Things I wish I knew about Entrepreneurship.

My journey as an entrepreneur started about 2 and a half years ago, after having worked for an employee benefits company for almost 5 years!

I had always known that I would not be employed by someone forever but I had no clue how or when I would become a full-time businesswoman.

In 2016 I decided to start blogging about personal finance because I wanted to bring a young voice to the topic of money. Every time I would Google things like ‘how to invest’ etc. I’d be bombarded with American content and I wanted to change that.

From my passion of educating people my age about money, it gradually turned into a business; talk about turning passion into paper!

Don’t be fooled, the paper just doesn’t start rolling in from the get-go. I remember some months where I wouldn’t make enough money to cover all my bills but I kept on grinding, I didn’t lose heart.

Entrepreneurship is no joke guys! It can be rough, but knowing your ‘why’ will keep you in business.

There are so many lessons I have learned along the way so far but two stand out for me:

• It’s OK to say: “I don’t know; let me get back to you on that!” I think as an ‘expert’ in any area, you don’t want to be seen as not knowing enough but I’ve realized that even people with more years of experience than me don’t know everything!

• Have the tough conversations early on. From negotiating contract terms and fee, have the conversation from the beginning.

It’s like admin, I don’t like doing it but I know it needs to be done for my business to run successfully, so I get admin done first before I do what excites me. By getting the admin out of the way, I know I have eliminated the stress and an uncomfortable situation knowing it would have to be done later.

Hehehehh, I still remember when companies would want to pay me for ‘exposure’ and not in Rands! Sure, in the beginning you need to pay school fees but eventually, you realise what you bring to the table and you charge the right price for your services.

But the most exciting thing about the whole entrepreneurship journey for me has been seeing myself grow in confidence and knowledge, and really just realizing how much I love what I do and to get paid for it is amazing!

The 4 things I’ve learned so far:

• Keep on learning

Continuous learning is so important, especially if you are providing content. Your audience needs informative and relatable information, and you can only give them that through learning first.

• Be kind to yourself

I think a lot of us are very hard on ourselves. For example, if I do a podcast or interview and at the end I feel like it didn’t go well, I would go over and over what I should have said or not said etc. But that’s useless! You can only really work on being your best for the next one. Learn from your mistakes and move on!

• Feel the fear and do it anyway!

For you to become fearless, you have to do the things you are scared of. I know so many people who are talented but never go after their dreams because they are fearful. I say fake it till you make it!

Some people wait for things to be perfect to start a blog or YouTube channel or their business, they wait to have the right clothes, camera, business plan etc. and that never happens. I think its just fear.

GaryV says that people mask their insecurities by saying they want things to be perfect first before they can start!

• Collaborate

There is enough for all of us to shine. Don’t be afraid to collaborate with people doing similar work.

• Don’t give up: Show up ALWAYS.

My friends and family know this about me. I always show up. Even when I am fearful or don’t have experience, I show up, no matter what. My motto is: I’ll figure it out; Beyoncé didn’t happen overnight!

What’s your story? Celebrate your journey by entering the EOY Awards on www.eoy.co.za

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