12 Business Mistakes I Will Never Repeat Again
This is radical honesty.
After running a 7-figure fashion retail business for over 5 years, we had to shut it down.
The last few years were so exhausting that I felt dead inside. Reflecting on what happened, here are the 12 business mistakes I vow to never repeat. 👇
Ensure Your Business Model is Set for Success: If you’re unsure, consult with someone 10x more experienced in your niche. I realized too late that running a low-margin business only works on a small scale.
Choose a Business That’s Easier to Scale: Are your products easy to source? Will you have the funds? Can you offer digital products? Also, consider the daily operations—some businesses are just too complex.
Don’t Focus on Just One Market: COVID, high electricity prices, the f**king war, and even street renovations hit us hard. Diversify your income sources and audience.
Be Nice, But Not Too Nice: It’s challenging to balance being friendly with your team and being the boss. Set boundaries to ensure everyone knows that while fun is welcome, slacking is not.
Make Sure Everyone Knows Their Responsibilities: In a small business, it’s easy to micromanage, but it often backfires. Things don’t get done, it gets messy, and no one’s happy.
Build a Business, Not a Job: This is often the result of many small mistakes unless it’s a conscious choice. Regularly check in with yourself to ensure you’re on the path you wann be on because once the wheel starts turning, it goes fast.
Don’t Go Into Business with the Wrong People: Starting a business together is easy; getting out is hard. Make sure you are with people you have similar values and communicate communicate communicate.
Do background checks on everyone. Sounds unbelievable but us being exhausted and desperate for help led us to accidentaly hiring someone who was just out of jail for financial crimes.
Protect Yourself: Have all your contracts set up by professional lawyers—this is not the place to improvise. If someone acts dodgy, record the conversation. This tactic has saved me more than once and a lot of $$$.
Manage Your Money Wisely: Track all the money owed to you and be strict about it. It can escalate quickly. Keep an eye on your bottom line weekly or monthly and know when to cut your losses—a bad project can drag you down faaaaast.
Do You Have the Funds? Building a business requires money. It’s naive to believe cash flow will generate enough for growth. Don’t underestimate this.
Take Care of Yourself: Don’t neglect your mental and physical health, relationships, or fun. Your business should bring you happiness, right? I named this “Not Stressed CEO” for a reason.
Avoid the Trap of Constant Troubleshooting: There will always be fires to put out. Focus on business growth and increasing sales. Dedicate weekly time for this and don’t let it slip.
Talking about your failures can feel incredibly vulnerable. But I did fail—or so I thought.
Now that I’ve had time to process it, I see these experiences as lessons, not failures. Everyone makes mistakes, but mine have made me a much stronger professional and a better business coach.
For this reason, I really liked this episode 👇
If you’re feeling stuck or want to consult on your new business ideas, let’s talk about it.
