5 Tips Every Entrepreneur Should Follow

When my husband and I started our online business years ago I wish somebody sat down with us and said "here is what you need to do." Instead, we dove in and learned along the way. I wouldn't have had this any other way because it gave me the solid foundation to grow my own business, but I won't say it didn't slow us down at times.
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When my husband and I started our online business years ago I wish somebody sat down with us and said "here is what you need to do." Instead, we dove in and learned along the way. I wouldn't have had this any other way because it gave me the solid foundation to grow my own business, but I won't say it didn't slow us down at times.

If you are just starting your business (or looking to grow it even more) these five tips may change the way you're thinking:

1. Grow your list.

Hands down, the most important tip of all. From day one, have a valuable (and I mean valuable!) freebie that you provide people with in exchange for their email address. Build that trust with your followers and focus on constantly growing and engaging with your
community.

2. Don't get caught up in what others are doing.

This is extremely easy to do in the online business world because there are so many other people out there doing something similar to you. Except, they are not you and it doesn't matter how many Facebook likes or Instagram followers they have. What matters is the content you put out to your community because that is what people will distinguish you by. Focus only on what you have to offer and shut down any other negative comparisons that come up.

3. Do not, I repeat do not, try to master it all.

You are setting yourself up for failure, sleep deprivation and serious frustration if you try to do it all yourself. You are here to be the genius behind your brand, you do not have to be everything in between. I know it's scary spending money on outsourcing, I am one of the most frugal people you will meet, but as soon as I let go of that fear my ROI went way up. Hiring an expert to do something that has a direct impact on the success of your business will pay off big time.

4. Don't let stress replace the joy.

If you are like most other entrepreneurs you probably started your business from a passion, something you enjoy and something you are good at. No matter what you do, don't lose that. When somebody is passionate about what they are doing in their business it shows big time. If you allow to-do lists and deadlines to overcome your joy and passion it will have an effect on the success of your business. Burn out is very common for us entrepreneurs to experience because there is always something we should be doing. Choose the most important and necessary tasks and do those well. If something is not making you happy, outsource it.

5. Learn from masters.

There is a lot of great information out there. When I started to really challenge myself to try new strategies and learn from real masters I saw major growth in our business. Since then I have learned so much from podcasts, webinars and paid courses and continue to learn today. Once I realized how many incredible entrepreneurs are out there ready to share their expertise I couldn't get enough. My husband and I eventually went the extra step and hired a business coach who helped us tremendously by looking at our business with an outside perspective. This again goes back to not trying to do it all. There are people out there who are ready and waiting to help make your business better, you just have to let them in.

I wish somebody sat down with me and explained these five things before we started our business but it's all a part of the learning experience. If you are just starting or are reading through this list and realizing you have some changes to make, it's never too late.

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