Today, I am sitting at my favourite cafe drinking a delicious dirty chai (my new favourite coffee order) so that I can be transported back to the very beginning of my business journey. I still vividly remember the first morning I woke up having chosen to take the leap into the perks and perils of owning your own business. My emotions on that day, and many that followed, could be likened to that of a rollercoaster - one moment I was elated at the prospect of building something with purpose, and the next, quite honestly, would involve me saying ‘what on earth am I doing, I can’t do this!’ That wobbly feeling happened for a while, until I had my first business aha moment, then another and another. Fast forward to the present moment and I can genuinely say that it has by far been the most fulfilling and incredible thing I have ever done.

This article is for all but most importantly, for anyone fearful to turn that side hustle into a full time gig, a passion into a job, or has already made the move but is currently in the depth of doubt. I believe in my heart of hearts that everyone has it in them to succeed but you need to have that fire in your belly, that laser focused vision and purpose - so that when you have those down days all you need to do is refocus to reignite that drive within you.

So here they are, my 10 biggest aha moments from the past two years in business - I truly hope they help you…

Before I dive in, I want to preface by saying that your first year in business is your ‘training year’. Use it to test, develop, refine, learn and evolve to build the most integral foundations of a successful brand. I believe if you frame it in this way, it will set the right scene for you to succeed without the added pressure.


MY BIGGEST BUSINESS AHA MOMENTS TO DATE


01 | DON’T LOOK OVER YOUR SHOULDER

When I first began my startup journey, the comparison loop for me was my kryptonite. I spent most waking hours looking at what other creative studios were doing and being completely debilitated by the thought that I wasn’t as good as them. Then, a very wonderful and wise man (James Bartle, CEO of Outland Denim) said to me “don’t look over your shoulder. Stay in your own lane and power forward.” Since that day, I have (for the most part) stuck to my area of genius and made conscious decisions at every twist and turn that will get me one step closer to my vision and purpose - for me, my clients and Puraest as a whole. And, it has truly been the most liberating thing I could have done for the growth of my business.

02 | MINDSET MATTERS

Putting your mind and body before your business is incredibly important. Health, wellness, mindset, self care whatever you may call it, is essential to the success of your business. If you aren’t doing well, this will inevitably have a flow on effect to your business. So, be sure to create a morning ritual for yourself - for me this entails meditating for at least 10 minutes, walking whilst listening to a podcast, drinking warm lemon water, then a bulletproof and taking my supplements. This is my core ritual but I like to try and add new ones to mix it up a bit and reinvigorate me from time to time - things like EFT tapping, journaling and yoga. Like everyone, I have moments when I let things slip, but the impact of not taking the time out to do these things is so apparent. I know if things aren’t flowing, or if I am not feeling 100%, that the majority of the time it is down to me not practicing self care and taking a step back even if it is just for an hour.

03 | THE POWER OF SAYING NO + BOUNDARIES

As soon as I started saying no to the things that don’t light me up, the more of what does would present itself. I am a self-confessed people pleaser, which is a blessing and a curse - a blessing because I love helping people and genuinely care, and a curse because I tend to put others' needs before my own. All of my biggest challenges in managing my businesses though have been solely down to lack of boundaries. I would highly recommend creating a checklist of boundaries and non-negotiables for you and your business, which you can reference when you start to feel like you are going astray. When creating this list, reflect on why you went into business in the first place, what you are wanting to create (both in life and work), the type of work you love and clients you enjoy helping.

04 | KNOW YOUR NICHE

When you first start out in business, I know that you feel like you have to say yes to everything; and to an extent I agree. Much like a failed relationship, you learn what you do and don’t want - so learning those lessons at the very beginning of business helps form your sweet spot, your niche. That being said, once you do have that eureka moment - I say stick to your niche like superglue. Not only does it help with solidifying your brand strategy, target audience, forming your offering and much more, but it also gives you focus. And, as we all know - what you focus on expands. Since staying true to my passion, purpose and niche to help purpose-led lifestyle brands, Puraest has truly soared. Be uniquely you.

05 | AWARENESS IS KEY

Having the ability to take a step back and observe is one of the greatest assets I believe you can have in business and in life. For some it comes naturally and for others it comes with time and practice. I find mindfulness practices such as yoga and meditation can be a wonderful way to harness the skill of consciousness. By being aware, you will be able to be far more proactive in the growth of yourself, your staff and your company as a whole. Instead of being anxious and reactive to every twist and turn, you will feel like you are in the driver's seat - where everything becomes so much more intentional and you feel incredibly aligned with what I like to call your ‘true north’. You will also be able to foresee challenges and issues, and nip them in the bud before they eventuate. Awareness is something that many of my fellow entrepreneurial friends have commended me on. This ability is something I believe can help everyone on a daily basis, whether they own a business or not. This also relates to your limiting beliefs, which are a huge obstacle every entrepreneur has to work on dispelling. They come in many different forms - such as money mindset, fear of success, fear of being seen. There are plenty of resources and people out there to help you work through these but I highly recommend that you do.

06 | ALWAYS TRUST YOUR GUT

'Trust your instincts. Intuition doesn't lie.' ~ Oprah Winfrey⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

If I had to pick one key lesson in running your own business, it would be to listen and trust your gut implicitly. It is honestly the most powerful tool in every facet of running a successful brand. It is a skill that is innately instilled within all of us - that the more you use it, the more powerful and valuable it becomes. I believe the more you give it a voice, the stronger and more meaningful a business you will create. It is your compass guiding you towards your true north and creating a business with deep meaning and purpose. I will be perfectly honest with you, I still sometimes have moments where I say to myself - ‘I wish I listened to my gut’ but the more my business and me as an individual grows, the more few and far between that hindsight happens.

07 | THE P’S + C’S WORK AS ONE

The P’s are plain and simple - passion, purpose and profit. I don’t believe you can have one without the other. I also believe that you can’t bring these three P’s to fruition without these five C’s - Clarity, Confidence, Consistency, Communication and Curiosity. Clarity - as you have to know where you are going in order to get there. Confidence - in order to succeed you have to project a certain level of belief and conviction in order to develop trust with your customers. Communication - by sharing your story, your mission and essence you will inevitably connect with your audience and build connections and a community of values-aligned fans. Curiosity - this is an important trait of any successful individual. It makes your mind active instead of passive, makes your mind open to new ideas, new worlds and possibilities, and brings excitement to your life.

08 | GROW WITH GOOD PEOPLE

From day dot, the piece of advice I heard time and time again was surround yourself with likeminded people that are smarter than you. These people can come in many different forms - mentors, business coaches and owners, networking groups, family and friends. I must be honest, at the beginning I found it hard to discover my ‘tribe’ and most of my friends didn’t really understand the concept of owning my own business - I think they just thought I was frequenting cafes and sunbathing everyday (which couldn’t be further from the truth). So, I set out on a mission to find my people that would lift me up, cheer me on, and exchange wisdom and woes with. At the beginning of last year, I signed up to the Owner’s Collective High End Hustlers program, and it was there I found my crowd in spades. I finally was surrounded by the wisest and kindest group of female entrepreneurs I could have hoped to have met - many of which I am proud to say will be lifelong friends. If there is someone you admire or connect with in any way, I would highly recommend reaching out to them - even if nothing comes from it, you have at least made their day by connecting and complimenting them.

09 | KNOWLEDGE + ACTION = GROWTH

You will find that your personal development will grow exponentially when you embark on your startup journey. I have learnt more in these past two years about myself and generally than I had in all of my years on this planet. My recommendation to you is to be constantly reading, listening, learning and soaking up wisdom in any way that you can. Podcasts were the best thing for me when I started, whenever I wrapped my ears around one it would spark ideas, fuel motivation and make me feel that I was not alone on this journey. At the beginning I was blazing through every relevant book and article I could find and soaking it all up. The trick is to tap into your intuition to pinpoint what topic or area you need to work on in that present moment. Be curious and hungry to evolve your business and you will truly benefit from it.

10 | INVEST IN YOURSELF + BUSINESS

As soon as I took the leap and invested in myself and my business things really started to take off. By investing in yourself, I mean anything that helps you uplevel - and your business too as a result. Such as having a mentor or business coach and taking up courses to upskill. When it comes to investing in your business, there are of course a multitude of ways you can do this but here are the most beneficial ways I have experienced first hand; - outsourcing your weaknesses or to your dream team and - implementing systems that will free up your time to work on the growth of your business. In terms of outsourcing, I would begin by investing in people such as Bookkeepers and Accountants. Then, create a phased dream team plan to free up your time to focus on working ON the business instead of always IN it. In terms of investing in programs, I truly believe that the ‘systems will set you free’ - so I would start by signing up to Xero and then any other subscriptions that will save you time. Other examples that work wonderfully for us are ClickUp, Planoly, Mailchimp and Google Workspace.