9 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting My Business

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9 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting My Business

by Megan Griffith

When you first start a business, it feels like no one will just...tell you what you really need to know.

This is partially because there simply is no "right" way to start or run a business.


We aren't "keeping secrets" really, we're just not willing to limit you and your business by telling you that you should do what we've done.


That being said, I do believe there are some tried and true business lessons we all need to learn.


And, boy, have I learned some of them the hard way.


Alright, let's dive into the 9 things I wish I knew before starting a business:

#1: Be Open About Your Business Finances With Your Partner(s)

Obviously everyone's partnerships are different, but if you are typically open with your partner about most things, don't make your business finances the one thing you keep to yourself.


How I Learned This:


The hard way.


I just kept thinking that things were *about* to turn around. Everything was just about to get better.


So I kept putting off telling my partner about how my business really wasn't bringing in enough, how we were (well, I was) dipping into our savings to pay our bills.


Finally, I snapped. Things weren't looking up, things were getting bad. And my partner deserved to know. He should have known all along.


We fought and cried and made a plan for how to move forward.


And guess what?


That's when things finally turned around.


We'll talk more about this in a minute, but honestly, our businesses often do better financially when we take some of the pressure off.


What I Would Do Differently:


It might seem off topic, but honestly?


I'd talk about my issues with codependency in therapy wayyyy sooner.


One of the biggest reasons I didn't talk to my partner sooner is because I was terrified he'd be so ashamed of me and how poorly the business was doing.


(P.S. Things were actually doing great, btw. It was just a brand new business. These things take time, is all.)


I'm not overly codependent with my partner, but I have codependent relationships in my past, and sometimes I act like my husband is the same as those people from my past.


Meaning I forget that I'm my own person. That my identity isn't reliant on others' perceptions of me.


Running a small business is one of those things that will really test you and your sense of self. Don't sleep on therapy and/or coaching, y'all.

#2: Your Business Will Not Financially Support You Right Away

Look, I'm not saying you can't quit your job.


I'm not saying your business will for sure grow slowly.


I fully believe that every business is unique and I don't say this to try and hold you back in any way.


But I've learned a lot about my nervous system in recent years, and nothing - seriously, NOTHING - freaks out your nervous system like financial stress.


So if you can avoid it, don't put yourself in a place of financial stress at the beginning of your business, thinking it will immediately make money and solve the problem.


It might. But it might not. And like...what do you do then?


How I Learned This:


Yet again, the hard way.


Before I started my first business, I was a freelance writer. I had several clients with lots of steady work.


Then I started my business and within 6 months, I'd quit all of my freelance gigs.


Every. Single. One.

I figured if I had more time to work on the business, I'd make more money.

Which makes some sense, except...


...when you first start your own business, you're still learning so much.


The hours of work required to generate income is higher because you aren't implementing tried and true methods yet.


You're still experimenting.


And that can affect your cash flow.


To no one's surprise (except mine, because I really struggle to see past the exact present moment) I had to reach out to my freelance clients 6 months later and beg for work to help pay our bills.


(Thankfully, they very graciously gave me some work.)


What I Would Do Differently:


I would have slowly weaned myself off my freelance work, not fully quitting until I'd made the income I needed solely from my business 3 months in a row.


I wish someone had told me that it's okay if your business is your side hustle for a while. That it doesn't make you any less of a business owner.


In fact, prioritizing your financial wellness above your desire to be a full-time business owner is a pretty boss move, tbh.

#3: Your Business Does Not Exist to Validate You

Ouch, I know.


Or who knows, maybe you're the self-assured type.


But honestly, I tend to attract people who are a bit like me, always feeling like they're in trouble somehow, no matter how old they get.


So if that's you, listen up.


How I Learned This:


Actually, I didn't learn this one the hard-


Nah, I'm kidding. This was definitely a business lesson I learned the hard way.


I have some validation & attachment wounds, and the first time I went viral on social media, the intense validation of it immediately got me hooked.


And I quickly developed a deeply unhealthy relationship with social media.




Want to learn more about how your own attachment style impacts your business? Take the quiz below:

I cared so much about likes and views and what strangers on the internet thought about me.


And I was completely ignoring the very real love and validation I had in my non-digital life in favor of the rush of validation that social media provided.


I know it sounds silly, and I knew it wasn't true intellectually, but in my bones?


I kinda thought I could use my business to earn love I felt I'd missed out on.


What I Would Do Differently:


I'd do what I do now.


Before posting anything on socials, I ask myself:


"Why are you posting this?"


If I'm dysregulated and feel like posting will calm me down, that's a no-go.


If I think I'm right and someone else is wrong, that's also a no.


If I want to look smart or cool, that's a big no.


I post with the intention to be kind now.


Sure sometimes I have to set boundaries, but I'm not so freaking snarky anymore.


And you know what?


My business is more fun, and I feel a helluva lot more regulated.

#4: There Are Ethical Ways to Sell

And if you disagree, if you really believe selling is inherently bad, you should not be running a business.


Businesses only work if you're making sales. And there are ethical ways to make those sales.


How I Learned This:


This is one of those lessons I wish I could have learned without having to mess up. But alas.


When I started my first business in 2020, there weren't any anti-capitalist business coaches out there. Not as far as I knew, anyway.


I learned a lot of crappy sales tactics. Generating false scarcity, encouraging people to feel like they were missing out, those things were normalized to me.


So I did them.


And yeah, I was excited when I made sales, but I never really felt great about how I did it.


Finally, someone reached out to me about my payment plans, which were significantly more expensive than my pay-in-full price.


They said they felt like they were being penalized for being poor.


Oof.


That hit me like a ton of bricks.


Because they were right. There was no reason to offer people who had money a discount and charge more for people who didn't have money.


(Yes, I know sometimes people don't pay their full payment plan and increased costs are used to cover that risk. I just don't think that's a good enough reason to charge someone an extra 20% of the pay-in-full price.)


What I Would Do Differently


I'd try to think about the things I'm happy to pay for. The bills I'm honestly relieved that I get to pay.


What makes those things different, from, say, my mortgage, which I've been paying on for years now and the principal has barely budged because it's all gone toward f*cking interest?


Well, they're more ethical, for one. I don't feel swindled. I feel like I'm paying for something I want.


And the selling process doesn't feel rushed.


I'm the kind of person who noodles on a decision for a long time, until I decide, and then boom, I wanna do the thing now.


So sales strategies that rely on FOMO and false scarcity always give me the ick.


So hey Megan? Maybe don't do that then, eh?


That's what I'd do different. I'd sell the way I prefer to be sold to. With humanity and kindness first.

#5: Try Everything

One of the best things about running your own business is the freedom to do whatever you want.


So why not do exactly that?


There's a million ways to run a business. Try all of it. See what brings you joy.


How I Learned This:


What's this? A lesson I didn't learn the hard way???

I have ADHD, and I've got about a bazillion ideas running through my brain all day every day.


So when I started a small business, I just started trying all of them.


I've run summits and bundles, I've done TikTok and Instagram and YouTube, I've sold courses and memberships and 1:1 coaching, I have really done a lot of stuff.


Yes, because I have ADHD and impulse control is not on my list of strengths.


But also because I quickly realized that my business grows faster when I'm having fun.


Some folks like to say that you need to focus on one thing at a time in order to grow more quickly, but for me, this just wasn't true.


Whenever I tried to slow down and do one thing at a time, my income would slow too.


Everyone is different.


For me, trying everything has been essential to my success, and I can't help recommend that other people try everything too, at least for a bit to see if you're like me.


What I Would Do Differently


Absolutely nothing. I love my chaotic business. It's perfect for me.

#6: Hire Someone Right Before You Feel Ready To

Okay, let's talk hiring.


First, I want you to know that hiring someone doesn't have to mean bringing on a full-time employee or something.


You can hire a virtual assistant (VA) for 2 hours a week, just to help organize your inbox or upload replays of your coaching calls, or whatever else needs done.


Second, I want you to know that hiring someone isn't just for the people making tons and tons of money.


I hired my first contractor in 2023. I made 6-figures that year, in part because of all the support my VA gave me.


In her words, she does all the boring stuff so that I "can go off and slay the dragons."


(Yes, my VA is the best. No, she's not accepting new clients right now. Sorry friends.)


How I Learned This:


Hiring my VA absolutely made it possible for me to make 6-figures.


But I should have hired her 6 months sooner.


I'd been drowning in work for months when I hired my VA, and as a result, I had no idea how to onbaord her.


Look, I love chaos, but my business had become so chaotic, that I didn't know how to bring someone else into it without breaking everything.


I just didn't feel ready to hire. I still didn't feel like being a life coach counted as a "real job," and hiring someone to support me doing that "not real job" felt so ludicrous.


What I Would Do Differently:


I'd hire my VA 6 months sooner.


I'd journal more, and realize that coaching is absolutely, 100% a "real job." One I was pretty damn good at, too.


I'd just admit I needed help. That asking for help wasn't a bad thing (especially since I'd be paying her for said help!)


I'm not saying hire right away as you're starting your business. But don't wait until you're desperate for help. Hire right before that point.


(P.S. Not sure how to find a good VA? My advice is to find someone you trust. Skills can be learned, but no work will get done without trust.)

#7: You Don't Have to Be Organized to Be Successful (But If You're Not Organized, You Have to Be Diligent)

You do not have to be organized, okay?


Seriously, it is not a prerequisite for being a business owner.


But I will say, if you're not organized, you have to second and triple and quadruple check everything.


How I Learned This:


I've yet to truly learn this lesson, tbh.


I always think I can get away with winging everything.


And then, boom, 100 people buy my stuff for my Black Friday sale and the delivery system isn't connected properly and I have to personally email 100 people with the digital goods they bought.


(True story, it sucked.)

But slowly, so slowly, I am learning that if I don't want to prepare things ahead of time, I just have to check it over and over before it goes live to make sure it actually works.


What I Would Do Differently:


Again, I'd hire my VA sooner, so that she could check all my broken links and disconnected email sequences for me.


I'm just not an organized girlie.


So if I could go back, I'd stop trying to be and just get the help I needed.

#8: Followers Are a Vanity Metric

Look, I grew one of my accounts to over 300k followers.


I know the borderline euphoria that comes from hitting some of those big numbers.


And I also know that those numbers don't alway come with an increased income.


Or impact on the world.


Or self-esteem.


How I Learned This:


In 2024, I had an email list of over 10,000 subscribers.


A number that nearly every email marketing expert will tell you, should absolutely generate 6-figures a year.


Except I didn't make 6-figures in 2024, despite my big email list.


I'd gotten so focused on increasing the number of subscribers that I didn't have any energy or focus left to learn to how actually, like...do marketing.


I slowly began to resent my big email list for not buying from me.


As if they owed me or something.


It was unhealthy and unhelpful, and I've done a lot of work to learn to appreciate my community and also sell to them in a way that works for both of us.


What I Would Do Differently:


Again, my answer this time has to do with therapy.


I'd go back and work on my validation and attachment wounds before I started creating on social media.


Oh, and I'd definitely focus a little less on getting new followers and email subscribers, and instead, actually connect with the people who already followed me.

#9: You Need to Be Around Other Entrepreneurs Who Get It

I joined an entrepreneur group the same month I started my business.


I told the coach I needed to make enough money from the business to pay for my investment in the group in the next 3 months, or I'd have to leave.


And she said, "Okay, let's do this."


That kind of support has made such a difference in my business.


How I Learned This:


I don't come from an entrepreneurial family. I come from farmers, factory workers, nurses.


Hard working folks.


Being an entrepreneur felt...cushy. Silly, even.


A senseless, self-indulgent risk.


I really didn't feel like I had many people in my non-digital life to talk to about my business, which is why I was so thankful for the network of internet friends I'd found through the community I joined.


What I Would Do Differently:


I'd just go back and shake my own hand and congratulate me on making such a good business decision so early on in my journey.


Oh, and if you're looking for your own entrepreneurship community, may I suggest The High Priestess Business Mastermind?


Come join a coven of witchy, leftist small business owners looking for magickal and practical business advice.

JOIN THE MASTERMIND

Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you learn some of these lessons from me, rather than the hard way.


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