4 Candles on My Business Birthday Cake - 2 Lessons That Changed Everything

Happy birthday to… me! My company, SMITH co., has turned four. 🥳

This past April, I had the privilege of speaking on a panel at a BMO financial literacy event in Milwaukee, WI, sharing sales insights with business owners and entrepreneurs at various stages. While listening to questions from some of the early-stage businesses, I found myself thinking about how different I feel at four than I did in year one. Every time I engage with founders just starting out, I'm reminded of two lessons that have been game-changers for me: the importance of thinking big and the necessity of investing in the business. 

My Mindset Shift

Looking back to the early days of SMITH co., I now realize I fell into the trap of thinking too small. I was having a conversation with another business owner, and she summed it up this way: “I had created a great job, not a  company.” Wow. Mind blown. Flash forward to today, and I’ve heard a number of female founders share this same insight. Running a company involves a completely different mindset. 

Entrepreneurship comes in many forms. It might be how we exit the chaos of corporate or amplify a side hustle or a passion project, but at some point, we need to ask ourselves: Are we building something that will leave a lasting impact, or are we just doing this to make money? Either answer is great and there’s no judgment here. But recognizing where on that spectrum you fall will shape everything you do as a business owner—from how you allocate resources to how you envision your future.

Investing in Growth

I want to talk about this in three ways: literally investing in your business through capital, investing in resources and just doing the work. 

Capital and Debt: In the early days, I was so scared of spending money or taking on debt that I missed opportunities for growth. My fear got in the way. But you can’t run your business’ finances like you might run a household checking account. That’s what I did. Then, I had a moment where it was clear I could no longer live my mission without a business loan. That was one of the scariest business decisions I made. It was a turning point, though. Now I look back and think, why did I wait so long, and why didn’t I ask for more? I look at finances differently today. 

Expertise: Another side effect of this financial fear was the thought of investing in additional resources like coaching. I have talked about this before and I hear it a lot from my prospective clients: I don’t have the money for that right now. Women tend to invest in themselves last. We’re taught from a very early age that we need to be nice and put others first. We need to be a “team player" to get ahead. This doesn’t work when you own and run a business. My business leaped forward when I invested in coaching. That expertise and objective exterior perspective was priceless. And I am not saying that because I am a coach. It is simply true. 

Time: Saying yes to everything vs. measured testing to innovate. Let me put this a different way: working in the business vs. working on the business. I think as I matured as a business owner, I realized the investment of time, my time, and how I spent it would be the key to my success. Initially, it was fun to say yes and try everything to understand what I liked and what stuck. It was so freeing to finally explore new ideas and services. But over time, this need to try and test decreased my productivity, and that was demotivating because I couldn’t ever see progress, especially in terms of increased revenue. Until I started simply working on my business every day and doing the hard stuff I was avoiding, I wasn’t going to grow or build long-term staying power. You know that old adage, it's a marathon, not a sprint. It was important for me to step back and work on the business so that I could make progress day to day. This still leaves time to innovate, but not at the cost of the business itself. 

So What’s Next? 

Newer, bigger, faster, better? Yes and no. I am 100% focused on growth mode. Taking what has been most successful and scaling that model so I can reach more women and make a bigger impact. Living the dream, peeps, living the dream. 

Want More Birthday Insights? Years 2 and 3 Were Quite Insightful, too.

We think birthdays are kind of a big deal around here. Feel free to read SMITH Company’s adventures and insights on turning two and three!