WHO WANTS TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR? – THREE LESSONS I’VE LEARNED SO FAR

In the time since I started wilfredbain.com, I have undergone a multitude of changes in my life. One significant change is that I have become an entrepreneur. As exciting as entrepreneur is made out to be, I learned very quickly that it is equal parts scary, equal parts frustrating, equal parts fulfilling etc. Simply put, you experience a lot when starting and running a business.

Imagine being on a rollercoaster ride without knowing the path ahead – that’s entrepreneurship. And while you may think you’re prepared for what’s to come, there’ll still be many unexpected twists, turns, sudden drops and uphill climbs. But you’ll quickly see that experience is a great teacher and once you survive the deep end of the pool with different situations, your confidence will no doubt grow. You’ll also be forced to confront the weaknesses in yourself and business that can become liabilities.

There are MANY lessons I can talk about, but I’ll start below with three of the lessons I learned so far in the early stages of my entrepreneurship journey:

Lesson One: Entrepreneurship Exposes You, the Good and the Bad!

When you’re an employee and part of a team, some of your weaknesses can go unnoticed. When you run the business, there is little to no room to hide. I learned this very quickly. Your flaws, your lack of knowledge and other undesirable traits are in the open because the business, particularly in the early days, is completely dependent on you.

If you’re consistently uncertain and indecisive, you will quickly feel the impact of this. If you procrastinate, you will see the negative impact of this on your business and on your clients very quickly. If you lack customer service skills, this will show up in your interactions with clients. If you have a problem asking for help, this will hurt you. Entrepreneurship has this way of shining a spotlight on your weakest traits and daring you to fix them before you can go further.

For me, one thing that needed to be addressed was my fear of self-promotion. I learned very quickly that you cannot save souls in an empty church and that I had to actually let people know that I had a business to get clients. Even more, I had to, as much as possible, abandon the fear and negative ideology I held on to in relation to self-promotion. This is an ongoing work in progress.

But trust, I have been exposed with many things; and when you’ve been exposed, please know that entrepreneurship is not the place for denial or ego. The quicker you can take accountability and work to fix a weakness, the better. No one’s coming to save you and there’s no hiding. Being exposed is indeed humbling, but if you handle it properly, it’s also empowering. Once you recognize areas of weakness, you can find ways to address them.

Lesson Two: Branding, Both Personal and Business, Matters More Than You Think

Having mentioned self-promotion earlier, this is a good time to talk about another lesson – branding is important. Branding is much deeper than logos, fonts and colours – branding dictates how others perceive you and your business. And your personal brand is just as important as the business brand.

In entrepreneurship, your personal and business brands are not mutually exclusive. Clients aren’t just buying your service; they’re buying what they believe you to be – and everything inclusive of your story, your vision and your values matter. Very quickly you learn to be intentional in how you show up in different spaces whether business, social, in person, online and so on. Everything you do shapes your brand.

Going back to the previous point, I learned quickly that any strengths or weaknesses that were out there for people to see impacted my personal brand as well as the way people viewed my business. On this point, being introspective and mindful as well as seeking out feedback are crucial to understanding how people view your brand and knowing what needs to be heightened or fixed. You have to, as much as possible, take command of your own narrative.

Lesson Three: Not Everyone Is Your Customer, And That’s Okay

It’s easy to feel like you’re failing if you’re not turning every lead or referral you get into a client. But a lesson I learned quickly and out of necessity, is that not everyone is your customer. And that’s a tough pill to swallow.

You’ll learn quickly that lowering prices, promising unrealistic timelines and general people pleasing to accommodate every lead just leads to frustration and burnout. Some customers will eat up your time and energy, demand more than they pay for, and make you question why you started in the first place. You’ll then see that their business will not be worth the stress and the phrase “not all money is good money” will become clearer to you. Know your clients and understand who fits your business. It’ll be best for your and them. You’re not meant to serve everyone, and the sooner you embrace that, the more focused and efficient your business becomes.

Final Thoughts

I was shocked about how much of myself I had to and still have to confront after starting a business. It’s not easy, but if you’re willing to do the work, the end is worth it. Many of the changes you’ll make will not be only beneficial to your business but also in other aspects of your life. But know this, entrepreneurship will humble you, as it did me. But even in being humbled, there is an amazing opportunity, regardless of how your business is doing, for learning and growth.