My top three founder mistakes

If you’re thinking about starting your own business, don’t make the same mistakes I did. Here’s my 3 biggest lessons from running a business for the past eight years.

1. Don’t undervalue yourself

It took me a year to realise I wasn’t valuing my time or experience, I was so excited I was finally running my own company and grateful people wanted to work with me. I used to do things for free, like have coffees with people and share all my ideas without valuing my time, experience as a business owner or knowledge. Now I offer a free 15 minute call but value my time if it’s any longer. Remind yourself of all the experiences you’ve had that led you to becoming a business owner and focus on the value you’re bringing to your clients rather than the price. 

2. Stop the comparison game

It’s a lose, lose game you’ll never win. It can be tempting to look at what the competition is doing and compare yourself to them but you’re only seeing a glossy, instagrammable version of their business and have no idea what’s going on behind the scenes. So focus on your goals and remember you have a unique set of talents, strengths and experiences which will set you apart from competitors if you stay true to yourself.

3. Define what success means to you

I thought success meant running a marketing agency that employed a big team and had a heap of well-known brands on monthly retainers but once I hit those goals I realised I wasn’t happy. I hated managing people and found doing the marketing for multiple clients stressful and unfulfilling. Now I’ve redefined what success means to me - working with a select group of ambitious women to build their dream business, creating my six week Upstart business program to enable women around the world to launch and grow purpose-driven businesses, and having location freedom so I can raise a family and run my business from Europe for at least two months a year. 

These are all learnings which I’ve grown from and want to help other women starting out avoid the same pitfalls I did. I hope it inspires you.