2016 is just about over, and you may find yourself thinking about all the goals you wanted to start this year, but some how didn’t get to them. If you’ve always wanted to start your own business online, you’re going to love this post.
Starting your own online business can be scary, but with each scare, you learn something new and become even better. Since I’m new to the online business design world I reached out to the top gurus in the online branding & design world for their advice.
Also if you’re looking to start your own website, but don’t know where to start I’ve broken down each step here and you can start your website today.
I asked each of them:
If you could go back in time to the first day that you started your online business what’s the one piece of advice you would give yourself?
Here’s what they said: 1. “If I could go back to day one of building my biz I would have combined my blog and my portfolio site into one. I kept them separate because my blog was full of lifestyle posts and not really focused on helping to grow my brand. Switching to a single site for everything and focusing my blog on topics that would help my clients would have not only saved me time but also help to draw in a larger audience sooner. ” [Tweet “I would have combined my blog and my portfolio site into one. “] -XO Sarah xosarah.com/ Instagram | Twitter 2. “If I could go back in time I’d tell myself “CONTRACTS OVER EVERYTHING”. You don’t seem bitchy for having a contract in place, you seem smart. Like you value your time.” [Tweet ““If I could go back in time I’d tell myself “CONTRACTS OVER EVERYTHING””] -Jacque Amadi amadidigitalboutique.com/ Instagram | Twitter 3. “Whew, if I could hop back into a time machine and rewind back to one year ago … I would have taken myself more seriously and invested back into my business more often. Now this gem right here could have saved me so much heartache and stress as it related to my online social media consulting business. It is so important to invest back into yourself to make your business bigger, better and stronger. Once you begin investing (smartly) into your business, clients and potential leads will take you more seriously. Slay on and invest!” [Tweet “I would have taken myself more seriously and invested back into my business more often “] – Chakayla www.chakaylajtaylor.com Instagram: | Twitter 4. “If I could go back to my first day of business, I would tell myself to focus more on strategy. Passion gets you started, but being strategic and using wisdom about how you conduct your business and set yourself apart from competitors will keep your business going.” [Tweet “I would tell myself to focus more on strategy. Passion gets you started, but..”] 5. “If I could go back in time, I would tell myself that nothing ever has to be perfect. Launch what you have and perfect it later.” [Tweet “Launch what you have and perfect it later.”] -Kimberly Marie, HER NAME IS KIM www.hernameiskim.com Instagram: | Facebook 6. “I’d tell myself to remember that every creative needs a break every now and again. Yes, consistency is incredibly important, but so is your health. If you feel that you’re on the edge of a burnout, take a hiatus. Simply be honest with your audience and clients about your need for a break, set expectations so your audience and clients know of any changes and when you’ll be back, and check in with your community when you can. People understand far more than we may think they do.” [Tweet “I’d tell myself to remember that every creative needs a break every now and again. “] -Kayla Hollatz kaylahollatz.com/ Instagram | Twitter Want access to the 5 tools that will help make your blogging life easier? Get your free guide here!
7. “If I could give myself one piece of advice when I was first starting out, it would simply be: keep your eyes on your own paper. As in, stop looking at what other people are doing. Stop feeling inadequate because others are farther along or seemingly more talented than you are. Stop playing the comparison game. When you spend so much time studying other people, you’re taking away your own opportunity to be uniquely you. So, block out everyone else (even if it means unfollowing and unsubscribing to 100 people) and just focus on creating your own thing.”
-Melyssa
www.melyssagriffin.com/
Instagram | Twitter
8. [Tweet “If I could go back, I’d tell myself to work with quality clients and to be picky.”]
-Maya
www.MayaElious.com
Instagram | Twitter
9. “If I could go back and give myself one piece of advice when I started it would be to focus more time on building relationships than anything else. Like most industries, dominating the online space is as much about who you know as what you know. You may have all the answers someone needs but if they don’t know who you are or that you even exist they will never find you and your solutions.
It seems counter-intuitive to give more than you get at the beginning, but showering your peers with love and shamelessly promoting their work will have you reaping the biggest rewards the soonest. Find the top 20 movers and shakers in your niche and get to know them. The more badasses you know the more opportunities that will present themselves. If only I understood that when I started…BUT, let’s get real, hindsight is always 20/20, yo!”
[Tweet “Focus more time on building relationships than anything else. “]
-Dre
thebrandedsolopreneur.com
Instagram | Twitter
Lot’s of great gems have been dropped by these wonderful ladies, thank you so much for your words of wisdom. it’s greatly appreciated. Now that you have this great advice how could you not have a successful?!
Is there anything you would tell yourself if you could go back to the first day you started your online business? Please share in the comments.
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