WHAT I’VE LEARNED FROM RUNNING A BUSINESS- PART THREE

Have you ever heard or read the quote, “Lessons in life will be repeated until they are learned”, well that quote rings very true for me, especially since we started our business.
I’ve experienced it time and time again and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to give up. How many times I’ve told my husband I quit and how many times I wanted to cry because I messed up.
It’s been a very difficult journey and the funny part is, we’re less than two years old and I already feel as if I’ve experienced the most.
As always, I continue to learn lessons; I don’t always learn immediately and sometimes I can’t see the lesson and, those are the days I want to give up but I find that when I take a breath and forgive myself; I can see more clearly.
So here are a few more lessons I’ve learned since we started Fray Music Academy.

OWN UP TO YOUR MISTAKES

This is a difficult one; not just in business but in life. However, when it comes to business, your mistakes could cost you money or your business entirely. It’s vital for the life of your business and your reputation that you own up when you’ve made a mistake, that way you can still salvage relationships with clients and employees. They will appreciate the honesty.

Better to have a moment of awkwardness than to have a lifetime of regret.

DON’T COMPARE YOUR JOURNEY WITH THAT OF OTHERS

I’ve done this one a lot. I’ve compared where I am in life and in business with those who have been running their business for years and then I realise that its silly to do that. Social media, the internet and the age of the influencer have caused us to put unnecessary pressure on ourselves because of the unrealistic expectations we think we need to prescribe to. Take your time to build whatever it is you’re building and stop comparing your journey to that of others.

DON’T GET TOO COMFORTABLE WITH WHERE YOU ARE CURRENTLY

Always strive to grow. There is nothing valuable for you in your comfort zone. The only thing about growing is that it’s not comfortable and most people don’t want to experience discomfort.

DON’T RUN AWAY FROM CHALLENGES

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to avoid a difficult conversation with a client or parent or just wanted to avoid anything which I knew would be difficult to handle or discuss but once you’ve dealt with the difficult situation, you’ll realise it wasn’t so bad after all.

LEARN FROM OTHERS AND IMPLEMENT WHAT YOU LEARN

It’s pointless just reading up on others and then not trying what worked for them. It might not always work for you but at least you can say you tried.

BE PREPARED TO FAIL AND PACK UP SHOP

But then be prepared and willing to start again. If that’s what you want.

THINK OF WAYS TO EXPAND YOUR BUSINESS AND DIVERSIFY ON YOUR BUSINESS OR COMPANY

We recently had a guest speaker join us in one of our meetings and he pointed out that as a business you need to diversify and expand your services. This will not only allow your business to grow but will also open up other avenues for your brand or business.

BE WILLING TO HAVE THE DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS WITH YOUR EMPLOYEES

Your staff or employees are human, just like you but there will come a time when you will either have to let someone go or you will have to deal with a staff member who is not pulling their weight and this won’t always be easy but its important that these difficult conversations are had.

ALWAYS REMEMBER WHY YOU STARTED

This will help you during those times when you feel like giving up and you feel as if you can’t go on. Always remember what your motivation was for when you started.

WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN

You will forget things. Have a designated notebook for your business, have reminders on your phone and calendar.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP

This falls in line with the last point in this post as well but you don’t always need to seek help from those within your company. Sometimes asking for help means asking for advice from other business owners or simply asking your staff to pick up more work if you feel overwhelmed. There is no shame in asking for help. Personally, this is one lesson that I had to learn the hard way.

MANAGE YOUR TIME WELL

This is especially important if you work two jobs like me. I work as a news producer and on my off days, I manage our music school. Besides the work aspects of my life; I am also a wife and mom of two so you can imagine what my days look like. It’s important to get a handle of everything and to designate a time to all your projects and errands.

FOCUS ON WHAT YOU’RE BUSY WITH AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT

Mistakes can happen very easily when you try to do too much all at once. When you’re done with one thing, then you move on to the next. I know multi-tasking can sound amazing but sometimes its better to just focus on one thing at a time.

PLAN EVERYTHING

Don’t leave anything to chance and try to be prepared for any eventuality. This goes hand in hand with the point about managing your time.

MAKE SURE YOU HIRE STAFF WHO SHARE YOUR VISION

Don’t just hire people to get the job done but find people who see and share your vision and who are willing to build with you. An employee will either make or break your business.

ALWAYS INCLUDE YOUR BUSINESS PARTNER

If you have a business partner, always make sure you run everything past that person or discuss it with your business partner. This is especially important if you and this person started this business from the very beginning. That is the beauty of having a partner, you never have to deal with anything alone.

BE PATIENT

Nothing happens overnight. Pace yourself and let things happen as and when it should.

I know as our business grows, I know that we will continue to add more lessons to this list. As an entrepreneur, you never really stop learning and you never stop growing.