It seems that the year goes by faster and faster. It just dawned on me again that today 5.9. celebrate Entrepreneurs’ Day. Since last year’s Entrepreneurs’ Day, some truly revolutionary things have happened, both good and bad. After this extraordinary spring and summer, many people are afraid to become entrepreneurs, while for others this year has opened up the possibility of entrepreneurship.
I started my own business in March 2008. I thought I’d share a bit about my own entrepreneurship and with this post I want to encourage entrepreneurs, those considering entrepreneurship and everyone else. Here are some of my observations over the years and tips that I hope will be useful to you.
BE BOLD AND TRUST YOUR VISION
Entrepreneurship is fascinating and exciting. In many cases, it takes a lot of courage to make decisions and take action. Without courage, my own entrepreneurship would have failed in the early stages.
Confidence in your vision and your work is absolutely essential. Do your own thing with dedication and appreciate others without spending your precious energy comparing yourself to others. There will always be someone who appreciates what you do when you do it with quality and passion. Sooner or later, it will draw the right people around you as partners and customers.
Of course, entrepreneurship also sometimes involves feelings of uncertainty. Often, the life of a basic positive person seems too easy to many outsiders. When few can see beneath the surface how much work and sacrifice an entrepreneur has had to make. For example, I have had many situations in my career where I spend sleepless nights crying and stressing about what to do next. Feelings must be given space and dealt with. But when you maintain a generally positive vibe, help others and do sincere good, it brings joy and moves you forward.
Especially in the early years, there have been many moments when my own courage has been tested. For example, as a young entrepreneur, I was asked to take a group photo of a group of over 300 employees. At the time I thought, “This is great, but I’m so nervous, I don’t know how I’m going to get through this. Vaikka siihen mennessä olin kuvannut useinkin erilaisia kymmenien henkilöiden ryhmiä ja urheilujoukkueita studiossani ja muualla. And weddings with groups of over 100 guests. Still, as a new entrepreneur, being alone in front of everyone and in control while the whole team is watching you closely was always an exciting place to be.
So what was it about those situations that made you nervous? What if I fail or things don’t go as I planned. This brings us to the fear of failure, which easily prevents you from doing great things.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO FAIL
If someone claims to have never failed, they have never actually tried anything. That’s just the way it is. And the higher your bar is, the higher you can be sure that there will be disappointments and failures along the way. Lessons must be learned and, of course, we must do our best to avoid repeating the same mistake.
When a child learns to walk, what happens when he or she falls? Hän ei lopeta vaan ponnistaa ylös ja jatkaa niin kauan, kunnes oppii kävelemään. And thanks to his determination, he’ll soon be running.
Did you know that many of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs have failed really badly in their careers and even experienced multiple bankruptcies and debt? Such great feelings of failure, in the midst of which many would have lost the will to live altogether. It gives you a good perspective if you sometimes feel that you haven’t always got everything quite right.
There is only one you. Be yourself and do your best. Don’t give up and don’t be afraid to fail.
ALSO DARE TO OUTSOURCE
In many cases, entrepreneurs want to keep all the strings in their own hands, so to speak. I myself am too much mistaken about this. But if you want to focus entirely on your own core competences, you need to dare to outsource and invest in the work of another skilled professional. For example, if you are not qualified to do the bookkeeping yourself and don’t want to do it yourself, get a qualified accountant. It is an investment that will certainly pay for itself many times over in the short term, not to mention years.
Personally, I’m of the caste that tends to want to do everything myself. Yes, from this website onwards. Of course, I’ve been learning how to make websites since I was 12 years old and as a teenager I was commissioned to create websites for companies and events. Plus search engine optimisation and so on.
I have hardly ever invested in marketing. You often hear that an entrepreneur should have a marketing budget of at least a few hundred euros per month. And many entrepreneurs have said that you can’t even survive without marketing. Personally, I am very lucky and grateful that thanks to my great clients, busker radio and the search engine optimization I have done myself has brought me clients in all the years of my entrepreneurship.
But when I think about it afterwards and in general, marketing certainly plays a very important role in a company’s operations. And it’s worth outsourcing it to someone who knows how to do it and is genuinely interested in the success of your business.
LEARN TO SAY “NO”
I myself worked for years at a terribly fast pace AND too cheaply. I didn’t really know how to draw boundaries, and I didn’t really know how to say no either. A few years wiser than I am, I can already say that it’s not worth it.
Instead, I’ve taken big and painful decisions and left out overly burdensome work altogether, because I want to do things with passion and enthusiasm. I want to serve my customers well and work to a high standard. It just doesn’t work if I’m trying to please everyone and I’m constantly working on the verge of burnout.
Building a workflow that is efficient and serves my own well-being has been extremely important to me. This allows me to give my best to the client and enjoy my work at the same time.
ENJOY LIFE AND GET ENOUGH REST
Remember to take a holiday, even if it feels difficult. Nowadays, I try to make sure that my working weeks are no longer excessively long and that I have time for other important things in life, such as exercise and hobbies. Life must not be just a job. As a rule, eat healthy, get enough sleep and enjoy life!
BONUS: DARE TO DREAM!
Dream and set goals. Be prepared to work hard to achieve your dreams and goals. This has been a very important part of my own entrepreneurship. Many dreams have already come true. Even things that, years ago, I didn’t dare to think would ever happen.
I look forward to working towards making dreams come true in the future. You do it too! But be careful what you dream, because if you work hard for your dreams, they will come true 😉
Happy Entrepreneur’s Day and good luck in everything in life!
