3 things I wish I’d known when launching my business
Learn from my mistakes.
I’m sharing three things that I wish I had known when I was setting out to start my business, in hopes that they'll save you time, money, energy, worry… all of the above.
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1. The first is this. I was never going to be ready to launch my business, and you will never be ready.
You will try to be ready. You will keep trying to be more ready. But the reality is, at some point, you just need to make the leap.
And here is the good news: a lot of the learning comes once you do.
2. The second thing to know is your idea is going to be as baked as it ever is, but never fully baked.
And you won't know about the viability and success of your business idea until you launch. That’s when you start getting feedback. And this is true whether you have a product or a service.
You’ll start hearing what your clients and customers really want and need. And you'll start making adjustments.
But you can't do that until you actually launch.
3. And the third lesson I learned is to trust yourself. You need to trust yourself. I wish I had trusted in myself and my ideas and what I wanted to do long before I did.
Trust in yourself and what you know.
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And as a bonus, I'm throwing in a fourth. And that is to ask for help.
You've probably garnered so much goodwill in your corporate career, and you're getting ready to launch out on your own (or perhaps you recently did).
Go back to those people and the relationships you’ve built over the years, and ask for help.
You’ll probably be so surprised at how willing they are to come forward and want to help because they really want to see you succeed.
On this last point, here is a timely Instagram post from author and professor Adam Grant:
“People are happier to help than we expect.
Data: we overestimate how inconvenience they’ll feel – and underestimate how valued they’ll feel.
Asking isn’t always a burden. It’s often an opportunity to help others feel capable and useful.
Seeking help is an expression of trust.”
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To sum up
Launch before you think you’re ready, with the best version of your idea. Trust in your idea and in yourself to be able to maximize your outcome once you do. And ask for help.
And if you’ve gotten yourself launched, but area finding that you’re stuck and not sure of your next right move, I can help. Just book a discovery call so we can see where you’re at and what a forward-looking plan might look like for you.