Starting a business from scratch can be overwhelming to say the least.

The to-do list can pile up quickly. And the tech can have a steep learning curve. So what can you do? You wanna hire people out, but you might not have the money yet…hello?!? You’re JUST starting out. 

You’re thinking you gotta think of a clever name, get a logo, a website, alllll the social media, grow an email list, trademark, LLC, WTF the list goes on and on and on. 

And within each of those things comes more decisions…website…are you going custom or template? WordPress? Squarespace? Wix? What’s your URL? Social Media, where will you focus? Twitter, facebook, Instagram, TikTok? Email list…gmail, mailchimp, convertkit?

It’s all too much! And that isn’t even your business. It’s not what you want to be doing. For example, you want to start a meal planning business…when do you get to do the meal planning!??

Today I wanna run through three easy ways to quiet the noise in your noggin, so you can really get to a place where you feel like you have the power to run your business however you want!

I’m about to take a ton of pressure off you, so get ready to feel relieved.

Remember…

It’s your business

You don’t have to do it like anyone else. We all throw around the word authentic like it’s going out of style, but this is a time where you can really embrace your authenticity. 

When I first decided to be a coach I felt like I needed to fit the mold. I needed to get those super clean stock images of white iPads and MacBooks or whatever. I can’t even really describe it. I just thought I needed to look a certain way. 

But here’s the thing, it’s a slippery slope. You just start by picking colors and fonts that you think you “should” have and then you start losing yourself one decision at a time.

I’m an art teacher. My style has always been very eclectic. I always admire those people that can pick one style in their home and really go for it. I love a Joanna Gaines house with shiplap as much as the next guy. But if I moved into one I would mess it up so fast with all my random crap. It’s just who I am.

So when I was building my coaching brand and trying to do what I was supposed to do, I started losing sight of me in the process. Then one day I just decided that it was too exhausting trying to be someone I’m not, so I just said eff it and went for it. 

My brand colors came from a mermaid bathing suit I bought for my daughter at Target. I was like, “Man! This color combo is amazing!” So I found it on the Target website and put the photo of it in photoshopped and used the eyedropper tool to get the hex codes. Boom, those are my colors. There’s SIX. Some might say that’s too many. It’s perfect for me. And I love them. And you know what…I do get compliments on them. 

Those are my people. Ya know? There might be people who go to my website and are like, WOAH! The 80’s threw up on this! They’re not my people. They won’t appreciate my Kelly Kapowski GIFs anyways! Fuckem. JK, no harm no foul, they’re just not my peeps.

Be Picky

Don’t follow too many people. Pick one or two and just go with them. If they’re where you wanna be, follow ‘em! If you’ve never heard of them, but you see a facebook ad from them telling you that you can get their entire launch templates for $27 it’s tempting to get it. Don’t do it. 

When you’re following too many people’s advice, it gets REALLY hard to hear your own voice over all the others that you’re letting in.

I get it. Some people have some really cool opt-ins. For just your email address, you can get some cool stuff. But, I urge you to try to limit how much you let in. It gets really hectic really fast!

It will lead to instant overwhelm. If your usually motto is the more the merrier, the idea of limiting yourself might seem silly to you. But I want you to commit to one or two mentors for 90 days. That’s only 3 months. They get three months of your loyalty and then if it’s not working you can go find someone new. 

We live in a world where every time you hop on facebook or instagram you’re hearing a million more messages about what you should or shouldn’t do in your business. It can be super challenging to filter it out. But you gotta! 

The thing is, just because one lady grew her facebook group to whatever crazy high number in whatever low number amount of time doesn’t mean that you can do it too. If her group is about women who have short hair and your group is about etsy shop owners who crochet. Can you see how your journey to grow your group might be different from hers? Even if she sells you the “word for word” script for her Facebook Ad, it’s not the same. 

The whole point of this online business thing is that people want what YOU’RE offering. Your customers will relate to you, your products, or the way you teach. They’re gonna click with your personality and your story. You can’t use someone else’s template and still be you. I’m not saying you can’t EVER use a template or a swipe, but I’m challenging you to embrace what you know. Who you are. Your story. Trust yourself, and keep the outside voices to a minimum, and choose them wisely. 

Don’t Believe the Hype

People love to share their wins. We’re bombarded with images and messages of people on social media living their best lives. And growing their businesses. Call me a cynic, but I say take all that with a grain of salt.

Have you ever seen those people on Shark Tank that have sold a million dollars worth of their products and then when they ask if they have any debt they have 2 million in debt? Or they’re not taking a salary yet? 

At face value it looks like that business is killing it! I’m sure the vibe they’re giving off on social media is that they are selling out left and right. And sure, that might be true. But it’s not the whole story. It’s just the story they’re presenting. 

If you start comparing your real life to other people’s stories it’s not a fair fight, and you’re gonna lose every time. So whenever you hear someone talking about how they sold out their launch in 20 minutes, you gotta ask yourself…how many spots were available? I mean, good for them, but don’t use it as ammo to beat yourself up. 

It’s counterproductive and it’s not fun. Also, you don’t need to follow a ton of other people in your business circle. (See tip number 2) You should try to follow and interact with people who could be your customers! You don’t want all your social media to revolve around chit chatting with your peers…you wanna talk to your ideal clients! 

I’m all for collaboration over competition, but you really want to mostly be hanging with potential clients. Ya know?

You’re the boss!

So I’m just giving you permission to do your own thing, choose who you follow carefully and whoever you follow…remember, no one is talking about their failures on social media at least not until they can pair it with a huge success story and just look back and say remember when. 

But you’re living that story now, so don’t believe the hype.

Your next step:

Just sit with yourself and think about what YOU want out of your business. Are you doing what you think you’re supposed to do? Or are you doing what you want to do? And then start to develop a plan for building the business that YOU want to. Not the one you think you’re supposed to.

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