then there’s no competition. There’s just one of me in this world.

Being 100% myself is something that I couldn’t be when I was working for a job, so I chose myself.

Being me and servicing the world as who I am was the best decision I’ve ever made and from my experience, if you’re “one of us” and you still don’t feel this way…. please, just take the first step…. and I promise that everything else will fall into place.

By the way, if you believe in what I believe, I would love to connect with you.

Thanks for your time reading this.

Believe. Achieve. Inspire.

Renata?| Founder Grow & Scale Your Business Online

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