06. Five Lessons I’ve Learned in my First Year of Business
Serve
If you’ve been in networking marketing or any sort of online business or training, you’ve probably heard the term “service over selling.” In a social media, online business example, this means providing your audience with so much valuable content that’s helpful to them without giving a sales pitch for your services every time. Even if you’re not in an online space, this advice is still so helpful.
When I first started my business, I was taking in all of the business trainings, all of the podcasts giving advice, which I think can be super helpful but also can be detrimental if you’re taking in too much. We’ll go into that more in a minute. But a lot of those voices tell you to never work for free, always charge what you’re worth, never give away free advice. All in all, this is not bad advice and you do need to charge what you’re worth. But I think this also digs us into a hole that makes our worlds revolve around ourselves. It isolates us as business owners and makes us continually almost on the defensive making sure we’re never giving anything out for free or giving away too much.
It’s been helpful for me to flip that mindset entirely. Focus on serving. Teach your followers on social media how to do something that people often ask you about. Give them budgeting advice that will help them. Show them how to design their own graphics on Canva. I think we have the fear that if we’re “giving away too much free advice” that they won’t want to book with us for whatever our service is.
If you’re a financial advisor, you might be worried that if you give so much free advice about financial tips on Instagram, people won’t book with you because you already gave them everything. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Number one, you’ll never be able to give away all of your advice or be able to supplement the experience that you provide when they actually book with you. Number two, you’ve now positioned yourself as an expert, and you’re the person they think of first when they need financial help. You’ve already sold them because they know they can trust you, they know you’re knowledgeable, and they know you’re willing to serve them and not just sell to them.
Also in a real-world application that’s not online – help people for free or at a discount when you’re able to. Have a project that’s super quick and easy that would bless someone else? Think about giving it at a discount or just do it for free. Not everything has to be about selling, selling, selling all the time. Focus on service and the sales will come.
Socialize
There’s a reason we hear about networking all the time. It’s as important as they say it is. I think we often think of big networking events where everyone’s sipping gin and tonics and wearing business suits on a Tuesday evening. If this is your jam, that’s awesome, keep doing it. If it’s not, it doesn’t have to be.
But you do have to socialize. You can’t expect people to know about your new business or your services if you’re not telling anyone about them. And unfortunately, your ideal client isn’t going to show up on your doorstep while you’re watching The Office in your sweatpants.
Tell the people you come in contact with on a daily basis that you’ve started a business. Order business cards and leave them everywhere. And a word of advice from a graphic designer, just order them off of Vistaprint. If you’re getting the fancy dollar fifty business cards, you’re going to be worried about giving them to people. Order the cheap ones and I promise you’ll be fine.
If you work from home and don’t normally come in contact with a bunch of people, make an effort to get out into the world at least once a week.
When I first started my business, I joined a small group at our church of women entrepreneurs. I showed up to the first meeting last summer the Monday after I quit my corporate job and said “Hi I’m Carly I just quit my job, I do graphic design but I have no idea what I’m doing from here.”
That group of women showed up every Tuesday morning at 7:00 a.m. every week after – sharing our successes, our struggles. I got my first branding client from a girl who was starting her own financial firm in that group, and have had 3 or 4 projects with people from that group since. We all booked with each other and cheered each other on, and created this network so that when someone in their lives needed a graphic designer, they had me to refer them to because we’d created a relationship and talked about what we did and what we needed.
Just don’t be weird about it – people can tell when you’re just networking to network. I think that’s when it gets a bad rap and feels kind of icky. Build relationships, ask people to coffee and have a conversation. It goes back to service over selling.
Show YOU
Show your face. No more being afraid to show your face on social media or on your website, okay? Take videos of you working behind the scenes, record a 60-second video of you talking about a project you’re working on and why you love it. Add your personality into your business. If you’re not a blazer-wearer, don’t wear a dang blazer. If you’re goofy and say weird things, then be goofy and say weird things. You don’t have to be a buttoned-up version of yourself just because you’re now a business owner. Write things like you would say it. Wear things that you like to wear.
We are in a saturated space in the online world and as entrepreneurs. There are thousands of brand designers for people to choose from. There are even more financial advisors and hairstylists and coffee shop owners and catering companies. There are SO many businesses out there, the way to stand out is to be yourself. People want to work with YOU for a reason. Let them get to know you. Someone needs your exact personality and will connect with YOU more than they’ll even connect with what you’re selling.
I think we get weird about self-promotion. We don’t want to boast or feel like we’re making our business all about ourselves. But you’re the heart of your business. You’re using your gifts that God’s given you, whatever they may be. I was feeling nervous about doing this podcast because it feels like a lot of self-promotion. Why would people listen to me talk every week? Why am I qualified to give advice – the imposter syndrome starts to sneak in. But my friend Natalia switched my perspective and said, “Just think of it like this. You’re literally promoting God’s work in you.”
And someone needs the services that you’re selling. People are looking for graphic designers, cleaning companies, financial advisors… you’re providing a service that people need. Be confident in that.
Say Yes to Things
This is bringing it back around to the first point of service over selling. We are in an age where there is TOO much information. Truly. If you’re starting a business, you will be overwhelmed with all of the information you’ll find. Online courses, podcasts (like this one), books, Instagram accounts, Pinterest posts… there’s information flying in from every direction. I think that a lot of it’s helpful. But if you’re not careful, you’ll find yourself in analysis paralysis taking in all of these tips but not doing anything with any of them.
At some point, you’ve got to turn it all off, unsubscribe and get back to the root of YOUR calling.
The business gurus will tell you to niche down as soon as possible, never work for free, pick a lane and stick with it right off the bat. Again, some of this is super helpful, but it’s also limiting when you’re first starting out. I’m an advocate for just trying things. Try a bunch of everything, say yes to opportunities that come your way even if it’s not exactly what fits in your business plan. There could be a whole industry you haven’t tried that you end up loving, or people you meet that you never would have met otherwise.
Run your business the way that feels right to you – and when you get that gut feeling that you’re in the wrong spot or have strayed from your original mission, redirect. You’re not on a timeline. God will get you where he needs you to go as long as you stay focused on the directions He gave you. You’re not missing God if he’s the center of your focus.
Stay Humble
You’re going to mess up, and it’s going to suck. (Sorry mom – she hates when we say suck) I messed up just last week taking pictures at an event where I didn’t get my camera settings right and didn’t realize until I was uploading them in Lightroom.
These are the moments you don’t really hear about when someone’s trying to build something. Sometimes you just mess up – you mess up the settings on your camera or you mess up on delivering a product, or you say the wrong thing… The biggest advice I have for you when conflict arises (that my husband pretty much makes me do, BTW) is getting on the phone. A phone call instead of a text or email changes everything. It humanizes us and instantly brings the energy down from a 10 to a 2.
You know when you get deep in an email thread where your heart is racing as you’re typing “per my last email…” and waiting for the other person to respond… stop all of that and get on the phone. Just trust me.
And don’t make excuses (the lighting was too dark, my camera settings were messed up, the light kept changing… the list is endless). Admit your mistake, say you’re sorry and learn from it.
One thing I’m confident in is that I won’t mess up shooting in low light again. The next event that comes (and there will be a next event) I’ll practice beforehand and try different settings.
You’ll be fine. You’ll mess up – if you’re not messing up, you’re not trying enough new things or saying yes enough. When you do, get on the phone, say you’re sorry and try again next time.
These are five lessons that I am still in the midst of learning in my business and just in life in general. I’d love to hear any of your lessons you’ve learned whether you’re in a corporate job, you’re a freelancer, shop owner… message me on instagram at @carlyguion and let me know what lessons you’ve learned or advice you have for new business owners.
