EIGHT THINGS I WISH I’D KNOWN EIGHT YEARS AGO
The start of each October marks another year since the launch of LeBoo Media as the leaves began to fall in 2014. I have great difficulty in believing it is eight years since I shuffled nervously into the ranks of business owners. Not least because I spent most of my life in a profession – sports journalism – that I sincerely believed would be my home until I died or retired.
It still comes a surprise that I have run my own business for four-fifths of a decade without my life falling apart at the seams, or my children having to live in a cardboard box. Not least given the fact that, two-and-a-half years after I launched the business, I pivoted completely to re-present myself to the world as a copywriter.
So, what have I learned? It’s been eight years, so here are eight things – chosen from a shortlist of about 80 – that I wish I had known at the start of October 2014.
It has been an illuminating period. And, rather than take a forensic approach and focus on the insights about copy and communications, these come from a more a holistic, high-level, all-embracing perspective.
1/ Be prepared for it to feel odd for a long time. Even when you have worked as a freelance at an earlier stage in your life, if you have been part of a corporate machine for any stretch of time, it will take a while to adjust to the fact that you are the boss, for better or worse.
2/ Accept that it take a while to break even. Unless you have clients lined up and ready to roll, it takes time to hit your straps. A good friend told me, when I relaunched as a copywriter, that it would take two years to get LeBoo Media properly off the ground. I was openly disbelieving – I didn’t have two years, I told her. Guess what… it took two years of solid graft.
3/ Don’t worry about the paperwork. There will be things that you can learn how to do, such as organise your books and keep track of your invoices and payments. If there are things you don’t have time to learn, such as how to compile your accounts or file a VAT return, don’t worry; there are plenty of people out there who do. Ask them to help you.
4/ Be really clear about what you are selling. One of my favourite business aphorisms is that we are all selling the same thing – peace of mind. Beyond that, though, you need to be able to say in ten words precisely what it is that you do and, crucially, how it benefits the people you do it for. Strip it right down to a crisp phrase that hits your audience right between the eyes.
5/ Believe in yourself and your skills. Resilience is probably top of my list of attributes that any business owner needs to display. Part of that is recognising what you are good at. For one thing, you may come to take it for granted; listen to what your genuinely satisfied clients are saying, and allow yourself to enjoy the fact that there are some areas in which you excel.
6/ Treat people the right way. I have believed this from the start, and I still believe it now. My business values are Integrity, Quality and Energy – and Integrity is always at the top of that list. I am fortunate that I now work for a range of clients that I absolutely respect. Without wishing to tempt fate, I’m pretty sure they respect me. It is the only way to live and operate.
7/ Look after your health. Running a business will be easier if you take the time to be sure you are physically in good shape and mentally well too. That means achieving a work-life balance, getting a bit of exercise now and then, and generally doing the right things in your life. It may sound obvious, but it really does make a difference to your performance as a business owner.
8/ Stop to celebrate your success every now and then. Resting on your laurels is a disastrous thing to do; standing still in business is the same as moving backwards. Nevertheless, sometimes it is useful to remind yourself how far you have climbed, to pause briefly halfway up the mountain and gaze around at the view. It’s a subtle way of saying, as you renew your efforts and push on, that you’ve got this.
Even as I’m writing this, I’m thinking of more observations I could make. But I said I would stop at eight… next time I do this anniversary exercise, I’ll have more room to write them in.
And if you would like to know more about joining those clients I referred to in the sixth point, and want some assistance with your written words, please get in touch.