Helping more people thrive doing what they love or are passionate about means helping more folks learn from those who came before them and so we asked successful entrepreneurs, artists and creatives to tell us what they would do differently, knowing what they know now, if they were starting over.

Levi Thompson

If I was to start this journey over and do something differently, I would be more focused on doing photography for the experience and love of the craft, rather than trying to make money off of every gig. A mistake I made was early on when I started to get some small local recognition, I started to feel like I needed to focus on getting payed for everything in order to progress my career. Read more>>

Cristina Padilla

I spent the first 3 years of practice working as an associate or independent contractor in different Chiropractic clinics, from wellness based to personal injury and rehab based, multidisciplinary practices. While none of these practices provided me with the opportunity to serve the population I truly love working with, I did learn a lot about the type of business I wanted to have, the “do’s and dont’s” and it solidified that working in the pediatric and perinatal space was my calling. Read more>>

Leighann Hurley

This is a great question! A few things come to mind: 1. Standard Appointments. When I was first starting out, I did not have standard appointment times: I basically saw clients whenever our schedules meshed. Now I have set appointment times I offer and I highly recommend it! Mobile, service-based, solo entrepreneurs can set working hours just like big, brick-and-mortar companies. Read more>>

Miara Bryant

One of the biggest mistakes I made on my entrepreneurial journey was not having a system in place to manage my finances. Often times as business owners, we focus so much on figuring out how to get “booked and busy” or sell so many of our products to reach that ideal 6 and 7 figure goal, that when we finally reach those heights, we have no idea how to actually manage the money that’s coming in. Read more>>

Mané Bailey-Sargsyan

I love this question. Because, in a way, I am starting over. To say 2022 has been a challenging year (both personally and professionally) is to say nothing. Those challenges pushed me to reevaluate the direction we were going. So I did what I always tell my clients to do when in crisis. I went back to the business plan. Read more>>

MiKhala Haile

If I were starting over (which I actually am), I would definitely do more research, take my time with sourcing vendors/fabric/materials and most importantly, and more importantly…TRUST MY INSTINCTS and don”t second guess myself! I feel a lot of those reasons stated above, hindered me from getting to where I want to be in business after 3 years. Of course I shouldn’t put a time limit on my goals, but I know there are some things that I did and did not do, that definitely could have been prevented. Read more>>

JEN GREENER

Invest in a BUSINESS MENTOR/COACH or join a community of small business owners for support! & don’t be afraid ask for help. I didn’t do this in the beginning & knowing know, it would have saved me so much time & money trying to figure it out on my own. Read more>>

LaQuanda Doss

If I could start over and do things differently, I would put more money into the startup. I would hire and delegate tasks instead of taking everything on myself. I would have gotten a lot further and sooner. On the flip side I am grateful for everything I learned during the startup of The Mz Q Collection and I am better equipped at training employees on what works and what doesn’t. This saves the company money and time since I’ve already made those mistakes. Read more>>