The past few years for me have been full of assisting others in realizing their dreams for their business and helping to make them come true. A question I get quite a lot from clients or followers is “How did you get started into creating your own business?”. I don’t often share my story in very much extent, but I thought this a good time to dive in and really explain why I’m doing what it is I’m doing and all that it takes to start a business for yourself.
The bottom line is that there is no one right answer. There is no magic strategy or tactic that you need to follow that will lead to instant success. The only thing that should be guiding you through this journey is the vision you have set for yourself and your business. Remember why you wanted to start in the first place and that will be your driving factor.
When I started my first business it was a brick and mortar retail store that I opened with a close friend of mine. The idea came to us one day when walking through NYC and my friend turned to me and asked “Do you think we could really do this?” My answer to her was of course we could. I had dreams of having a business to call my own for as long as I could remember and was more than ready to give it a go. We were both working full time jobs at the time and opening this store on the side and we worked our butts off for months. This eventually led to us becoming burned out in our full-time positions, but we grew this small business to three brick and mortar locations plus an online store that we could now take on full time as our careers.
Starting out, we knew that we wanted to sell artisan jewelry. But our main focus in running day-to-day functions was our vision, the reason we started this venture in the first place. Sure, plenty of mistakes were made along the way and these we learned from, but the reason we continued to grow was this vision we had for the store. We wanted to give local artists a voice by showcasing their hand-made necklaces and earrings to people who may not otherwise know of their work. Each artist we bought from had a deeper meaning to their craft, whether it be giving back to their community or to help bring fine arts classes back to schools. Partnering with these individuals was less about the sale and more about helping those with similar missions.
Unfortunately, this business had to close due to my business partner and my husband getting very sick at the same time. However, before I left my corporate job to be at my store full-time, I had begun to also help out a few small businesses I knew with their marketing. I saw that so many people were being overwhelmed and becoming stuck in their growth and I knew I had the experience to help change that and gain them a little visibility.
Small businesses have a tough time as it is competing with big name corporations, I couldn’t bear to see another one close down less than a year after opening. I knew they could do it, they just needed a little push, a realization of what it is that makes the unique from every other business and honing in on that. Products and sales will only get you so far, what sets you apart will be what helps you to succeed.
Working for so many years in corporate, I was not fulfilling my dreams. I moved up the ranks, was able to make decisions on certain things and even run an entire department. But the work was not feeding my soul. It was not what I truly wanted to do with my life. But I took all of my experiences up to that point and used them to create a business that I could put my name on and be proud of. Having started a business myself, I now have the experience to walk other local businesses through my process of growth and help them to reach their full potential, because it is possible.
It all comes down to the bigger picture of why you wanted to start in the first place and playing the long game. Success takes a lot of hard work and determination. You may not become a millionaire overnight, but success should be so much more than that. It should be about the difference you are making in your community and possibly even the world.
