Three things I wish I knew when I started…

1. You don’t HAVE to do everything!!



I know, I know. The thought of outsourcing may be making your pocket squeal. Or if you are anything like me the thought of letting go of the reigns is damn scary!

But the thing is. While you are spending all your time trying to do everything in your business, you are wasting time being inefficient! If there is one part of my journey I wish I could change it would be the amount of time I wasted trying to do everything myself. 

It took me 3 years before I started to see that I should be spending my time on the things that I do well (well actually I lie. I knew before that, but it took me that long to be able to let go!) AND the things that I enjoy doing. Other things can be outsourced or automated. In doing the math I also realised that I could earn more per hour actually working in my business than working on the little bits and pieces that aren’t at it’s core. 

Hindsight is always a wonderful thing, but if I had my time again I would have put more money aside and factored in outsourcing parts of my business in my budget from the get go.
2. Stay true to who YOU are. 



When I stepped away from being full time in our franchise and made my way into the world of business on my own, I got caught up in the hype and excitement created in the entrepreneurial space. I lost my focus on the planning and numbers, an area that is my strength. I became too much of a dreamer and less of a realist. It almost ruined my business. But when things were at crunch point I pulled my head in, sucked up my pride, learnt from my failures and went back to what I knew and who I was. 

After doing this my business started to grow again. I knew the nitty gritty of where I was going. I made a plan. I knew my numbers. And I got myself a business coach to keep me on track. All the things that I used to do religiously. It can be easy to get caught up in the excitement of the business world, that we can forget who we are deep down inside. You are you for a reason. Don’t lose that.

3. Burn Out is Real and it Sucks!!!

Imagine waking up one day and not wanting to work on your business. Regular headaches. Craving sugar and coffee. Putting on weight. Losing your sense of direction. Losing your creativity. Crying more than normal.

It can happen, I know, because it happened to me. I’ve lost count of how many times stories I have read or friends I know who have also suffered burn out. Yet, I didn’t listen. It wouldn’t happen to me. I knew better. Famous last words!!!

I may have known better (I am a personal trainer too after all) but again (referring also to point 2!) I didn’t stay true to who I was. I stayed up late working at night, like it was some sort of badge of honour. I gave ALL of myself to everyone around me until there was nothing left for me. I didn’t speak up when things were getting too much at home with 2 kids. I didn’t start outsourcing soon enough. I thought I could do it all.

It would seem I couldn’t. It’s probably why I am so passionate about ensuring the women I nurture don’t go through what I did. Because we are the greatest asset our business and our families have. And when we aren’t at our peak, neither are our businesses. I know my stubbornness and inability to take notice of the warning signs had a negative impact on my business. But the best thing? I have learnt from it and now I can do my best to help others to avoid it too.

 

Gosh the things I have learnt could fill a book (maybe one day!!), but the thing is I have learnt more by ‘doing’ and sometimes failing, than I ever would have if I played it safe, if I didn’t give it a go or if I just kept going with the flow believing my life was ‘just’ how it was. I now know better. I know that I have more to give. I have a purpose to fulfill. But I have I also have what I need to do to keep doing all of it better.