I’m just gonna come out and say it, I’ve made LOTS of mistakes in business. Maybe you haven’t seen them…but they happened. I will also say this… I don’t regret the mistakes I’ve made. I think we learn the most from our mistakes. And I’m so THANKFUL for the good, the bad, and the ugly! Below are my top 5 mistakes I’ve made in business….I promise there were more!

Mistake #1: LACKING BOUNDARIES

I’m a classic people pleaser. I inherited it..and I’m sure I passed it on as well. And the classic saying “It’s not personal, it’s business”…always rubbed me wrong. In my businesses, it is personal. I LOVE having a personal approach when taking care of my people. But lacking boundaries means that when I try to please people beyond what is good for my business, it’s gone too far. Having boundaries is a good thing. Making everyone happy is NOT. It’s not your job to make everyone happy. Your job is to serve people well within the boundaries you set from the beginning of the client experience.

Mistake #2: TRYING TO DO ALL THE THINGS

Nope. Nope. And Nope. Period. Done.

You do not need to do ALL THE THINGS. You can’t do ALL THE THINGS. What lights your soul on fire? What are you good at? What do your clients want or need from you? Do those things and let the rest go or outsource it. Operate within your wheelhouse and find others to do the things that are not in your wheelhouse.

Mistake #3: LACKING VISION

I wasn’t dreaming big enough. We can do big things, but we need to think beyond this month, this season, this year…we should be looking years into the future when vision casting for what we want our business to look like. Write down the goals and visions. Write down the steps it will take to get there. Leave room for growth and pivots…but have a vision.

Mistake #4: NOT CREATING MULTIPLE STREAMS OF INCOME EARLIER

I heard Jon Acuff speak at a retreat once…and he said smart business owners have multiple faucets within their businesses. Hello Joanna Gaines! We do this so that when one slows down to a trickle, we can have another on full blast. Oh wait…how applicable was his 2016 talk in our 2020 pandemic world?!?!

Yep, covid shut my photography business down for an entire season of the year. But thanks to my Young Living business, my income continued to support our family. Not only did it support it, it doubled in 2020. YES…in the middle of a pandemic! Our team did a quarter of a million dollars in sales in what felt like the craziest year ever!!!!! Ask me if I wish I had started this business YEARS ago!!!!! (the answer is YES!)

Mistake #5: BELIEVING MISTAKES ARE BAD

Nope. Mistakes can be good. We learn and grow from our mistakes. Again, my people pleasing comes into play here. Also my fear of failure shows up in this mistake. When we think mistakes are bad, we aren’t willing to put ourselves out there….because we don’t want to make a mistake…or worse yet, fail.

DO IT ANYWAY! You’ll learn. You’ll grow. You’ll move on…..and maybe teach someone else from that very thing that you were afraid of.

We only have one life to live, and erasers aren’t included, so let’s all pledge to love our imperfectness, shall we?

Since I shared my 5 Mistakes I’ve Made In Business…I’d love it if you’d share one of yours?