The more I know, the more I realize I know nothing. – Socrates

 Let’s jump right in; picking up where we left off last week with my business ½ Birthday blog series. This week I’m going to share some things I’ve learned since launching my business; specifically, the (many) instances where my expectations did not line up with reality. I’m naturally a planner so prior to launching I took a lot of time to come up with ideal processes and plans for how I thought I should run my business, so I actually felt (mostly) prepared when I started. However, I quickly realized that there were some things I couldn’t and didn’t plan for because I simply DIDN’T KNOW about them to plan for them. Somedays running a business feels like taking an exam on material I’ve never even seen before.

Expectation #1: Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

Social media makes you think that the process of business creation is a simple one. Come up with a name, file a few documents and BOOM you’re a business owner. (Insert Eye Roll here)

Reality: Difficult Difficult Lemon Difficult.

Although the filing of the LLC paperwork was relatively simple there were so many other components that went into setting up a legitimate business . Namely, branding decisions (logo, brand colors and fonts etc.), creating a website + content/copy for said website, create social media platforms, making sure all financial, legal, and tax requirements were in place, and the list goes on and on.

Solution: I realized that I could outsource the majority of those tasks, especially those concerning branding and website & social media creation, but I chose to do them myself because I wanted to be intentional about my brand name, logo, colors etc. I wanted to make sure that those elements felt right to me and my brand, since after all I AM my brand.

Instead of allowing all these things to overwhelm, I just decided to take my time and tackle the hurdles as they came. I gradually rolled things out instead of rushing to do everything or waiting until everything was perfect.

TIMELINE (EXTREMELY condensed)

1. August- September 2020 I handled the legal parts, (EIN & LLC) and financial parts (business bank account). I began research on what sort of tax records/documents would need to be kept.

2. September – October 2020 I worked on my branding (Logo, Colors, Website) with special emphasis on the website since it would be most people’s introduction to my business, so it had to be right (No janky stuff over here!)

3. October 2020 My website went live & I contracted my first official client (Woo-hoo!) Now the real work begins

4. November – December 2020 I identified inconsistencies in my process and worked to fine-tune them in real time. I also began researching various marketing strategies and vehicles.

5. February 2021, I launched my social media platforms on Instagram and Facebook (if you’re not following go do that NOW!) Those who know me personally, know how much of a deviation from my norm this is (I’m also on Pinterest and TikTok but I haven’t mastered those yet, baby steps y’all).

6. March 2021, I launched this blog as another marketing vehicle and an opportunity to share more of me to my audience.

7. April 2021 Time to evaluate what’s working/ what’s not and adjust accordingly. Ongoing….

Who knows what hurdle will present itself next, but whatever it is, I’m confident I can handle it or at minimum figure out how to handle it.

Expectation #2: Running my own business means that I do what I want, when I want and that I can focus on the things I really enjoy doing.

Reality: This is probably the biggest lie ever told. I spend so much time on administrative/back-end stuff, it’s not even funny, and when there’s time left over THEN I do the fun stuff. The current split is probably about 80/20 but I’m working on flipping that.

Solution: I’m only one person and if I’m constantly trying to slice up a finite amount of time with an infinite number of tasks then I’m not performing at my best. Therefore, I’m actively identifying areas in my process/business that don’t necessarily need my hand on it so that I can start hiring the right support. Once I get the right people in place, I can focus more on what I really love doing, design.

Expectation #3: Remember those processes I mapped out at the beginning? I just KNEW that they would yield the expected results and perform as intended (cue opening Socrates quote LoL)

Reality: Although the initial processes were helpful as a starting point it soon became clear that certain steps were impractical, others weren’t translating well to actual client interaction, and finally they were created in a vacuum with the assumption that certain actions would trigger others without taking into consideration the things out of my control (like client responsiveness)

Solution: I’ll keep those original processes as a blueprint but I’m actively tweaking them to eliminate redundancies and impractical steps, and to include contingencies for when certain triggers are delayed or don’t take place.

I anticipate this will be something that I will always have to do as my business grows, evolves and I get better as a business owner. Continuous improvement is the goal.

Expectation #4: This one piggybacks on #2 but is a biggie so it deserves its own section.  WORK – LIFE BALANCE. The whole entire reason I started on this crazy journey was in search of better work life balance that my corporate job was determined to eradicate completely! Of course, being my own boss means I set my own hours, right? So obviously it’ll be easy to make time for the things and people that are important to me, right?

Reality: There is literally ALWAYS something for me to do and I could literally work around the clock without reaching the end of my to-do list (client projects, content creation/social media engagement, marketing research/strategizing, etc. etc. etc.) That’s obviously not realistic or sustainable but I’m way busier than I ever was when I worked my 9 to 5.

Solution: I must be super intentional about making time for myself, my responsibilities at home, my relationships and most importantly, MY REST. I mean that’s the whole point of this, right? I might as well have wasted away in corporate America if I was only going to impose the same impossible expectations on myself. This balancing act is still something I’m working on, but it helps to set clear boundaries around work stuff and personal stuff.

1. I take intentional breaks throughout my workday to allow my brain to rest and recharge.

2. I make a point to spend the evenings with my partner most nights out of the week. We catch up on our tv shows, eat dinner, catch up on each other’s day or sometimes just sit and enjoy each other’s company but most importantly work stuff is off limits!

3. I respond to client correspondence, sent later in the evening, the following business day (most of the time!) This one is hard because I’m constantly connected through my cellphone.

4. I relax my schedule on the weekends; although I often catch up on work over the weekend, I allow the day to flow more naturally than during the week (if I’m tired, I sleep in, and I take time to visit with friends, family or have a little fun etc.)

5. I make a point to ask my friends and family to let me know in advance of significant events or gatherings so that I can plan accordingly. I can’t make everything, but I do my best to be present.

6. Last but certainly not least, VACATION. Life is meant to be lived and any job/business I do needs to be in alignment with that so I plan and will take strategic breaks and vacation throughout the year. In fact, I’m preparing to leave for vacation at the end of this week so if you see fewer posts on my socials, it’s because I’ll be at the beach, with my boo, sipping a cocktail!

I could keep going with these examples, but I think you guys get the gist. Entrepreneurship is a process of continual improvement and evolution and I’m just doing my best to keep up Thanks for reading and Happy ½ Birthday to Designs by Damienne!