9 years.
I bought the studio 9 years ago Monday (1/15).
Am I any wiser? What have I learned in the 9 years of having my own business?
To think back on the person who decided to take on an existing business, she really didn’t know what she was doing. She knew how to work hard. She knew she was willing to learn. She knew this experience would ask her to grow in ways she couldn’t predict.
What she didn’t know, was how lonely it can be. How you are your own worst employee. And how you can very easily make more work for yourself.
There have been a few reoccurring themes. Things I remind myself of to stay motivated or to steer me when I’m flying blind. So here are a few of the lessons I’ve learned in my time as a business owner:
1. Keep reading. Read everything you can about business, budgeting and topics on your field. You will grow infinitely faster if you give yourself the space to keep reading and learning. Stuck? Read something. Grow.
2. You’re never going to be organized enough. But allow yourself the space you need to organize. Use it as a practice to clear your space and your mind. You will find things you’ve been looking for, uncover things you never noticed before and otherwise will sleep better leaning into creating systems and lend themselves to organization.
3. Trust your gut. Trust your gut. And when in doubt, trust your gut.
4. Five minutes of discomfort is worth the outcome. We avoid things that make us uncomfortable, so change what that feeling means to you. If you lean into the discomfort of the unknown, you will begin to change the sensation into one that signals learning and growth. And then you will begin to look for it in situations to grow more.
5. Take the trip. The work will always be there and your students will understand.
6. Everyone is your teacher. Read that again.
Thank you for the last 9 years, I may not say it enough or in the most elegant way, but please know, it is not lost on me how important you all are and how lucky I am to do this for a living.
Much appreciation,
~CC