Let’s face it, hindsight is 20/20. Looking back on a certain situations in life, 1, 5 or even 10 years later – gives us such a glimpse of clarity. Oh my goodness… If we only had that information sooner, it could’ve made things so much easier.

I really don’t believe in accidents and I’m thankful for ALL the tough lessons I’ve learned along the way. However, if my experience can help you navigate the choppy waters of being an entrepreneur, then those lessons have even more value.

In this episode, I share 3 things I’ve learned the hard way after being an entrepreneur for 20 years. Had I known these things sooner, I would have gotten results so much faster (and with a lot less stress). Hopefully, this will save you some time, money and undo anxiety along the way.

 

Thing 1: Team

As a solo entrepreneur, we’re so excited in the beginning stages of our business. We’re full of passion and we’re doing everything. We’re the chef, the janitor, the client specialist – we’re everything trying to please everyone. And it’s exhausting.

Had I known better, I would have hired someone a lot sooner. When my clients, who are committed to building influential brands say, “Keri, I can’t afford to get help.” My response is, “how can you afford not to?”

I’m not asking you to hire a full-time employee this second. But get someone to take those things off your plate that you should not be doing.

I have a sales team now and we are growing, I’m so excited for that. But at the end of the day, people want to do business with me. And in your business, people want to do business with you. So how are you doing what you do best and outsourcing the rest?

It’s a new year, we have so many new possibilities and things we can step into. Let’s look at how you can get things off your plate sooner so you can do those things that only you can do.

Immediate Action 1: Find that one person that can take a couple of things off your plate.

Thing 2: Invest in Yourself

I am a huge proponent of constantly investing in your mind, body, and soul because all of that creates what you put out to the world. But for so long I wanted to prove that I could do it all by myself.

“I got this. I don’t need help with my finances…”

Boy, am I sooo glad to be on the other side of that! The more that I invest in myself, the more I look for guidance and collaboration, the more my business grows. There’s no shame in saying, you know what? I can’t do it on my own. And why would you want to?

Why not learn from people who have been there and done that? Professionals who can help you steer through those entrepreneurial challenges that we all have?

Les Brown has one of my favorite quotes. He says,

“You can’t see the frame when you’re in the picture.”

I love that. You can’t see what you don’t know! So when we invest in ourselves with mentorship and coaches, we grow leaps and bounds. Investing in yourself is the best ROI you will ever get on you and your business.

Immediate Action 2: What is one way you can invest in yourself this year? Big or small?

I’ve saved the best for last. Thing 3 is actually the #1 thing I wish I would have done sooner.

Are you ready?

Drum roll…

Thing 3: Niche down sooner

When I work with entrepreneurs in the beginning stages of their business, they try to do everything. Trying to be everything, do everything. When I started Inspired Living I was coming off a year of being a personal development trainer – traveling the world, teaching NLP and hypnosis. People would ask me if I coach and I’d say, “Of course I do!” So I started off as a life coach.

My first Inspired Living website was hilarious. It had “relationships, money, fitness, finance!” To be quite honest, no-one knew what I did. And neither did I.

Looking back, I wasn’t ready to put a stake in the ground. I didn’t know yet who I wanted to be when I grew up. But the minute I niched down, the minute I had that ah-ha moment – that I can teach entrepreneurs how to be authentic on camera – it changed everything.

Most people are trying to be too many things to too many people. No-one really knows what you do. And if someone is watching you and they have to ask themselves, “Is he or she for me?” They’re off to the next thing. We all have ADD! When I niched down and became known for being a video coach and media expert, success followed.

And by the way, we’re so much more than our titles. Yet how much time do we spend making sure we have the right caption on our business card? That doesn’t really matter but it does matter that people know exactly what you do in 3 seconds or less. If you can’t tell them what you do in less than 10 seconds, you’re not clear. And if you’re not clear, no-one else is.

Immediate Action 3: Describe what you do with a timer, how long does it take?

So that is the #1 Thing I wish I would have done sooner! I did that about three years into Inspired Living and I look back and think, “oh my gosh, if I just would have stopped trying to be all things to all people!”

Which is counter-intuitive. We think ‘the more people I serve the better!’ But that’s not the case at all. The more you get known for that one thing, the quicker your brand will grow. So take that and run! Run with it and prosper!

I hope you’re inspired by this ILTV episode!

I always love hearing from you, so let me know if any of this resonated by posting a comment. Share with us, “What’s the # 1 thing you wish you would have learned sooner in your entrepreneurial journey?”

As always, thank you so much for watching. Thank you for being a part of this incredible Inspired Living community. And remember,

Keep dreaming it. Living it. Being it.

Until next time,