Lessons from 5 years of entrepreneurship
It’s a party, because Woordprikkels is celebrating its 5th anniversary! That’s why I’m sharing my entrepreneurial lessons from 5 years of entrepreneurship in this blog article. Maybe I can inspire you, maybe after reading my blog you’ll look at entrepreneurship in a different way if you’re still at the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey, because that’s what it is: an adventure or a journey. And even if you’ve been an entrepreneur for a while, you might recognize some of my lessons or learn something from them.
Do it your own way
When I first started my business I thought it had to be done in a certain way. For example, I spoke to someone last week who had taken his own office because he thought it would look professional. In my initial plans I had included that I would work a lot at flexible workplaces and that I would incur travel expenses for that. I also expected a lot of telephone costs and network meetings and workshops that would incur costs.
So that could all be done much cheaper, because I hadn’t worked in other places that often after my first year. A workplace at home was fine. I also kept my telephone costs low. Nowadays I prefer to schedule a meeting to video call via Zoom or Skype. My telephone number is on my website, but it is only used occasionally for real business calls. I handle most things via email and that often works fine. I have never seen some customers and only spoke to them via email. Sometimes I spoke to them later via a telephone call because that happened to work out that way.
So, look at which way of working suits you and don’t do it because you think it’s the right way or because others say it’s the right way.
Dare to outsource things
In addition to this initial cost picture, I expected to do a lot myself. When we hear the term independent or ZZP’er, we often think that we have to do everything ourselves, often to keep the costs low. Doing your own administration and bookkeeping, creating and maintaining your own website and figuring out and finding out everything yourself, sometimes with all the free information that is available.
I first did the administration and the website how to build telemarketing data myself, but I also knew that I wanted to outsource this in the long term. I did it myself mainly because I know what my web builder or accountant is talking about and I know what they are doing. Nowadays I like to outsource things that I can’t figure out myself. Something that might take you hours to do yourself, someone else can sometimes do in a few minutes. It often costs you more energy, which you can better spend on things that you are good at. I previously wrote a blog about outsourcing that you can read here .
Dare to invest
In addition to investing in outsourcing tasks, I have also invested in training and workshops to learn more about entrepreneurship and marketing myself. Sometimes you only see how expensive something is and the costs, but above all know that it can yield something if you invest in something that you know will help you further. You often earn back cannabisgebruik: roken of edibles? an investment. For example, I have invested in training courses that also included a Facebook group, you also get to know the other participants and expand your network.
Those people get to know you and sometimes become your customers
but can also tell others about you. For example, my name was recently shared under a call for a text corrector by three or four other participants in training courses that I am participating in. But fellow students have also become my customers. It also works the other way around, I get to know other nice entrepreneurs with whom I have also started working together or with whom I want to work together in the future.
The marketing training also made me much more visible and that also brought me new customers. In recent years I also invested in a new website 1000 mobile phone numbers and photos for the website and social media. Don’t just invest in your own knowledge, but also in networking. Investing is not just about money, but also about investing time and energy somewhere.
Surround yourself with the right people
I often came across this with other entrepreneurs that I follow, but it is really true. You can surround yourself with all kinds of people who have nothing to do with entrepreneurship and then you also pick up that energy and you also get less desire to do business. If you surround yourself with other starting entrepreneurs, you also get that energy. Also make sure that you keep adjusting your circle to your needs. If you notice that people demand energy from you but do not give you energy, dare to unfollow them.
Every choice is good
Sometimes you think you have to make a choice and you are afraid of making the wrong choice. But every choice is good. You can always do something else later. Your choice is not fixed. As an entrepreneur, you can decide for yourself what you help your customers with. Your target group can change over time, but your offer can also change. Make a choice that feels right for you at this moment. I started as a copywriter myself, but after a few years I opted for only text corrections. Last year I wrote a series of blogs again, because that job felt right at that moment. I also see the entrepreneurs around me grow.
