So this week was my birthday. 🎉
And every year around my birthday, I start thinking about all the things I wish I knew before starting a business.
Because I’ve been doing this a LONG time.
I started a little running blog back in 2010. That blog turned into a run coaching business. Which turned into a VA agency. Which turned into a content membership.
And now? I’m a time management + accountability coach with a planner I designed myself.
That’s 4 versions of my business. (And honestly, I’m not done learning.)
What do you wish you knew before starting a business?
Here’s the deal... the 3 things I wish I knew before starting a business are: it’s never too late (or too early) to start over, your goals are just wishes until you take action, and “enough” can actually be the goal.
None of those are about funnels or Instagram or pricing.
They’re the stuff that would’ve saved me YEARS of feeling behind.
The strategy changes every year. These lessons don’t.
Before you keep reading…
Grab my free CEO Weekly Reset
If any of these hit a little close to home, start with one small step this week. My free CEO Weekly Reset walks you through the exact weekly planning session I use to turn big goals into the next right thing to do.
ONE || Is it ever too late (or too early) to start over in business?
No. It’s never too late OR too early to pivot or start over. I’ve done it at 2 years in and I’ve done it a decade+ in.
I was only 2 years out of college when I made my first big career change.
I was a strength + conditioning coach... and I decided to go back to school to get my teaching certificate.
Two years in! I remember thinking, “Did I just waste my whole degree?”
(Spoiler: I didn’t. I still use it every single fall coaching cross country.)
And then I did it again. And again. And again.
Run coach
VA agency
Content membership
Time management + accountability coach (+ planner creator)
Here’s the reality... every single one of those versions taught me something I use TODAY.
Coaching runners taught me how to build a training plan around a busy schedule. The VA agency taught me systems. The membership taught me how to show up consistently. And all of it led to the SYS Planner.
Starting over isn’t starting from zero. You bring everything with you.
So if you’re sitting there at 11PM wondering if it’s “too late” to change direction... or if you’re too new to be pivoting already...
This is your permission slip.
TWO || How do you turn your business goals into action?
You take one small, real step toward the goal, then the next one, then the next one. Until you act on it, a goal is just a wish.
I pictured having a planner in Target for YEARS.
Like, about 5 years. I could literally see it on the shelf.
But here’s the truth... for most of that time, it was just a picture in my head.
So here’s what it actually took to go from wish to planner:
I bought a dot grid notebook (not glamorous, I know)
I spent about 2 years sketching + figuring out the layout
Then I found someone who could teach me how to actually create it through Amazon KDP
That’s it. No big launch. No fancy designer.
Just a dot grid notebook and a LOT of tiny steps.
And while I might still be selling planners out of my home office (and not Target... yet 😂)...
at least I have a planner to sell.
That would NEVER have happened if I kept waiting until I had it all figured out.
So what’s the wish you keep picturing? Write it down. Then write down the very next tiny step... and put it on your calendar this week.
(If you want help turning that wish into an actual number + a plan, here’s how to set goals for the end of the year you’ll actually work toward.)
THREE || What if “enough” is the goal in business?
What if you don’t need a bigger, better, more-more-more business? What if the goal is a business that pays enough to support the life you actually want?
So much of the business world is about MORE.
Bigger goals. The next level. Six figures, then seven figures.
And listen, if that’s your dream... go get it! I’m cheering for you.
But I don’t need a bigger house. Or a new car. Or to retire my husband.
I just need to sell enough planners + help enough people to support our family so that I can:
Be at cross country practice at 2:30 every afternoon in the fall
Watch my daughter cheer at football + basketball games
Be at my son’s Tae Kwon Do + cross country meets
Take my kids to school + pick them up every day
And maybe take a few trips every year (because we LOVE to travel)
THAT’S my definition of success.
And here’s what’s actually happening when you get clear on your “enough”... your business gets SO much simpler.
Because you know exactly what you’re building toward. And you can stop chasing every shiny thing just because someone else is doing it.
(It also makes it a whole lot easier to say no. If that’s a struggle for you, here’s how to set boundaries in life + business without the guilt.)
Your business is supposed to fit around your life. Not the other way around.
So what would I tell myself on day one?
Be patient. Take the next step. And decide what “enough” looks like before anyone else decides it for you.
It’s never too late (or too early) to start over
Your goals are just wishes until you take action
“Enough” can be the goal
I’m still learning all 3 of these. Every year. (Apparently birthdays make me sentimental.)
But I’d much rather be a few pivots in, still building something I love, than still waiting for the perfect time to start.
Ready to turn your wish into an actual plan?
That dot grid notebook eventually became the SYS Planner... the planner I wish I had when I was trying to build a business in my small pockets of time.
It walks you through my Plan / Prioritize / Protect method:
PLAN your 90-day goals + your week
PRIORITIZE the tasks that actually move you toward your goal
PROTECT your time for the stuff (+ people) that matter most
FAQs
What do you wish you knew before starting a business? That it’s never too late (or too early) to start over, that goals are just wishes until you take action, and that “enough” can be the goal. The tactics change every year, but those three lessons are what keep you going long enough to build something that lasts.
Is it too late to start over in business? No. Every version of your business teaches you something you’ll use in the next one. I’ve pivoted 4 times (run coach, VA agency, content membership, and now time management coach + planner creator), and each one built on the last.
How do you turn your business goals into action? Pick the very next tiny step toward the goal and put it on your calendar this week. My planner started as a dot grid notebook and about 2 years of sketching layouts before I ever learned how to publish it.
What does “enough” mean in business? Enough is the amount of income + impact your business needs to support the life you actually want. For me, that means being able to coach cross country, make my kids’ games + meets, and do school drop-off and pickup every day.
How many times is it OK to pivot your business? As many times as it takes to find the business that fits your life. A pivot isn’t failing. It’s using what you learned to build something better.