Let's get one thing straight first, I've definitely made MORE than 2 mistakes in my journey of running a business - and anyone who says otherwise about their own entrepreneurial journey is lying. But today, we're going to cover just two of them.
While we all want to find success in everything we do, I love making mistakes (albeit, as long as they're not absolutely detrimental to my business) because I learn from them and pivot.
So without further ado, let's cover two of the biggest business mistakes I've made and what I learned from them.
1. Thinking a logo was all the 'branding' I needed.
Holy shiitake mushrooms (as my 8 year old would say) was I wrong on that front.
When I was in college and working for my parents (they owned a local sign shop) I started my own little freelance side business creating logos, it's literally ALWAYS been my favorite thing to design.
Fast forward to 10+ years later (sounds long but I got married, had children, and finished college in the interim), when my freelancing gig became my full time business, I realized that my branding needed a little more substance. A logo wasn't going to effectively communicate to my audience. If it did, no one would have a need for a marketing department.
That's when I expanded my mindset and buckled down to really work on my branding and everything my business entailed. I discovered my target audience, did market research on what their pain points were, found messaging that would resonate and emotionally connect with them, and put it all into action.
Because plainly speaking, your branding is the foundation of ALL of your marketing efforts. So if you can't get that part down, you're literally just flowing with the wind seeing what sticks, but also not knowing why.
And let me tell you, when I did all that, my outlook and confidence in my brand and business direction absolutely SOARED. I finally felt like I was getting somewhere good.
2. Thinking if I hopped on a new social platform that my business would automatically blow up because I was 'the new kid'.
LIES. It's quite the opposite. And honestly, I'm not sure what lead me to that delusion but hopping around social platforms, hoping one will stick and make you go viral, will do the opposite of what you want.
I always thought I had to be on ALL of the social platforms in order for me to really make an impact.
And again, years later and after lots of learning and pivoting, I discovered that it's much better to be 100% present on a few platforms than 40% present on all of them.
Jumping back to my branding and market research, I found the few platforms that my audience was on, and that I could sanely handle content for. Because I am a work from home, homeschooling mom, so I can't take on the entire social realm and keep everything else in life afloat.
I found what platforms I loved, where my audience was, and could handle making content for. As of now, it's Instagram, Facebook (by way of insta), TikTok, and Pinterest. Now, I know that might sound like a lot of platforms for a solo business owner, but that's really where my streamlining and automation come into play.
Again (I feel like I'm repeating myself here), after years of research, implementation, trial and error, I found a system that works for me to enable me to create content for all of those platforms, while also juggling client work and managing home life.
And you want to know the biggest secret of all??
It's ALL in my Confused to CONFIDENT social media marketing course. Everything I learned over the years - finding your target audience, establishing your branding, organizing your content, managing your time, resources to help you streamline and automate - ALL OF IT, it's in the course.
I just hated the idea of other business owners out there who are struggling like I was. I wanted to create a genuine shortcut for them so they could skip the frustrations that I did and hopefully jumpstart their marketing off on the right foot (instead of dragging the wrong foot in the mud, like I did).
But let me repeat myself, I love making mistakes because I learn from them. And all of those mistakes I made along the way led me to where I am today, now able to help other business owners skip the unsurety of how to get their business noticed in the online world.
And listen, if you're thinking 'nah, I'll just do my own research and figure it out myself', go ahead! It's what I did and I made it here just fine. But it did take me a LONG time to get here.
If you're reconsidering that time frame for yourself, check out my Confused to CONFIDENT social marketing course and let's make the magic happen for your business.
Until next time,
Amye