One of the best things about video games is the ability to restart – you can use your learnings to move faster and avoid obstacles. We often think about what we would do differently if we were starting over in business and we figured others probably think about this as well and so we asked the community to share their thoughts with us.
Casey Wilson
Navigating the photography industry is an immense task, but one that you’ll never look back on because it’ll change your life forever. It’s a constant process of growing and learning how to handle new situations that constantly arise. And even though so many friends and mentors gave me advice, it was hard to know what they would be right about, so I didn’t always listen. But if I were able to start all over today, I would really listen and follow along because I knew I should have been taking their advice, I just didn’t have the motivation and wisdom to put it into practice. Read more>>
Janie Tyler
If I started over, I would approach my entire way of talking with clients differently. It’s been the biggest change in my business over the years and has made the biggest difference in literally ~everything~. I think that really connecting with myself and who I am has allowed me to show up for my clients fully authentic. I now treat my clients like they are my everything, and they are!! I just wasn’t communicating that before. I wasn’t asking the right questions. I wasn’t letting them really tell their story. Additionally, the people I want to work with CARE about the important things. They’re intentional, put love above all else, and are okay with who they are. So having genuine conversation with people and helping them feel heard is what changed my business for me. None of these AI responses. It feels like more important work now that I take that on myself. I love doing it! It feels like I really attract the people that make my heart soar while on photo shoots. I also really prefer genuine human interaction in any business that I seek out. I don’t care about convenience. I care about quality and slowing down in life. So making that super apparent in my business has actually made me more successful! I guess what I’m trying to say is, show up as YOU. Really tell people what it is that you and your business stand up for. Make your vision and your values clear, put your heart and soul into everything you do, and the rest will fall into place! Read more>>
Chanita Jones
As with most entrepreneurs, we depend on our family and friends to help us to establish our business. This seems like a logical first step. However, our family and friends may not offer the support that is needed or expected. If I were to start over, I would branch out to unfamiliar territory much sooner, as it relates to where I am marketing my products and services. By participating in local pop-up shops, I have gained valuable insights, as well as encouragement, from people that I had no direct connection to. I would also join the local chamber of commerce sooner, to broaden my network as well. Most importantly, I would ask for help sooner. I was so focused on creating the best products, that I neglected to market the products in more meaningful ways. The lack of initial exposure has made building brand awareness a steady climb. Finally, secure some brand ambassadors. The ambassadors can be your friends, family, former/fellow coworkers or strangers. Read more>>
Sean Lott
Wow, if I was starting over today things will be so much easier due to the advancements in social media not even taking into consideration the new movement by AI. things are just so much easier for content creators. getting your work out to the masses has never been easier than it is today. Back when I got started, there were still avenues you had to go through whether it was sending your card to specific companies or agencies or trying to find a certain telephone number or email to get in contact with just a secretary praying that they would send a message you had to the proper person in charge. today you can just post a video or comment on social media and millions can see that within seconds. All you have to do is sit back and see how many people like what you love to do and wait for the calls & offers to Roll in. Read more>>
Lauran Grant
Absolutely, with the gift of hindsight, I’ve learned some valuable lessons along the way. As entrepreneurs, our ideas and businesses are like our babies; naturally, we want to get everything right. However, I now see failure as more of a stepping stone rather than a roadblock. Read more>>
Amber Arnold
If I were to start over today the very first thing I would do is find my niche. I’m a creative person so when I was starting out I had an incredibly hard time narrowing down what it was I wanted to do exactly. For this reason I’ve struggled to find my true place. I do interior design, I paint, I bake, I do photography, I do party design, and if I’m being completely honest it’s been a struggle to narrow down my spot in the creative industry. Read more>>
Yawen Hu
Observing more on myself than spending time in blind learning. To be honest, I have found artistic passion and the style of illustration I want to explore only In my forth year of undergraduate. Before that, I know art by learning skills and meet criteria for assignments. Influencing by my Asian parents, I was fond of earning A+ and very confident in drawing, but I never thought about what I genuinely love. What’s after those A+? In the summer before the forth year, I realized I couldn’t find any previous work to represent me, to remind me of why I loved drawing. Despite this setback, I found answers in random sketches, and experiments in different mediums, like digital, Risograph, ceramics. Seeing other artists’ aesthetic choices of elements and composition, I also learn to observe myself, and find my own artistic resolution. If given the chance to start anew, I would focus on exploring the facets that make me uniquely myself, rather than chasing after skills. Read more>>
Paige Williams
I learn best from experience and as a business owner, it just takes time to get experience. Precious time. I have learned so much in my four years of owning this business. In fact, I would say that the past four years have been the most thought provoking, mind challenging years I have EVER been through in my life. I thrive off of learning which is a great trait for an entrepreneur like myself. If I were to go back, I would first connect with the local community to find grant programs and incentives to help with startup funds for small businesses. We could have probably had some assistance with the initial start up costs because let’s face it, they are expensive. Another thing I would change would be to set aside time for just myself to really thoroughly look through my books each week and keep up with the odds and ends with my bookkeeping which was initially neglected. This would have saved me a ton of headaches when searching for sales reports instead of feeling like I always had to catch up. The last thing I think I would have changed was to mentally realize that the people who are going to support you WILL show up. You truly find out who your biggest supporters are and I am so thankful for my family and friends for supporting me the whole way through. Read more>>
Johanna Seibel
When I started, I was SO EXCITED. I would say I am creative in a different way than an artist, I just have tons of ideas all the time. I had so many ideas for body care products to develop and cute signs to design and what to write on my website and what pictures to take and what posts to publish and… You get the gist. Most of those weren’t particularly harmful, but I definitely had a tendency to purchase a lot of different ingredients to play around with rather than working on one product at a time and then seeing what I would need after that. I ended up having to throw away rancid oils or find emergency ways to use them up at home before they would go bad. Either way, there was no return on that investment. All the different essential oils and scents also intrigued me to the point of unnecessary purchases. I also tended to buy in bulk because it was a better deal when I didn’t even know for sure yet that I would love that ingredient. Same with subscriptions. I bought my website builder subscription for three years only to figure out one year into it that another provider would have been more convenient for me to synchronize with my sales system. I should have started smaller! Read more>>
Samantha Gordon
Boundaries! Something I have learned within my business is that boundaries are not only important, but necessary for a healthy work and personal life. I used to think I had to do it all.. every type of session, every location suggested, all hours of the day 7 days a week, etc. I found myself lacking passion and was overall burnt out. I knew I needed a change. Read more>>
Jennifer Moorman
As simple as this answer is, I would have believed in myself sooner. I would have trusted my calling to be an author and not doubted where my focus should be just because of what others expected or believed a “real job” looked like. Read more>>
Alexandria Johnson
One of the main things that I would do if I were to start over would be to have more automations in my business. Things like automated emails, automated social media posts are so important to saving time to focus on day to day tasks. Read more>>