Top Lessons From My First Year As An Entrepreneur
Joy is found in community, not conversions, and so many other lessons learned about a company in its first year.
It’s been a year since launching my company. A year of getting what I asked for… the freedom to create something I deeply believe in, that feels tied to my personal reason for being.
Collective Gain officially launched on September 19, 2017. It’s been a year of trying, growing, failing, questioning and celebrating. I have had the time and space to create, to experiment, to question…. It’s been awe-inspiring, and the best part of it all was totally unexpected.
As an entrepreneur, you lean into your business wanting to create everything you imagine and have millions of people tell you that you were right via their usage/purchase/support of your dream child. And if you can do this, you’ve won. You have succeeded — beat the odds.
I always thought that the number of people that we helped or the financial success of the business would bring me the most joy. What I’ve come to realize is that while both of these bring a feeling of value and contribution, they don’t bring me lasting joy. There’s always more… more customers to be helped, more followers to reach, more money to be made.
What has brought me consistent and sustaining joy has been the people I’ve met and connected with. The customers, the coaches, the fellow entrepreneurs. The ones I’ve helped, the ones who have helped me. It’s those relationships that have made my first year as an entrepreneur feel like the biggest gift.
THIS is what life’s about. Connecting to your tribe, they get you and you get them, and that’s why you help each other… without even trying. Naturally there is a flow of support, ideas, encouragement and money. It’s not just when we are in alignment with ourselves that we feel flow and ease of success — it’s when we’re in alignment with our community.
I am so incredibly grateful for the new friends, partners and clients that I have met through Collective Gain. While it’s only been a year, and some of these relationships are only six months old, they feel like lifetime friends.
One of the biggest lessons my business has taught me is that in being yourself, in living and expressing your truth — whether that be as an entrepreneur or simply living your daily life honest about who you are — you find your tribe. The place where you can grow, succeed and freely express who you are. And that is the greatest gift.
So instead of thinking of my business in terms of quantity and numbers, I focus on the relationships. Really connecting with people, whether they are a client, an advisor or an ally on this journey of making something big and impactful. And amazing things happen from these relationships all on their own — they are built on good intention and human to human alignment.
While a relationship-centered approach to success is my biggest takeaway from my first year in business, I also wanted to list, even if just for myself, everything else I learned in my first official year of being a full-time entrepreneur:
1) Money isn’t linear.
It doesn’t follow logic. Nope, sorry. When you’re starting a business, before it gets its own rhythm and revenue-generating system going, money does not flow in an expected manner. It feels random. What you expect doesn’t happen. What you don’t expect does. Your biggest windfalls were almost by accident, and you realize… (see #2)
2) It’s not about the hustle…. Pay attention. Slow down.
It’s about the focus, the paying attention to the nuance, the clear intention to connect with people who you can help and who can help you. I have found that when I approach my day with a scarcity of minutes to get everything done, I am absent. Mentally absent. I don’t see the opportunities, I don’t feel the shifts where doors are opening…. I am too busy getting my own agenda done vs. getting done what my company is asking me to do through how others are receiving it. There’s so much power and wisdom in slowing down and paying attention.
3) Friends will come; friends will go.
This is the best and the hardest part of fully stepping into who you are. You will make some of the best friends you’ve ever had, and you will lose some of the best friends you’ve ever had. Maybe your new passion is too overwhelming, or maybe you’ve changed — actually, for sure you’ve changed — and that means they have to be willing to see you in a new light and perhaps change and grow themselves. Some will and some won’t. And that’s okay. Every relationship serves a purpose on your journey, and you never know if someone is in your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. So celebrate your new friendships, and wish the others so much love and freedom to be who they are.
4) Communication is the hardest part.
Big dreams, ideas, and a vision for the future are bottled up inside your head and you just can’t get it out fast enough! That probably sums up my feelings on most days. Dang it! How do I communicate all of this clearly, simply, convincingly, to different types of people RIGHT THIS SECOND! It’s wanting to be seen and heard for your visions, your dreams. And it can be tough. It’s day by day, revising your message. Adding more to the site. Redoing your one-sheet again. It’s getting your team on the same page, time and time again, even after things shift. It’s helping them through their questions and objections. It’s a lot of being very clear and intentional and direct. It can be exhausting… and it’s required.
5) So many assumptions.
You are 50% wrong. And that’s a best-case scenario. This is what you HOPE for. When I first launched, I made some software decisions that were my biggest expense for my first year of business, only to find out later that I didn’t need that software because that’s not how my customer was going to use my service. DAH! Just one example of many where you realize that assumptions are sitting in every decision you make.
6) There’s enough to go around.
Entrepreneurs like to feel validated, to be noticed for our life-changing product/service. But wait… For every Amazon, there’s a Wal-Mart. For every Netflix, there’s a Hulu. Look at any newcomer as something to push off of, to further differentiate from and clarify your values and mission. To help you see who you’re building for — and be grateful for the others who are creating something for those you’re not.
7) No money, no mission.
Full stop. Read this again. Early on in my business I was very idealistic about how I wanted it to unfold. There was a right and wrong way to make money. It was only through work with a strategy coach that I realized there isn’t a wrong way to make money. Money is a flow of energy — so follow it. Money tells you that others are experiencing value, so see what they’re getting and how you can further support them that aligns you to your WHY.
8) All hell will break loose right before a big breakthrough.
Time and time again this proved to be true. I would end up with three to five weeks of everything from a stye the size of Texas to my car battery conking out and stranding me for three hours. It would be thing after thing and I felt as if the universe was conspiring against me. Nope. It was just the shrapnel, if you will, of pushing through resistance to a new level. Some shingles have to fly off the shuttle in re-entry. It’s just that powerful. As we grow and expand, things might be a wreck. Decide this is a good sign for things to come and keep going…
9) No regrets.
Holy fuck! I’ve done it. Survived Thrived for a year in business. Created jobs for people. Supported people in their jobs. Brought solutions to clients. Felt financial pressure like never before and yet rebounded exactly when I needed to. Pushed through my fears. Done hours and hours of personal development work. Seen healers, shamans, intuitives on top of my regular coaching. I am doing the work — inner and outter — to create what I believe is my whole reason for being. I have zero regrets. How could I? This is my journey, and I’m all in.
So, on my one-year anniversary, I am feeling more inspired than ever. I am so grateful to be able to pursue my dream of building a company that can help professionals find a place of satiety — where work and life feel good, and where growth is encouraged and supported by their company.
I am in so much awe of life. Of people. Of the possibilities available to us on Earth. Each of us is a part of our collective journey right now, in this part of space and time. I hope this post connected to some part of you. That we somehow connected through it. And that I’ll get the opportunity to connect with you in person. Because of all that I’ve learned in my first year of business, nothing has been more clear to me than the power of human connection. All healing, growth and prosperity that has been experienced and will be experienced comes from human connection.
If you’re in Los Angeles, join us at our One Year Celebration on Sept 27th. Details and RSVP here >>
If you’ve enjoyed this story, you’ll likely love my soul-inspired articles around how to find your way. Stay updated with my latest adventures and aha moments in the world of self-improvement and follow Collective Gain to join a community of people searching for better.
