Lessons in Running a Business: Making an Irreversible Leap
In October of 2021, I started my own business named Lint Agility Services LLC in Albuquerque, New Mexico, leaving behind a stable government contracting job in the same industry. As I stepped out the door from the badge office, I did not know what these next few months would have in store for me. I was worried, anxiously hopeful, and oddly at peace all at the same time.
Ever since walking out that door, my life has been a whirlwind of opportunity, minor setbacks, questions, and stretching my arms out in this newfound freedom. I get lots of questions in conversations with others who are thinking about or questioning the possibility of doing the same thing. How do you even start a business, especially during a pandemic? Why would you leave the stability of a 9-to-5? What resources did you have to start? Don’t you pay lots of money in taxes? The list goes on...
To be honest, I did not have clear goals or objectives in mind. I did not have everything figured out or much of a solid plan besides a single savings goal. You know, in case this whole “owning my own business” thing blew up in my face. It was not completely unplanned, I had been thinking about making a change for a long time. However, I did not follow all the right steps before making the jump. But, honestly, I do not think I have ever done that in my history of making irreversible leaps.
I am four months in and just now figuring out my mission and value statements. As well as creating a social media strategy that I will need external help in getting off the ground. I am diving into creating tangible products and solidifying my coaching/consulting style.
But you know what? That’s business. At the end of the day, I love what I do. I will say it louder for those in the back: *I love what I do.* I haven't been able to say that for a very long time. Are you interested in taking a leap?
Find Your Why:
Why do you want to start a business? It’s a simple question, but so essential. When times are tough, what are you going to fall back on that makes all the stress and uncertainty “worth it?”
For me, 2021 was a year marked by huge change. Starting my business was just the final step to embarking on the life I wanted to live. In January 2021, I broke up with my fiance of nearly 5 years. I will spare the details, but suffice to say it was a very tumultuous breakup that did not resolve until around March, with me putting in nearly $10,000 to fix damages, buy back stolen items, and pay lawyer fees.
That experience changed me and started me on a path towards figuring out my purpose, drive, and wants in my life and career. In Agile we might call this a Burning Platform. The CEOs of Emily Inc needed to make a drastic change in how they managed life and relationships or else the pressure of existential life would come crashing down on our hopes and dreams.
Through months of self-discovery and an impromptu trip to Italy all by myself, I found out what I most value in life is Freedom. I am most driven to live my life the way I choose while getting to work on projects I am passionate about. Business Agility implementation is one of those projects.
Running my own business meant I could set my own rates, hours and schedule. I could work at a pace that matched my lifestyle. Now, I can take off summers to explore and travel as well as work late into the night to finish something important to me and my clients. I get to choose the clients I work with, primarily those that match my values and coaching style. I get to choose the employees/contracts I work with that align with my goals as we pursue mutual success for each other.
When you create a small business, it is great knowing that your passions can change and you do not have to scramble to find a new job or opportunity. You’re saved from having to go through the complex processes of onboarding, dealing with new insurance, transferring your 401k…all of that. You’re free to use your time to expand into different markets as you see fit for your brand instead of being pushed and pulled by internal requests for your time to drive someone else’s bottom line.
I am my own bottom line, and you can be your own bottom line too.
Is it still scary? Yes, oh yes. This is why finding your “why” is so important. You need something to lean back on when things get tough and when you get lost. You need to know: “What will get me to sleep well at night when my business is not performing well?”
Pro Tip: Create a visual reminder of this Why and put it up somewhere either as a sticky note under your monitors or on your mirror or in your office. Have it serve as a continuing reminder to keep moving forward.
Brass Tacks: Minimum Viable Plan
Now that you know your Why, and have it in your back pocket for tough moments, how do you actually get started?
Figure out the Federal and State Requirements for your Business
Honestly, this part was a lot simpler than I thought it would be. Depending on your business model it might only be $60 - $200 to start your own business and have it registered as a state and federal entity. Take it slow and go step by step. If you get nervous or lost you can call almost any local business accounting firm and they will walk you through the steps to start your business for free in a 30-minute consultation.
I highly recommend going the LLC route since it protects your personal assets should anything happen. Doing so also makes your taxes as a single individual LLC so much easier than a regular sole proprietorship.
Finally, as a part of this step, after receiving your federal tax EIN, get a corporate banking account separate from your normal bank account. This makes your taxes, QuickBooks reporting, PayPal setup, and a whole slew of things so much easier.
Identify How You Will Get Your First Client
Around six months before I started my own business I met with a friend and mentor in the industry to frankly break down the processes, methods, and current rates within the business agility coaching/consulting industry.
If you have a mentor in the industry please use them, if not, I highly recommend paying someone to help you understand your industry or attempting to get a free consultation. You need someone who will speak honestly and transparently to you about the state of the industry, going rates, and pitfalls. I also recommend, if you can, talking to someone not directly in your industry to provide more general context around small business ownership and your goals.
Some small businesses need more assistance in networking and sales lead generation than others. You can spend hours forming lofty goals around engagement, market penetration, future sales, but my advice is to try to focus on finding out how you will get your first, truly loyal client.
In my business, I decided that to get my first client, I would partner with another consultancy that matched my values. I made this decision because I did not feel that my full-time job allowed me the ability to network for clients or pursue other avenues of my brand. I also was not confident in my ability to solicit or compile statements of work with competitive rates so early in my journey. The consultancy I partnered with solicits all requests so I do not have to. They also provide support around external training, contract negotiation, and are just as passionate about my coaching journey as with their own business.
Define Your First Goal
Again, it’s easy to get bogged down by the number of goals you can start to create for yourself. Personally, I have a hard time setting goals because I have a “money-block” around self-sabotage. I tend to create lofty goals and then never put in the time to reach them. I have a negative relationship around self-fulfilling failure prophecies.
Instead, make one goal that seems attainable, yet a little challenging so you have to put in the effort to make it successful. Then, (this is very important) loop this goal back to your initial Why. Doing this will help you to continue to move forward with this goal even in hardship.
This goal can be around market engagement leads, sales numbers, clients gained, etc. For me, I chose a Savings Goal: “By January 1st, 2022, I will have $$ amount of dollars saved.” I set myself up for success by auto-funding my savings account to my goal amount and not increasing my expenses past a certain threshold.
This was aligned to my Why: “Freedom” because saving that money then allowed me to feel like even if a client and I did not align or my other brand initiatives were unsuccessful I was not stuck in a bad place financially or having to make decisions I did not want to make due to financial pressure. It was important to me to have some stability in my life that I could fall back on so that I could make more freeing decisions.
Do-It-Yourself Does Not Mean Do-It-Alone
One of my favorite books around small business ownership is Denise Duffield-Thomas’s “Chillpreneur.” One of my fears around starting a small business was the idea that it was an incredible amount of work that may take a lot of hustle to be successful. I wanted to get out of corporate America to experience MORE freedom, not less and I hate waking up super early to just grind all day.
Her book embodies the idea that you can be an entrepreneur without “hustling” all day long. Instead, Duffield-Thomas emphasizes prioritizing the taks that align with your goals and your money manifesting mindset. I highly recommend giving it a read.
One key point from that book and “Beyond Entrepreneur 2.0” by Jim Collins, is that you do not build a brand all by yourself, nor should you. A successful business is built on creating a successful team of individuals either directly employed or contracted.
Steps to Building Your Team:
Capitalize Your Strengths, Delegate Your Weaknesses:
Do a SWOT matrix on yourself and your business. Think about your current skills and strengths. What would drive you every day to address each item on your task list, and what would frustrate or push you away from your business?
People spend far too much time trying to turn their weaknesses into strengths instead of figuring out what they are good at and delegating the rest. This does not mean self-improvement is out the window, but it is important to evaluate your Opportunity Cost when looking to expand your skillset instead of delegating.
For example, I did a lot of research on social media marketing for my business. I started an Instagram and Pinterest account, researched SEO management, improved my analytics on my website, and started to think up new ideas for content to share across platforms. I quickly found myself looking at 5 -10 hours worth of work a week, bare minimum, just on social media and content posting. On top of my full-time client contracting, blog post creations, research for my business, etc… this was adding up to be quite costly, with little guarantee for success due to my lack of knowledge in this space.
In economics, Opportunity Cost is about evaluating the amount of time and money spent on one activity/product vs. the opportunity of another activity/product, and whether you are gaining value or losing the opportunity of value by what you are currently doing or buying. Will I gain more value out of outsourcing my social media marketing management compared to the money I will spend, the amount of time I will gain back, and the amount of money I can earn by putting my efforts elsewhere?
My answer: Yes. I will gain more value by outsourcing because the Opportunity Cost is lower by going external than doing this work myself.
My economics professor would be so proud.
Build The Right Team For Your Values
It is important to have the right, key people in the room, or, as Jim Collins refers to it, “on the bus.” Evaluate the people you want to bring on to your team and match them to your Why and any core values you have started to develop.
One of the reasons why I chose my editor, Isaac, is because of his laid-back personality, yet very thorough, reliable, and professional approach to his work. He values transparency, honesty, and gives regular feedback on my writing as well as going the extra mile when it may be necessary to help me get through a partial block. He is as dedicated to my success as I am to his when he first discussed his frustrations with his current job before I hired him. Finally, he is also a good friend that I generally enjoy hanging out and sharing a beer with at the end of a hard day.
Now that I am looking for a social media manager I have a list of goals based on the successful editorial relationship I have with Isaac. I want people on my team that are not afraid to take leaps with me. I want to work with those that are genuinely interested in succeeding together, are thorough and reliable, and that I will be able to trust as a friend as well as an employee.
Your team and your values may be completely different depending on your style and your business. Find out what your ideal team looks like, how do you interact together, and be honest about those expectations to anyone you bring on.
Pay People Well
When evaluating Opportunity Cost for delegating tasks and work, remember to keep industry rates in mind. Be the boss you have always wanted, which means paying people what they are worth. Do your research on industry rates and find sites dedicated to freelance rates for your contractors.
Sometimes that may mean that you want to pick more junior individuals to grow with your business that might be a bit cheaper to start. Or, you might have to be honest with your contractors or employees that the success of your business or their performance might dictate the amount of hours they will have to work. I highly value transparency so this is a step I take very seriously and leads me to my final point in Building Your Team.
Always Create a Statement of Work
Even if it is your best friend, your sister, or your mother, create a Statement of Work or employee contract for everything you pay someone to do for your business. Be as detailed as possible and create “outs” for yourself if you are unsatisfied with the work and need to dissolve the relationship.
There are tons of examples online available for download so pick one that matches all the bases you want covered. Make sure to create clauses around timeliness, communication, and how contracts may be canceled. Detail your deliverables and the day-to-day responsibilities of your contractor or employee.
It is important to not only protect yourself and your business but to respect their work and time enough to detail and agree on terms of services.
Make That Irreversible Leap:
“100% is Easy, 99% is Hard”
Or another of my favorites: “Just Do It!”
Or maybe you’ll resonate with Denise’s words: “It’s my time and I'm ready for the next step.”
Whatever you need to tell yourself, it’s time to take a leap. You found your why. You did your brass tacks. You thought about the people you need on your bus for your first day.
You may still be scared. You may believe yourself an imposter in a sea of “real” entrepreneurs. This may be your fifth article after reading two books about “starting your own business” as your list of to-dos continues to grow. You continue to search for the right time, the right opportunity, the right business plan that will start your launch off the right way.
Let me help you out: There is no “right” way. It is never going to be the perfect time. There will be no note from Heaven stating, “Your launch date is 12/13/2023.”
The steps above will help put you on more stable ground and set you up for success, but ultimately, you have to make the jump.
In October 2021, I got accepted onto my first external contract and launched my business just eight months after one of the most painful experiences of my life. My first real existential crisis was breathing down my neck as I faced my ultimate fear: Failure. I leaned on my deep-rooted Why for Freedom and Autonomy and thought about the span of my life ahead of me. How I wanted to live my life for me, for joy, for friendship, and be a pioneer for real change working with businesses, communities, and industry leaders. Whether I was “ready” for it or not, this was my time.
And it’s your time too.
So jump.
