Ep. 17 - Four things I wish I did differently

When people recount their experiences starting a business you often hear a lot of people say, “I wouldn’t change a thing!”. I get it, you live and learn. You learn through the trials and tribulations. But there are some things that would have made it much, much easier. And some things in which I would have done differently.

To be honest, when I started Elevate Financial I had no idea what I was doing. I had zero experience starting and running a business. I understood the client side (sort of), but that’s it.

If I could turn back the clock, these are the four things I would have changed. These tips are transferable. Nothing is directed toward the professional services industry, rather it's general and applicable to any new venture.

Let’s dig in.

1. Pick something that scales. This one hurts. But the reality of professional services is they are notoriously hard businesses to scale. There comes a time when you can’t do it all. You can’t onboard three clients in one month. You have to turn down dream clients, and it hurts. And the only way to scale is through increasing employee headcount, which is easier said than done. For example, professional services (law, accounting, consulting, etc.) requires a trained and specific skill set, which means the salary is going to be significant. These large salaries then mean the sales pipeline needs to be constantly filled. Even at the big firms (PwC, EY, Deloitte) they are continually pounding the pavement for pipeline and monitoring headcount. Think long and hard about the industry and scalability of the business before diving in.
   
2. Open a Corporation & Holding Company. I wish I did this on day one. I started a Sole Proprietorship instead. My thought was ‘ah, I probably won’t make too much money in the first year, so it isn’t really worth it’. Well, I was very wrong. And Trudeau will take home over half of my hard-earned money in 2021. Just set-up it up and expect to make big money.
   
3. Hire someone immediately. Entrepreneurship is lonely. It can feel like an island most of the time. Even if you don’t have the work, or the funds to do so, try to work something out. Building together is much more enjoyable than building by yourself. That old saying is frustrating, “if you want to go quickly, go alone, if you want to go far, go together”, but it’s very, very true. Build the team, get everyone on the bus, and then take off.
   
4. Hire a counsellor. Hire the f*cking best counsellor you can find - you’ll need it. This isn’t to scare anyone, but it’s the brutal facts. It’s a wild ride. For example, last Friday I felt on top of the world. I closed a big deal, I was going out for a nice dinner, and all was good. However, on Tuesday I wanted to light my laptop on fire and move to Mexico. Two extremes. Just another day in the office. I can’t stress how important a counsellor is. It may feel like a large investment, but it’s well worth it. Your future self will thank you.
   

So these are my four things I would have done differently, but honestly there is likely about ten more.

If I had to pick the most important ones, I'd say the last two. You will need support, so start with support. Great teams build great companies. And a great entrepreneur needs a great counsellor. Don't meander your way there out of need eight months later.