Bonus: 12 things I've learned in 12 months
It has officially been 365 days since I started Elevate Financial Group. It's shocking to think about. A part of me feels as though this past year flew by, but another part of me feels like I've been doing this for decades. It has been a rollercoaster ride, but I wouldn't change a thing. It was, and continues to be, the best professional and financial decision I've ever made. Plus, the grit, creativity, and general resiliency the process has taught me is more valuable than any education I've ever received. And it's only the beginning - I'm just getting started.
Quick hits:
- Content is king, which means I wrote a lot...
- Articles written: 42
- LinkedIn Posts: 150+
- Emails Sent [Cold]: 250+
- & it translated into...
- 5x'd Income; and
- 7 different clients - ranging from $1m ARR to $1b ARR.
So without further adieu, here are the 12 things I've learned in 12 months.
- Starting a business is hard.
If someone told me it would take 42 articles, 150+ posts, and 250+ emails sent, then I’m not sure I would have proceeded. Or at the very least, I would have had second thoughts. But now I’m obsessed with it. I’m obsessed with the process of building, and all I want to do is go bigger and better... More to come on that in the new year ;)
2. Be a giver.
When I first started I was so concerned about money. How much money will I bring in this month? When will this client pay? I’ve now come to realize that giving is much more rewarding than receiving. The goal here is to play long-term games with long-term people. Avoid being short-sighted - it's not worth it. The city you operate in is smaller than you think.
3. Have some humility.
I had a lot of f*ck ups, and that’s okay. Just own it. Be accountable. Have skin in the game. Trust me, you’ll gain respect. This also relieves a lot of pressure. People make mistakes, and sometimes weird/unscalable shit needs to be done. It’s all part of the process.
4. You’re going to screw up and that’s okay.
Similar to the above, many, many mistakes will be made. An email will be sent to the wrong person, client work will be missed, and business bill payments will likely be lost in the shuffle. This is all part of the process. Accept it, don't dwell on the past, learn, and move on.
5. Your business will change numerous times.
I think this is key to remember. Research any successful business and they likely started as something else. This is the best part of being a small and agile business. The first two years of business (before any legacy systems or brand awareness is baked in) is the time to be truly creative, and it's the time when the most impactful pivots are made.
6. Do --> Learn --> Do.
I think about this framework often. The best way to learn something is by doing. You can buy all the courses and read all the books, but if you don’t actually do anything then it's pointless. Put it into practice, fail, and then reiterate. Then reiterate again.
7. Get the big things right.
The finer details can be worked out after the fact. Get the big things right. Who is your muse? What is your niche? Are you serving your true customers? Analogy to personal finance: don't worry about buying the latte everyday if you're paying $3k a month in rent. It's negligible, so get the rent down and buy the f*cking latte.
8. Follow the 1,000 day rule.
Anything significant takes at least 1,000 days. Or said in another way, it takes a lot of consistent work. The majority of businesses, side hustles, and newsletters fail because people stop. They don’t think they’ve gained any traction. Well, think about this; AirBnB had 50 people visiting their website per day after 1.5 years in business. Lesson here? Everything great takes time. Take massive action and have unwavering patience.
9. Trust the process.
I found that success usually came in waves. I went from one client to five in a matter of months. Just because you're not gaining traction, doesn't mean what you're doing is not working. Give yourself some grace and time.
10. Find your tribe.
This is important, and I'm continually looking to build and enhance my tribe. We all need support. I’m lucky to have an amazing family and the best partner (she's the GOAT), which are both unbelievably supportive. However, it’s also important to find people doing similar things. Entrepreneurship can be lonely. It can be a long and dark path, however having people to bounce ideas off of, and sometimes just to vent, is needed. I found a mentor early on (through a cold email) and it has been life changing from both a business perspective and personally.
11. Just be a good person.
This is self-explanatory. Just be kind. 'Winner-takes-all' is a fallacy. You and your business can succeed alongside competitors.
12. Understand how far you’ve come.
This is something I admittedly suck at. When I started I remember thinking that if I could work with 5+ clients, and earn $275k + in income by year three I would be very, very proud. Well, I reached that goal in year one, but I didn’t even celebrate it. I instantly thought, “okay, I think I could do $50k /monthly by 2022 - let's go”. This attitude has served me well, however without celebrating your wins, you’ll always be chasing. You'll always be in pursuit. Naturally, I like the pursuit and I like playing the game of business. So I don't fault myself too much. But remember that these celebrations aren't just for you, they're also for your support group. My partner has put up with a lot of BS, so the celebration is also for her. It's very easy to get caught-up in your own head. There's life outside your business.
I had many more lessons learned over the past 12 months, but these ones stuck out the most. I truly believe that starting something of your own (project, side hustle, hobby, or anything) is invaluable. It's therapeutic, and one of the best paths to self-discovery.