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POV: You have been dreaming for months and years to start your business. Your LLC finally gets approved, your licensing and insurance is under way, you get your website built, your branding is spot on, and you're ready to jump head first into this entrepreneurial journey.
You start selling your product/service and it's all great and exciting and then BOOM.
1 star google review.
Okay so you let it go. Lessons learned... it's a part of the process, right? Right! Put your head down and remind yourself that you can't please everyone.
Then...
Someone else telling you you did this and that and everything inside and out WRONG.
We've all been there. Every single person who has started their own business or even a job has been told they messed up. It sucks! It's not fun... trust me, I know.
So here's some advice as a fellow entrepreneur that I have to remind myself.
It is true - you can not please everyone. It's hard when you are so passionate about the product/service you are selling and you are over the moon to be sharing your creativity and hard work with the world and people don't like it. The hardest and best thing you can do for yourself is to not take it personal.
Own up to it. And when I say it, I mean the mistakes that are both yours and your client/customers fault. One of the best lessons I learned working in customer service is to take responsibility. You can turn a sour situation with a customer, into a life long returning customer by making them feel heard and offering them a solution. If the client messed up, offer your sympathy to the situation and offer a solution. If it is your fault, do the same - maybe just apologize a bit more ;). Mistakes happen and hopefully, if they're a decent human, they will understand.
Learn from it and then cross your T's and dot your I's TWICE. When a mistake happens, make note of this. Write it down where it can't get lost. This is so important in running a business and preventing the same mistakes from happening over and over again. Make checklists, read things carefully, and SLOW DOWN. I personally move too fast a lot of the time and miss important details.
Keep going. What you're doing is hard. Most people don't do it. You are in control of your success and only you can dictate your future and the longevity f your business. A bad review and an unhappy customer or two will not deteriorate all of your hard work. Although it may seem like the end of the world in the moment, things will get better if you keep pushing forward.
The benefits and challenges of being an entrepreneur?
Being your own boss has its pros and cons. For one, you get to create your own schedule - take this as a pro or a con. You have to keep yourself organized and on top of things and if you miss something, that's on you. At the same time, you can have flexible work hours - which can either help with work/life balance. A benefit of being your own boss is that you get to see your creativity and ideas come to life. Not everyone gets to experience this sort of thing... it is something to both be proud of and marvel at. You did that!
In addition, you are in control of the trajectory of your business. You want to shift gears? Do it. You want to begin hiring a team? Do it. You want to franchise? Do it. You have no one to report to until you decide you do. You don't want to take on a specific client? Then don't. You want to niche down? Do it. This also comes with its pressures and challenges, but we're going to keep things positive here ;).
At the end of the day, you are in control of you and the product/service you sell. If you believe in it and work hard, you don't necessarily need someone else to tell you that. Your numbers and your sales will speak for themselves.
If being an entrepreneur was easy, everyone would do it. Continue working hard and push on.
You got this.
Xoxo,
Ellie
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