Editor’s letter

I’m celebrating F-I-V-E years in business this month. Holy shit how did that happen? Where did the time go? And, here’s to the next five years being even more fun than the first.

But.

But as we all know, it isn’t always sunshine and roses.

Being a business owner is the ultimate rollercoaster. Yes, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

To commemorate the big occasion, this month I’ll be sharing my five biggest lessons from five years in business – I’m officially dubbing this series ‘5 in 5’.

If you missed lesson one, click here.

Next up, and probably one of the hardest lessons I’ve had to learn (and re-learn again…and again): there is absolutely no one right way to do business.

I still remember when I realized that businesses could exist without social media. I was three years in and finding absolute no joy in Instagram but feeling like I had to be there because I owned a design business.

And then I heard a podcast and the interviewee said she wasn’t active on social media and her business was fulfilling and accomplishing her goals.

Friends, my entire perspective shifted. It’s like a whole new world opened up.

Prior to that point in time, I was following the Amy Porterfields of the world who were, literally, everywhere. So, I thought that in order to be successful and reach my goals, I needed to be everywhere, too.

But when I heard of someone doing business well, without social, the ideas of what was possible started flowing.

Because if I held the belief that I had to be on Instagram to have a successful business, and then I realized that that wasn’t necessarily true, what else was I believing about business ownership that could also possibly, not be true?

It can be so easy to fall into the trap of thinking that our business has to run just like someone else’s in order to be successful. I still find myself going down that belief pattern.

But the point is to remember that just because it works for someone else, doesn’t mean it will work for you. And just because it works for you, doesn’t mean it will work for others. That’s the beauty of business ownership – we all get to take agency over how we want to operate.

So, take what resonates and leave the rest. And, if you feel like you’re making up the whole thing as you go, welcome to the club.

With that, happy branding 🙂