5 Essential Business Lessons Every Entrepreneur Needs to Succeed

I’ve been running my businesses for over 5 years now and I can tell you it’s nothing like the images you see online.

There’s been no posing in front of the Eiffel Tower, no cocktails at lunch, no laptops on a beach.

It’s been me, alone (well with my little furbaby Isla), putting in the graft, pulling my hair out, wondering why everyone else’s journey looks so easy (it’s not, they are just filtering out the truth)

It’s been so much more challenging than I could ever imagine, but boy the highs are incredible. To know that I am helping others to create the business they dream of and have fun whilst doing is all I could ask for.

It’s been a game changer for me and I would never go back.

But there are definitely things I wish I’d known at the start which would’ve made things a heck of a lot easier.

Check out below the top 5 things I wish i’d known at the start of my crazy entrepreneurial journey.

Keen to learn more about starting and growing a successful business?

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And you should definitely grab your free success plan and mini training which takes you through the exact proven steps I’ve used with hundreds of entrepreneurs to get them unstuck and taking powerful action in their businesses.

Business Success Tip 1: Start An Email List Now

Start an email list as soon as you can, I mean literally do it right now if you don’t have one yet.

I used to cringe when people would say the power is in the list but actually they’re right.

Emails are an incredibly efficient way of building relationships with your target audience and generating leads for your business.

Jenna Kutcher breaks it down brilliantly:

1) Only 6% of your audience sees your social media posts 2) 66% of people have made a purchase from email 3) Email generates 174% more conversions than social media 4) The average order value is at least 3 times higher through email vs social media

You’re also fully in charge so won’t fall victim to algorithm changes as you can on social media.

Remember content is key, you should be adding value at least 3 times more often than you are selling in your emails. Want help creating killer content? check out my blogs:

1) How to easily create captivating headlines for your blog

2) How to create months of content quickly and easily

3) 5 ways to create consistent content ideas

Business Success Tip 2: Cash Is King

This is an oldie but a goodie. You can be running a profitable business but if you run out of cash to pay your freelancers/FB ads bill/VA/whatever then you are in trouble.

You need to know at any moment what is going on with the money in your business. It can be quite overwhelming to dig into the figures, but it’ll give you so much freedom when you conquer them.

Produce a cashflow forecast at the start of your business to see where your cash crunch points are likely to be. If you want help with your numbers, just give me a yell.

Once you know what you are aiming for, you can update it as you go with your actual figures to see how you are doing against target.

My biggest cashflow tip is to make sure you spend wisely at the start. Ask yourself if is a nice to have or an essential spend? The new Mac and fancy offices can wait.

Check out my 10 top tools for starting and running your business to get some ideas of what to spend on.

Business Success Tip 3: Focus On Value Not Money

Focus on helping your clients and adding value, the money will follow.

This can be difficult when you have bills to pay, but by adding value before chasing cash you will increase the trust factor and really build a strong relationship with your audience.

Your business should be about serving others and when you take your eye off this your business loses focus and integrity.

Business Success Tip 4: Never Stop Learning

Never stop learning about your customers, about what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur, about how to run your business.

You should always be looking to improve your skills in your key areas such as who your customers are & what they want, marketing, personal development.

This will increase your confidence and keeps you and your business up to date and relevant in a fast paced economy.

My fave way to learn is podcasts. Hands up I am a total podcast lover, you can check out my essential ones here

Business Success Tip 5: Have Faith

Have confidence in your idea and in you and your ability to deliver it. You can do this. Others have done it so why not you?

This is absolutely crucial, if you don’t believe in what you are doing then how are you going to get your customers to?

Much of this is around mindset and developing the mindset of a successful entrepreneur through daily practices, visualisation and (buzz word alert!!) self-care.

If you want a little inspiration to get going, then check out my favourite inspirational quotes for entrepreneurs.

So that’s my top 5 things I wish I know when I started out. It can be overwhelming to start your own business, but don’t let this put you off, the thrill of running your own business and escaping the 9-5 is nothing short of immense.

What are things do you wish you have know before starting your entrepreneurial journey?