Starting your own thing can be daunting.  Whether you’re launching a side hustle, growing a freelance business, or starting your own company, it’s really hard to know where to start.  Depending on your exact lane, I urge you to look up specific resources, but below are some general tips which are great places to start - and where I began my journey in the candle biz! 

1. Create + Cultivate Workshops + Memberships 

   Create and Cultivate is an amazing resource no matter where you are in your business journey.  They are “an online platform and offline conference for women looking to create & cultivate the career of their dreams,” offering things like a weekly podcast, blog content, and an insider access membership.  Their membership ($95 annually) includes discounted access to workshops and courses, a private slack channel and mentorship sessions but I implore you to even start by signing up for their emails and attending some of their free digital workshops.  Since COVID began, they have held multiple day long events of zoom calls, facebook lives, and pre-recorded sessions which include everything from Fireside chats with female founders and celebs discussing brand building, finance, social media how-its, etc.  These events also typically include access to like minded individuals through workshop slack channels - the perfect place to get inspired and network!

2. Stripe Atlas for Business Formation

   Stripe Atlas is a great tool for anyone looking to create a business entity.  I personally used it for my LLC formation (they did everything for me for the flat rate price of $500 so I didn’t have to deal with lawyers or confusing paperwork) and it’s been great to have a resource to ask questions.  For instance, I wasn't sure if I wanted to change my LLC name and I was able to reach out to them for help. They directed me to their law partner who I was able to set up a free call with and talk through all the steps I would need to take to do the business name change on my own.  They also have a list of resources, a checklist for you to follow once your business entity is formed (like getting business licenses and setting up a business bank account) and have a community page where you can ask and review questions that other entrepreneurs have thought of and asked.   

3. Network, network, network 

   Reach out to Directors and Business owners to ask for advice and to hear their stories about how they got to where they are - people love to talk, especially about themselves!  Finding a mentor you can bounce ideas off of, get honest feedback from, and who will inspire you could make all the difference in your journey.

   It’s also great to reach out to your peers. Whether it’s someone who falls into the target demographic for your new business or someone currently freelancing in the field you want to crack into to, reach out, ask fro their opinions, and to grow a relationship.  As you both move up and progress in your careers, your relationship and their potential referral could be the thing that lands you your next paid gig or a collab! 

4. Podcasts

   I was never a Podcast person in the past but I’ve recently discovered a plethora of great episodes to help with brand building and getting started!  Some of my favorite Podcasts include: Follow Me, Life with Marianna, The Revolve Podcast, Work Party, The Business of Fashion Podcast, and Girl Gang The Podcast.  If anything listening to some badass female founders will hopefully help inspire you to follow in their footsteps! 

5. Research

   It’s important to do as much research as possible,  Look at your competitors, their pricing (if you’re freelancing what are typical hourly rates?).  You want to be competitive the minute you launch so knowing the market and where you fit into it is extremely important.  Knowing whats out there will also help you differentiate yourself and find your niche!

   Also if your business is something you can start mostly on your own - look into books, articles, youtube videos about people who have done the same thing.  Learning from their mistakes is huge and will allow you to progress faster without wasting time on common pitfalls.  

6. Blind (but realistic) optimism 

   What you put out there is what you get back.  If you go in negatively thinking you’ll never succeed, you’ll self sabotage yourself (I almost did this myself a few times).  And I say realistic optimism because while pushing your back against a wall is a great way to motivate yourself, you want to make sure you have somewhat of a safety net (if possible). Quitting your job and throwing yourself into your new idea is a way to see if you’ll sink or swim but if you’re starting something on your own and know you’ll have start up costs and don’t have money saved to invest in yourself or to pay for your living costs like food and rent - maybe starting it as a side hustle when you still have a job and paycheck is a better idea.  Or you could plan ahead to save a year's worth of runway (for your living expenses and business costs) so you go all in worry free.

   You also want to make sure your brainstorming possible hiccups and have a plan B for when issues arise - because they will! Failed attempts at making something or launching something may feel like failure but if you look at every attempt (and failure) as a learning opportunity it should help you maintain your excitement and drive to continue!