OPENING OWN BUSINESS, IS IT WORTH IT?
MY PATH FROM IDEA THROUGH IMPLEMENTATION AND CHAOS TO THE BALANCE.
Maybe you dream of your own business, or you already have an idea that one day seems brilliant, but still, doubts, uncertainty, and fear make you put the dream off until later. Remember, it is always worth following your dreams and reaching for your courage, which I assure you, is already in you, hidden, waiting to be discovered.
FROM THE FIRST THOUGHT TO THE FIRST STEP
A career was always important to me. I wanted to be successful in something I love to do. I worked in many places but burned out very quickly, probably faster than others. I was constantly looking for my place in the organization, my dream profession. The search usually ended in failure, and I beat my head against the wall. There was no place, where I could use my creativity, I always felt I can do more. For several years now, I have had thoughts to work for myself and do what I love. I put off setting up my own business until later because I had my own list of excuses: I would open my business, BUT … not yet, I will work for someone else for a little bit longer, I need more money, I need more training … and even more BUTs. Everyone knows that “LIST OF BUTs” perfectly well from the autopsy.
NOW OR NEVER
February 2020 – I was looking for a new job in my profession – marketing and Branding. I prepared a beautiful resume and did several courses to enhance my knowledge and refresh my marketing techniques. I sent the application to several places, and… the world surprised everyone. Pandemic. I lost my job. The world stopped. That wasn’t the part of mine or anyone’s plan. I was devasted. After about two weeks of wondering and worrying, enlightenment came. I’m opening my business. Now or never. I have time and no choice but to do something. When I opened Brilliant agency, the pandemic was only in its initial phase, the so-called first wave. I was very stressed because I wasn’t sure where to start. Knowledge is one thing, but in practice, things are more complicated. Ignoring all doubts, I decided to listen to my own intuition, go beyond my comfort zone and throw away the fear of everything that came to my mind. I kept repeating to myself one sentence from the book The thoughts are things – P. Mulford “fear nothing (…), carry the courage in front of you like a torch”. It sounds a little naive, and maybe it was.
I started with a business plan, logo, basic analysis of the unstable market.
I wrote a basic business plan because I was eager to start asap.
FEAR AND UNCERTAINTY, HOW WILL I SUPPORT MYSELF FINANCIALLY?
I opened a company, registered everything as the law requires. I came home … and I thought, “OK, you registered a business. What now?! How are you going to earn your first money?!? ” This thought bothered me; it was coming back to me like a boomerang. COURAGE WAS NECESSARY. HOW WILL I GET THE FIRST CUSTOMERS, AND WHEN I WILL GET A RETURN ON INVESTMENT? Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got a business plan, I also know that as everybody I need income. Of course, you can make hundreds of charts, market analyses, predictions, and forecasts. Market research is fundamental, but you must be prepared that the reality may turn out to be completely different. Especially when the virus is raging, and no one knows how the economy will react to it. So, the question: what will I make a living? My answer was one: “it will be OK. We can do it; we always manage. This is a risk you want to take.” I would like to emphasize right away that I am not persuading anyone to quit everything. I’m only telling how I approached my fears and what decisions I made. I admit that it was a hazardous step. I was also lucky not to be alone with these thoughts. My husband supported me through all the processes. In retrospect, I know how much I owe him. Sometimes all we need is someone else to believe in us. I would definitely say that THE SUPPORT OF YOUR RELATIVES IS TRULY AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THIS PROCESS. Finally, it turned out that my husband was my motivator and became a part of Brilliant agency. Today I think it couldn’t have gone any better.
THE METHOD OF TRIAL AND ERROR
I graduated from the Higher Business School in the field of management. It would seem I’ve already had an “instruction manual” in my head. So I started to do everything by the books. I checked the competition, developed an offer, and created a website immediately. I began to write endless amounts of texts. Most of the texts have never been used, as you can probably guess. At that time, my main goal was to launch Brilliant agency to the market as quickly as possible, with an offer for everyone. And here I have to admit my basic mistake. I WAS SPEAKING TO EVERYONE, SO NO ONE HEARD ME. I omitted my company’s Branding, I’ve prepared just the logo, and I thought that I will figure the rest of it later in the process. This decision resulted in the offer and website being reworked 3 times. The third time I started with Branding. I took the time to do this, and WHEN BRAND WAS READY, EVERYTHING BECOME CLEAR FOR ME. I KNEW WHERE TO GO, WHAT STORY SHOULD I TELL, AND HOW TO SPEAK. Focusing on my own Branding helped me stop my thoughts and reflect and look at my business from a distance. So I decided to limit the offer to a minimum and adjust it to my dream client’s profile. I knew it initially, but I decided to bypass Branding because I wanted to do everything faster. I focused my energy on other aspects, which cost me time and money. I learned that I can use my experience and help others avoid this mistake by creating an offer dedicated to those who open the business. It was an expensive but vital lesson for me.
WORKAHOLISM - THE WORK THAT NEVER ENDS
After Brand was created, everything became clear to me. I fell into the vortex of work. I wanted to write, develop, and improve brand image on Social Media immediately. The agency had more and more clients, and thus the workload was also increasing proportionally. I wanted to work non-stop. Paweł was also involved and only gasped softly when I was telling him about the following projects and what we needed to do. I was exhausted, so I knew I had to change something. I sat and wrote down why I wanted to have my business. ON THE TOP OF THE LIST I WROTE WORK-LIFE BALANCE. I forgot about it in the hustle of work. I started to wonder which way am I going? I didn’t want to burn out at the very beginning.
FINDING BALANCE
The habits took over the first few days, but we gladly adopted a new approach to our work habits after a while. The first week when we could finally fall asleep without thinking about business and enjoy the days, were like a day in the spa. Being diligent is an excellent character trait, but your health and well-being are more important. WE HAVE ONE LIFE. THE KEY TO THE BALANCE WAS TO SET THE RULES FOR YOURSELF. We answer phones only during working hours, we reply to e-mails only during working hours. Of course, working for myself also gives me some flexibility, so sometimes I respond to e-mails in the evening, because, for example, in the morning I decide to go for a walk. The main thing is not to exceed the working hours limit if there is no such need. At first, you may think the world will collapse, and you will lose everything you’ve worked for if we just take a moment off. But this is only in your head.
Our world did not collapse. On the contrary, the business was better than ever. We were both more efficient and motivated and could create more creative designs for our clients. So not only do we benefit from this balance but also our clients. Positive energy appeared in our work and life, which gave us the strength to achieve even more and develop more.
INTEGRITY AND COURAGE
I know that I am still making mistakes, but who doesn’t? These mistakes can be turned into a lesson, and lessons can be learned.
To live, we need courage. And after a while, courage is natural. As I wrote in the introduction, it becomes your torch. If you know in which direction you want to go, what is important to you in life, how important the quality of your services and products is, and your goal and values, add integrity as your last, but not least, ingredient. DO AS YOU PROMISE, SAY AS YOU DO. THANKS TO THIS, YOU WILL BE CONSISTENT INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY. AND THAT IS A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS AND INNER BALANCE.
Where to start?
– Make a detailed business plan
– Create a brand
– Define your target customer (more at the link: https://brilliantagency.us/how-to-define-and-attract-your-dream-customer/
– Set realistic goals for the first year
– Include a marketing strategy
– Register business
– Create a professional website (more at the link: https://brilliantagency.us/10-benefits-of-having-website/
– Positioning your website in search engines (this is a long-term process)
– Create business accounts on appropriate social media (more at the link: https://brilliantagency.us/what-kind-of-social-media-are-best-for-your-business/
Just start! Take the first step, focus on it, and then the next one. Be patient and never give up! You will get into the rhythm very quickly. Walt Disney used to say, “If you can dream it, you can do it.”