What I Wish I’d Known Before Owning A Business

We wish we had known a million things before starting our businesses, but who doesn’t. Choosing to step out of more traditional roles and turning our private dreams into grandiose endeavors is nothing if not a learning curve.

In the hopes of helping out some other entrepreneurs, we asked our very own Catapult members what they wish they had known before starting a business, and this is what they said:

Alison Foley-Rothrock with Red Tent Initiative notes “That there is no prize for struggling through on your own instead of asking for help / mentorship.”

For a variety of reasons, asking for help from others can seem less than ideal, but not asking for help can be the difference between life and death for your business. As much as we hate to admit it, there are going to be times when someone else is much better at whatever task we’re trying to work out on our own, and willing ourselves to put aside what’s holding us back and simply bringing on their help will make all the difference.

Javi Reyes of @Sundial.Creatives says regarding starting your own business to “Make sure that it’s your passion.”

Anytime that we decide to dedicate the better part of our lives to something, its best practice to choose a thing that we are passionate about. While this advice is given in most career establishing contexts, it is all the more important when considering to start your own business, because that will extend far beyond the regular 9 to 5.

Nathaniel Kendrick of YF LLC says, “Perfection is a killer in starting a business–focus more on executing your plan than being perfect.”

It’s part of the human condition to be too hard on ourselves, and anything we create in return. Being too hard on your business, especially when first starting out, can really kill not only your productivity, but also your motivation and daily decision to continue down the path. Give yourself and your business the space to grow, forgiving unforseen hiccups along the way.

Matthew Burnett from Perspective Horizons says “I wish I had known what a registered agent was and whether or not I should have one for my business.”

In a nutshell, a registered agent helps you with some of the more technical and legal aspects of business ownership. If you think you might need one, or in general just want to learn more about them, be sure to check out this article.

Jenna Cherry of @TwentySevenLkld explains, “It’s more time consuming and exhausting than I thought it would be, but it’s also more fulfilling and joyful than I thought it would be.”

Even if you’re working harder than you ever have in your life, knowing that the reward will be greater than anything you’ve ever earned before seems like a fair trade. If you’ve dreamt of having your own business, regardless of the drive behind that dream, seeing it through will be the best decision you could ever make for yourself.

Andy Markley of Darand Innovations LLC remarks, “There are support groups such as Catapult and its people to help with startup questions. My startup stalled as I didn’t know what was the next step until the CO.STARTERS class.”

(And we didn’t even ask him to say this.) At Catapult, we host a nine week course called CO.STARTERS that helps early on entrepreneurs turn their ideas into realistic and individualized step-by-step plans toward success.

Alexander Donalson, creator of @DSON Photography adds, “[Starting a business] is not that hard. At least, I made it out to be more than what it actually was.”

Sometimes, that hardest part of any task is getting it started–even something as simple as cleaning your house. Sure, it would be much easier to hang out and watch TV, but the satisfaction of a clean home is greater reward than lazily willing the mess to disappear on its own. More often than not, bringing yourself to whip out the vacuum is half the battle. Once you get that sucker (no pun intended) out of the closet, you’re well on your way to being done. The same is true for your business. Those first initial leaps of decision-making and strategy-building are all you will need to get the ball rolling and turn your life around for the better.

If this post has aroused questions about Catapult or entrepreneurship in general, be sure to reach out to us at Catapult using the email catapultlakeland@gmail.com or give us a call at 863-940-9660.