Top 5 Tips You Need To Know Before Starting A Business

Business is hard & it is not for everyone. Do not get fooled into thinking that starting a business is the key to unlimited income & infinite freedom! If you're craving freedom & financial success, I'd suggest getting in with a great corporate company that you're able to grow in. Working for someone else is the key to ultimate family & life balance. You get paid weeks of vacation, sick days, set hours (that are much less than if you try starting a business) and you also have people above you to do the harder work. When you start your own business- you're on your own. There's no one above you to handle the challenges you'll face & make the tough decisions. It'll solely be up to you! It's important to really weigh the pros & cons of starting and running a business and ensuring your goals are aligned with the actions you're willing to take!

Here are my top 5 tips you'll need to consider before starting a business:

1. Get clear on your GOALS & ALIGN them with your actions!

First & foremost you need to know what you want. Do you want to build a million dollar business or do you want to make a comfortable living while maintaining a relatively decent family/life balance? Either direction is totally cool, but you’re going to need to know which direction you're heading in order to ensure your actions are aligned with your goals. What happens when your effort levels don’t match up with your goals? You end up frustrated, depressed, unhappy & unfulfilled and you’ll be stuck wondering why. I’ll tell you why: because you're lying to yourself. You’re saying you want to have a million dollars in sales but your effort levels are reflective of an average salaried employee. Nothing wrong with working a corporate job & making 40k a year as an employee! In fact, it honestly has way more perks that come along with working for someone else. The problem is, stop telling yourself that you want a certain goal if you’re not willing to do everything it takes to achieve it!

Learn to get clear & be honest with yourself. Tell yourself you’re just not willing to do what it takes right now to achieve this goal & then change the goal. You are in full control of deciding if you want to revisit this goal later on or not. It doesn’t have to be a permanent decision! The important thing to know is that when you tell yourself you want something but aren’t actually doing the work it takes to achieve it you’re left fighting an internal battle with yourself & it’s excruciating. I’ve done this many times, and it led to feelings of being a failure, not being good enough, lack of motivation to continue & it was all because I set goals that I ‘said’ I wanted but my actions were nonexistent. Do you have goals that you’ve set for yourself that you’re currently not doing everything it takes to achieve them? If so, do yourself a favor and change the goal!

Telling yourself one thing while doing the opposite only leads to feelings of unhappiness & unfulfillment. It’s extremely unhealthy & an awful way to live. Not to mention a complete waste of time!

2. Be SO obsessed & passionate about your business!

Make sure whatever you decide to do as your business, that you’re so obsessed with & passionate about. Things will get hard, and when they do you’re going to need your passion and love for what you do to pull you through the hard times. Make sure you love it, and also make sure you’re willing to stick with it through tough times.

Be committed to it! You’ll never be successful if you’re constantly in the ‘start up’ phase of your business. There's nothing worse than starting a business and then stopping and starting another one and then stopping and then starting another one. You’re not even giving yourself an opportunity to become successful. Start ups do not make money so stop always trying to ‘start up’ and learn to commit to one business idea that you’re the most passionate about and pursue that!

Don’t get caught up in whether or not you think your business is a million dollar idea. I truly believe that when people pursue their true passions and they’re so obsessed with what they're doing, they will be successful!

3. You are your biggest asset.

Your business will only be as strong and healthy as the business person or entrepreneur running it. Taking care of yourself should be top priority daily. You need to make sure you’re taking care of yourself in these top 3 areas at all times: mentally, physically & emotionally. Businesses are hard enough on their own. You’ll need to show up for yourself so that you can show up for your business. I’ve talked about my wellness and health journey in my blog and podcast. I’ve been at the lowest of lows, super unhealthy, can’t get out of bed depressed, so much anxiety & stress. So I know exactly what it feels like to not be at my best & there is no way I’d be able to have the energy or stamina to build a business under those circumstances. You need to feel your best every single day and have the energy to push your business forward. It takes a lot of energy.

If you’re not good. Your business won’t be good. If you’re not feeling your best. Your kids don’t get the best version of mom. If you’re not great. Your husband doesn’t get the best version of wife. You come first, always. Everything and everyone around you will be blessed with the benefits of you taking care of you. It’s that simple

4. What do you need to get started?

Take inventory of what you’ll need to actually start your business. Only get the essentials! Do not waste money on anything that doesn’t make you money in return & is not essential for your operation. Don’t waste money on anything high end when you can start with something second hand. I see it all the time when new businesses go out of business so quickly after opening because they bought all top of the line commercial grade equipment and the fancy counter tops etc. They didn’t spend their money wisely on things that will actually make them money in order to continue their operation. You need to make money first & prove your business has potential & then slowly upgrade things in a smart and strategic way later on.

Determine what tools & products you’ll need to get started. Do you have the money you need to start right now or do you need to secure a loan from the bank?

When I started out of my tiny apartment home kitchen I bought a rolling pin, a whisk, some wooden spoons & a small stand mixer that held 1 batch of 12 cupcakes. I did not start with anything fancy & as I grew, I kept upgrading things as I needed slowly. When we opened our first store location, I got a business grant for $5000 and I spent that money on a slightly larger mixer, first & last months rent & things the health unit actually needed me to have like a 3 stage sink and a couple stainless steel tables. That’s it. Anything cosmetic or decor-wise for my storefront was second hand from Kijiji or super cheap from Ikea. I painted and got creative and crafty so I didn’t spend a lot of money on things that weren’t going to make me money in return.

5. Get support!

Do not try to run a business on your own. It will not work. You need to have some help & at the very least you need to make sure you have support. Make sure your family is on board! Business gets hard and requires a lot of energy, love & attention and at times, it will require more of your attention than you’ll be able to give to them. Get them onboard and supportive from the beginning otherwise they’ll feel neglected & left out when you start spending a significant amount of time on your business. If they’re not on board, you’re going to struggle with the business & your family life and it will be a disaster. You’ll constantly be fighting a battle & you won’t be able to sustain your business without the support of the people closest to you.

Surround yourself with other people in business and network & connect with like-minded business owners. People that aren't in business don’t understand what you’re going through and all the ups and downs and emotions involved. Other like minded people will be a huge blessing to you & you’ll be able to help each other out along the journey.

Those are my top 5 tips on what you need to know before starting your business! I hope you found them helpful, I look forward to connecting with you on socials!

Connect with me:

Instagram: @rebeccaatchickbosscake

Email: rebecca@chickbosscake.com

YouTube: Rebecca At Chick Boss Cake

Podcast: Scrap The Sweet Talk