Today we celebrate 3 years of Katie Lance Consulting! It’s been an exciting few years and I’ve learned a ton along the way. For this post, I wanted to share a few lessons I’ve learned since going into business for myself.
- Hustle baby! I have always considered myself a hard worker – whether I was working for someone else or for myself. I have learned over the last three years time and time again; the value of work ethic, of being a person of your word, and the value working with great people and great companies. At the end of the day – it’s all about working hard and not taking anything for granted. I’ve learned over and over the value of putting yourself out there, leaping before you may be ready and hustling to work hard for my business and family!
- Fake it till you make it. When I first started out on my own, I didn’t know exactly what my business was going to look like. The truth is, I didn’t have a big, fancy business plan laid out. But, I knew what I was good at. I knew that I loved social media, that I had a ton of experience and had something special that I could bring to the table. So I basically said, “Yes, and I’ll figure out the rest later.” This led me to start out consulting with some incredible companies like RE/MAX International, Inman News, Hearsay Social and DocuSign from day 1 of being in business.
- Don’t sell yourself short. I feel like a lot of people, especially in social media, charge way too little for their services. I believe in charging for what you’re worth. Yes, this may limit the people who can afford to work with you, but in my opinion, that’s a far better problem to have than being underpaid. Think big and charge accordingly!
- You can’t be all things to all people. Again, sometimes it’s better to say no if an opportunity or client is not the right fit. This could look like developing your niche – or simply being more specific about the type of projects you take on. Remember, not all business is good business. I’ve learned there is a fine line to accepting new opportunities and politely declining others.
Thrilled and thankful to be celebrating 3 years in business!
- Trust your gut. I think this has been one of my biggest lessons learned in every area of my business. Whether it’s to take on a new client or project, hiring a team member, taking a speaking gig or any other decision I’ve had to make along the way. I’ve learned, over time, to trust that initial feeling on whether something is right or wrong.
- Diversify your income. For me this has meant consulting, speaking, coaching and most recently, products. It’s been exciting to grow my business in these different areas. I also like knowing that if one of these income streams were to go away, my business would still be profitable because I’ve diversified.
- Hire the right team. Building the team here at Katie Lance Consulting has been huge for my business growth. I’m so thankful for the great team I have today! Because I think having the right team in place is so important, I did an entire scope on the subject:
Those are just a few of the many, many lessons I’ve learned as a small business owner. I also chatted about lessons learned on Periscope this week, you can watch those broadcasts on katch.me/katielance. After three years in business, it’s fun to look back and reflect on everything! Today, I’m just incredibly thankful for how far we’ve come…and even more excited about what’s in store for the future.
To celebrate our anniversary, we’re excited to offer our Advanced Periscope Marketing Class and Workbook for a special price of just $47! Click here to grab your copy today >>
