Sleep Is Overrated. And Other Things I've Figured Out Since Starting My Business!

Is sleep really overrated? I guess my answer to that depends on how tired I am! But if there's one thing I've realized about how many zzz's I need, it's that I can get by with a lot less than I'd like. I bet most small business owners would agree. We're busy people! We have lots to do and sometimes no one else to do it but us. So our beauty sleep must suffer. (As I've said before, that's what concealer and triple espressos are for.) That's just one of my many discoveries and lessons learned since becoming my own boss. I'm sure you have a ginormously long list of things you've learned as well, and I'd love it if you share some of them with me. Here are a few of the things that come to mind when I think of what I've learned as a business owner.

Lessons Learned The Hard Way Mean The Most!

I became a jane of all trades.

When I started my business, I was good at putting on events. Fabulous events! I wasn't just good, I was a goddess! Really, just ask... well, me! My old self will tell you just how good! Problem was, I was only excellent at the creative side of things. All the other aspects of running a business? Not so much. Thankfully I realized pretty soon that I needed to master all the "boring" tasks or I would run my business straight into the ground. Accounting, legal issues, billing, marketing, occasional maintenance... these were all things I was responsible for and I needed to learn how to handle them responsibly and efficiently. If I didn't, who else would have done it for me? Exactly.

I had to get real.

When you're dealing with clients – especially clients with a large budget and even larger vision – it's easy to fall into the trap of over-promising. You want to add aerialists performing under a canopy of orchids next to a champagne & caviar bar? For the same budget? Sure no problem. OK, I was never that dumb, but you know what I mean. I learned to be realistic about what could be accomplished within my clients' budget and I guided them accordingly. I also learned to be realistic about my goals, projects and finances.

Show me the money, baby!

Getting a true handle on my finances and most important, my PROFITS, was probably the single most important thing I did! I spent a lot of time devising a system to track my spending and my time – and the spending and time of people who worked for me – to figure out how much money I was actually making on each project. Genius! Life changing!

Be Oh So Quotable This Week!

Once I figured out how to accurately track my time and spending, I became better at projecting time and money for each project... which made me better at pricing jobs to begin with. These are all things I now teach my clients. Are you searching for easy steps to charge more without losing clients? Learn where you're leaving money on the table and discover simple costs to cut PLUS get productivity tips! And the best part is it's all FREE! Get our Simple Tricks right here!

I always say running a business means the work never ends! Ain't that the truth? I bet your to-do list is a mile long! Make sure that the items at the top of your list are the things that relate to being more profitable. Everyone is so proud of being so "busy"...But Are You Making Any Money? Don't be too busy to focus!

Check out the summary of last week's business tips and motivational quotes from my Instagram page which you hopefully got to see in real time! If not, let's make sure we're following each other on Instagram!! So...here is this week's roundup of Instagram images of My Top Business Tips and Motivational Quotes.

Lessons Learned – Tip #1:

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"When you’re more valuable, the people around you will do more to make it work." – Sheryl Sandberg

Lessons Learned – Tip #2:

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"Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard." – Guy Kawasaki

Lessons Learned – Tip #3:

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"If you decide that you’re going to do only the things you know are going to work, you’re going to leave a lot of opportunity on the table." – Jeff Bezos

Lessons Learned – Tip #4:

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"I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have." – Thomas Jefferson

Lessons Learned – Tip #5:

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"If I had planned my life, it never would have ended up like this. So maybe it’s kind of fun not to plan. Maybe it’s more fun just to see where life takes you." – Joanna Gaines, The Magnolia Story

Let's talk! I'd love to hear about your most valuable lessons learned!

We have wisdom to share and stories from the trenches. What are your best lessons learned? I would LOVE to hear from you! Anyhoo...I publish these business tips and motivational quotes to get you fired up for your work week!

Oh hey, are you in desperate need of simple and easy steps to attract clients you love, create a pricing strategy and ditch the door knockers? Then you've come to the right place! Get it here for FREE!

And, if you want more business tips, get my book, But Are You Making Any Money? or contact me to really take your business to the next level!

xoxo M