i get a lot of questions sometimes from people about what it’s like running my own business. or what i’ve learned in the time that i have been publicly talking about it. so, here are three things that i have learned about running my own business.

no one is gonna do it for you

as much as i hate to say it because sometimes i wish it weren’t true: no one is gonna do it for you. no matter what the “it” is i.e, taxes, advertising, invoices, etc. you still have to do it.

for me, it’s a little different because my family and i run our businesses so we can bounce off each other. i truly hate talking on the phone. i do not like talking on the phone to clients because majority of the time they want immediate answers (and i cannot blame them), but for me it’s a lot of pressure. i’m just overall better at writing up emails because i am much better at getting across my point, questions, and information in a better fashion. 

but it’s still something that i am working towards. so, i’ll try to be better at it before the end of the year *crosses fingers*.

you get everything… even the bad

a good thing about running your own business is you get everything. you get all the praise when you do a good job, you get all the profit, you get all the love; however, you also get all the negative things too. 

you get the hate, you get the difficult clients, and you will get the clients asking for a refund. i want to make sure you’re aware of that. you can never have the good without the bad. how would you know just how sweet the success tastes without the failure?

you won’t always be motivated

this point is super important. when running your own business you won’t have motivation all the time to do anything. this is why you have to have discipline. when you have discipline you’ll do what you know has to be done even when don’t FEEL like doing anything. 

and 9 times out of 10 after you starting getting into a rhythm and groove of doing something you’ll end up feeling motivated to do it — starting is the hardest part.

also read: 5 things no one tells you about being self-employed