I remember many years back when I was in about a sophomore in high school. I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I knew that I was technologically inclined. I was interested in Information Technology and computer work. Even at that time, I felt limited and questioned if that’s what I was prepared to do for the next 40 years. Something felt off about having to tie myself down to one area and be that one thing for the rest of my life. However, I wasn’t exactly sure I wanted to own a business or what business it would even be at that time. I remember looking at my computer screen thinking, “that’s it? Is that all there is to life? I should just get a job doing programming and at that point, I accomplished everything there was to life?”
Years later, I still struggled to find out who I was because I still couldn’t pinpoint one specific thing I was crazy about that I wanted to do as a career and label myself as. At 17 years old, I got started in network marketing. Long story short, I was in that first company for 5 years. Did I have some success? A little bit, not monetarily though. I left that company after I saw things weren’t going to change for me. I joined another company for 2 years and played around with it because it was more of the same, just a little better. Throughout the entire time, I was exposed to ideas, concepts, knowledge, successful people, struggles, goals, seminars, and fellow people that also wanted something better for their lives.
After leaving this second company, I decided to jump online to turn away from methods that no longer made sense to me and to find something new and exciting to devote myself to. Another long story turned short, I attempted to make my own website for months without any results or clue what I was doing. After having been subscribed to a monthly service that was supposed to make things easier for me and help me make a website, it turned out it make it much more complicated. Six months later, I had nothing. I then joined an affiliate marketing business online which made the most sense out of anything I’ve ever attempted. I thought I struck gold. However, a year and a half later, I was barely making an income and had invested thousands. I did learn a tremendous amount of skills and knowledge throughout this time however that I do not regret and will serve me in my future and current endeavors.
During all of this time, I struggled with finances heavily. I struggled with self-image issues due to not being able to create the results I wanted while watching others progress. I questioned what was wrong with me. Why couldn’t I get a break? Why doesn’t anything work for me? What am I doing wrong? I began a looong journey on self-development road haven’t taken an exit since. I began reading, watching videos, listening to audios, meditating, studying the laws of the universe; you name it. This journey to self-mastery I don’t regret one bit.
I tell you all of this so that you know my background and so that you believe me when I say, “I’ve learned a few things.”
I can look back and see a few things I would have changed early on that would have helped me tremendously and would have saved me from tons of frustration and starvation. If you put the numbers together, I started on a path as a entrepreneur at 17 years old even though I didn’t know what that was and over 8 years later, someone working a part-time job at McDonald’s would make more in the month than I did in any business I ever attempted to build. If you are reading this and you are about to embark on the life of an entrepreneur, I recommend you take very much heed to the tips I am going to give you.
Balance Your Job & Your Business:
This to me is the most important one. It is very easy to get caught up in “having a business” and believe that things are going to skyrocket in 7 days and you’ll be able to retire by Friday. This is dangerous. Before you even touch a business opportunity that will take up much of your time, require consistent investment, and effort, make sure you have a stable, full-time job and that you aren’t living paycheck to paycheck.
If you do not have a solid foundation, nothing you try to build on top will go right. When you are putting all the pressure on your business to provide you with the money to eat, you will starve. Businesses don’t always grow as fast as we’d like, especially when your success is determined on people seeing what you see, joining you in your business, and putting in consistent work.
Your bills should be paid comfortably, you should have some money saved up, and building a business shouldn’t affect if you can still go out and have a life to balance out your work.
Live For A Living:
If all that you do is build a business and swallow the pill called “put everything I love on the back burner”, you’re screwed. I fell into this for years. When all you do is “grind”, you become anti-social and feel awkward just being around people. I was not interesting at all. There is a difference between having a business and being a business. You have a business, among other things. What you do and what you have should assist in making you an all-around interesting person. If you only do one thing, people will not deem you as interesting and you will have trouble relating and building relationships because you only know one topic that not everyone wants to talk about. When things are going well in other areas of your life, it will spill over.
I have a question. What happens when you’re business isn’t exactly taking off? You’re frustrated and have nothing to balance out your emotions. The only thing you can do is focus on how things aren’t going right. It’s like planting an apple seed and pulling up a chair and staring at the ground waiting for the leaves and branches to show. No one will want to join you in anything if they don’t see the results in your own life. Even if you had the money you are looking for, if people look at you and see you have no relationships, no passions, and no life, it will repel them. Get out and have dinner with friends, date people, play piano, dance, exercise. Whatever you love to do, always include it in your daily routine. Take your life from ambition to meaning. The reason you are building a business is because you feel it will make you happier in the having of it and what it can create for you, correct? So don’t be miserable until then. Be happy now!
Find Mentors:
You can either do everything yourself to find out what works or learn from people who already know how to do it right.
When you’ve decided what business you are going to build, research people who are already where you want to be and contact them. Network all the time with people who know what they are doing and make yourself known to them. Connecting with people that can create results you are looking for isn’t for “other people”, it’s for those that want to make it. You don’t need a bunch of people to follow just a few that are willing to guide you and that you relate with. Chase mastery.
Educate yourself everyday on how your business works and how to make it better. By locking arms with people that know what works, you create a conduit to tapping into the best information. Here’s a thought. If you want to learn fast, contact someone who is where you want to be and say “We don’t know each other but if you teach me what you know, I’ll work for you for free.” They will surely appreciate and admire your ambition and you will connect instantly since they know a thing or two about that. I learned this idea from Tai Lopez. I highly recommend you check him out on Youtube. Seriously.
Outsource:
I recommend learning how every cog and wheel in your business works so that you know how to do things and what to change. However, if there is an area of your business that requires you to take on work that you are not versed in or interested in, don’t touch it. Just because it is your business does NOT mean you have to do everything. The owners of the most successful businesses in the world don’t do anything anymore. Think about that. Think about the exact things that need to get done to create the results you are looking for and find someone who will do it for you. For everything you need done in this world, someone know how to do it and is willing to do it for you for the right price. Make long-term connections and relationships with these people to avoid having to find good people every-time you need something done.
If your business needs a website to take off and you feel that is what’s holding you back, find someone who has done great websites based on samples of their work and pay them to take care of it. It will be done better and faster than you can ever do it. Don’t spend months trying to learn web-design. At the end of the day, you get a great website. That is what you wanted, right? Let that sink in. It will cost you more not to have that website than it will buying tools and services and attempting to do it yourself. Let someone else take care of it.
What I have written here is a culmination of over 8 years of my life. I can’t start over but you can start right.
