Hey everyone, welcome back to Lavendaire.
Previously, I uploaded a video on how I started my business.
If you haven't seen it yet, you can watch it in the card up there.
Basically, at the end of the video I asked
if you guys wanted more business-related content
and a lot of you wanted to hear my lessons learned from business.
So today I'm going to share six lessons that I've learned from starting a business.
This is just entrepreneurship lessons,
but I feel like they could also be applied to any other area of life.
They're very universal, I would say.
The first lesson I learned from starting a business is:
There will always be obstacles.
There's always going to be a challenge.
There's always opportunities for you to get stuck.
But the lesson here is: There is always a way.
There's always a way, whether it's through the challenge or around it,
or somehow, there is a way to figure it out.
A lot of people let themselves get stuck once they meet a challenge
where they're like, “I don't know what to do.”
That “I don't know what to do” makes them
not know what next steps to take,
and then they just end up not taking any steps at all.
Then it's like their growth is stunted,
because they're stuck at that obstacle.
And so what I've learned is:
There is always, always a way through your obstacles and challenges.
You just have to have that mindset like, “I'm going to find a way.
I'm going to find a way through this, no matter what it takes.”
And the great Marie Forleo says, “Everything is figureoutable.”
That's actually the name of her new book: Everything is Figureoutable.
That is such a good business mantra,
because once you have that mindset that everything is figureoutable,
then your brain kind of opens up to more possibilities,
and then you start to get more creative,
trying to figure out your way around things.
At the end of the day, any action is better than no action.
So just do something, take any action.
Try to figure something out.
Try to learn something new or ask someone for help.
Or just see if you can look at your problem
from a new perspective or a new angle.
There's just always a way.
There's always a way, but you just have to be committed to finding that way.
The second lesson is the realization that
nobody knows what they're doing, especially in the beginning.
Everyone starts off with a lot of uncertainty,
a lot of questions, a lot of unknowns.
Basically, entrepreneurship is:
You learn as you go, and that's just the way it is.
That's the way of life, honestly.
When you're young and you're looking at people who are successful,
you think that they knew it all,
or they had it figured out in the beginning
and they just knew what steps to take.
But in reality, nobody knows what they're doing.
No one really knows all the steps that they have to take to get to their goal.
They only know maybe the first couple steps.
So it really is – you know, take a couple steps, figure it out,
and then the next steps will reveal themselves to you in time.
It's just a learning process, and you're going to make a lot of mistakes.
But essentially, experience is your greatest teacher.
There is no better way to learn than to just do the thing and have that experience,
and you'll make mistakes or you'll succeed.
Whatever it is, that experience will teach you
and you'll use that knowledge to keep going and keep pushing forward.
So with time, you will gain more experience and you will learn as you go.
By the way, I want to thank Skillshare for sponsoring today's video,
because Skillshare is such a great resource
for those who are interested in entrepreneurship
or just learning something new.
So if you haven't heard it: Skillshare is an online learning community
with thousands of classes covering dozens of creative and entrepreneurial skills.
Premium membership gives you unlimited access
so you can join the classes and communities that feel right for you.
Whether you want to feel your curiosity, creativity, or career
Skillshare is the perfect place to keep you learning and thriving.
And if you're interested in entrepreneurship,
then a class I think you'd really like is this one by Guy Kawasaki.
It's called “The Art of the Start: Turning Ideas into High Growth Businesses”.
This class helps you with a great foundation for starting a business.
He talks about starting a business for the right reasons,
asking the right questions to hone in on your product, service or business model,
and also creating a business mantra and so much more.
Skillshare is also really affordable,
especially when compared to pricey in person classes and workshops.
An annual subscription is less than $10 a month.
Because Skillshare is sponsoring today's video,
you guys can get a two month free trial
by clicking that link in the description down below.
All right, moving onto the next lesson that I've learned in business is:
Don't compare yourself to others.
This is honestly advice for business and for life because it applies to everyone.
Don't compare yourself to others.
I know that it is so easy to see what other people are doing,
especially on social media, see what other people
or other businesses are doing, and compare yourself to that.
But the reality is: You are unique.
You have a unique set of skills and resources and strengths
that is different from anyone else doing business.
So you have to hone in and use your strengths,
use your resources, use what you got, and use your voice.
You really have to hone in on who you are,
what you do best, and do your best not to be affected negatively
by comparing yourself to other people or other businesses,
because people are going to do what they do,
but you don't have to feel like you're in a competition.
You don't have to feel like you're racing against each other.
You are in your own lane, in your own path.
So, there is a flip side to this where it can be beneficial
to see what other people in your industry are doing
or people in other industries are doing
so you can get inspiration and learn from them.
Maybe you want to see other people's mistakes and learn from their lessons,
or you may be just inspired or motivated by what you see out there.
That is totally okay.
It's totally great to look at other people and then learn from them.
Use it for positivity and good.
The thing you should not do is
to let comparison spiral you down into a negative loop,
because essentially, if you compare yourself
and you feel bad about yourself after comparison,
it reveals your insecurity,
because if you weren't insecure about yourself or your business,
then seeing what other people are doing wouldn't affect you emotionally.
It wouldn't matter, and plus: it would even motivate or inspire you.
So if you notice yourself feeling negative about it,
then just don't compare yourself.
Don't look at it and try to just focus on what you got.
Another way you can look at this is:
You don't want to compare your Chapter 1 to someone else's Chapter 20,
because you might be seeing someone
who is much ahead in their business journey,
and you feeling like you're behind.
You’re feeling like, “Oh my gosh, I have so much work to do to catch up.”
You don't want to do that because if you think about it, everyone started at zero.
Everyone started somewhere.
So you can't compare your beginning to someone else's middle part of their journey,
or even their successful part of their journey,
because that's just not a fair comparison.
So don't waste your time, focus on yourself,
and hone in on your strengths and everything that you have to offer.
The next lesson I want to share about starting a business is kind of twofold.
The first part is: Don't give up, keep going,
keep things moving, keep taking action,
because like I said earlier, you don't want an obstacle or challenge
to thwart your progress and to make you stuck,
because a lot of the times people just get stuck and they give up,
because they can't figure a way through it.
So just keep going no matter what.
I am a firm believer that,
if you just keep taking action and keep trying, you will eventually succeed.
But when I say keep trying, I don't mean do the same thing over and over again.
I mean: Use your brain, take in feedback,
and reflect on how you can improve things and do it better next time.
So it's all about continuous learning
and continuing to take action using all the knowledge
and wisdom and experience that you've gained.
As long as you just keep moving, keep taking action, you will succeed,
and you cannot be afraid of the failures that happen in your journey.
Your failures are just part of the process.
They're a way for you to learn lessons.
Failures are just a learning opportunity.
Don't worry about them if they happen.
Learn from them and keep going.
The point is to keep going.
You also have to have an awareness of when something is not working
and when it is the right time to either close that project, \
try something new, pivot, or start over in a new way.
So “Keep going” doesn't mean keep trying the same thing
that doesn't work over and over again,
because you know it's all about learning.
And if you something doesn't work, then keep trying it in a new way.
Maybe your original business idea didn't actually pan out
the way that you had hoped it would pan out, but that's okay.
You can keep going, can start over, you can try something new.
For example: I used to run this program called the Artist of Life Mastermind,
and then later it became the Artist of Life Community.
So for two or three years, I was running this membership program
that was going along with the workbook.
And it came to a point where I just realized
the format was not exactly working
and the community was not what I had envisioned in the beginning.
And so I made the decision to close that product down and to end it.
But I still take those skills that I've learned
and apply it to other areas like our other Facebook groups,
our online course, and also our newest Lavendaire community on Vibely.
You do have to sometimes accept that things might not work out
the way that you expect them to work out,
and you might have to just close things off.
But it doesn't mean that it was a waste of time,
because everything that you gained from that experience
can be used and applied to your next venture
or the next thing that you're working on.
Everything is used.
Nothing is wasted.
But bottom line I was trying to say is:
Keep going, keep moving no matter what.
The next lesson, which is lesson #5 is to not take your failures personally.
This one is easier said than done.
It's something that I had to learn over the many, many years of my career,
to not take my failures personally, because I think –
I don't know about you, but for me,
I used to tie my self worth with my success and my failure.
You feel good about yourself and you think that you're great
when you're successful and you succeed and you make the right choices.
And then when you fail and you make mistakes,
you feel like, “Oh my god, I am the worst.
I'm nothing. I don't know anything. I suck.”
And it's such a roller coaster of self confidence and self worth,
and it's just not healthy.
But what you should do in entrepreneurship,
number one is: You have to accept that failures are inevitable.
They're going to happen.
You cannot avoid them,
and if you're trying to avoid failures,
then you're not going to be a very good entrepreneur,
because it's part of the process.
But not only do you have to recognize that failures are learning experiences,
you also have to recognize that failures are just data.
Failures are experience and data,
and you have to learn to detach your emotions from that data.
It's just information.
And information doesn't have to have an emotional charge to it.
It's just pure information.
It's just the information that "this way doesn't work".
So you have to learn to detach your sense of self worth
from your success and your failures,
because then you'll just have much better mental health, I promise you.
It's easier said than done,
but it's something that you have to practice doing.
This is important not just for entrepreneurs, but for everyone.
Learn to detach yourself from your successes and your failures.
Take your failures as just information to help you do better next time.
Just ask yourself: What can I learn from this?
What does this mean?
Take your sense of self worth and your emotions out of the equation,
and just look at the information in front of you as just information.
The last lesson I want to share on starting a business is just the reminder that
no one will care about your business as much as you do.
And it might sound obvious, but it's something to remember,
because when you start to hire employees
and you start to build out your team,
you might have this expectation for your team members to work really hard
and care about the business as much as you do.
But I've learned that it just naturally makes sense that you care the most
and everyone who is on your team will care
either the same – if you're lucky – or less.
Definitely, most likely, they will care less and they don't have –
They're not you so you can't expect them to be you.
You can't expect your team to have the same sense of urgency that you do
or have the same detailed level of care that you have,
so you have to do your best.
You are the leader, and then everything flows from you under that, so you can't be lazy.
You really can't just kick back and think, “Oh, I have a team now.
Other people are doing the work, so I can relax.”
You really cannot, because you set the standard.
You are the one that cares the most about your business,
so if you decided to be lazy and care less,
then your team is going to be lazy and care even less than you do as well.
That's just naturally how it works.
Ultimately you have to remember that, especially in a small business,
you are the heart and the core of your business.
You are the leader, you're the one driving the ship.
You are the one where everything flows out of,
so you have to be on your A game and do your best.
All right, that wraps it up for my lessons learned in business.
Let me know which one was your favorite, comment down below.
And in hindsight, these are honestly lessons that can be applied to life in general.
So they're really for everyone, not just business.
All right, thanks so much for watching today.
And also make sure to check out the new 2020 Artist of Life Workbook.
Link is down below.
And I will see you next time.
Love you!
Bye!