Lessons from my First Launch

So, this post is a little hard for me to write because I am a perfectionist. I want my business to be successful and perceived to the outside world in a specific way. But, in reality, starting a business is tough.

How it started

Earlier this year, I went full force in launching my business. I had everything planned out and organized and was ready to hit the ground running. Then I got pregnant. This wasn’t a surprise pregnancy because we were actively trying, but I did not expect it to happen right away and I did not expect the health issues that I had. So, my business had to be put on the back burner while I navigated all the changes my body was going through. Thankfully, I still had clients to focus on, but my specific goals for my business growth did not happen. I kind of felt defeated and like I had failed myself. I had to remind myself that I am still new at running my own business and there are going to be many starts and stops along the way.

Where it’s going

Right now, I am in the process of ramping up to start again. To refocus and hone the plans that I had at the beginning of the year. If I am being honest, my vision and goals have evolved drastically since the start of the year and I feel like I am in a much better place than where I was at. Truth is, I needed this pause to figure out what direction I wanted my business to go in. Because I still had clients, they also helped me fine tune my services and offerings so that I can provide a better customer experience for them and future clients.

Lessons Learned

I say all this not as a cautionary tale, but to hopefully encourage you to start again or start in general. You may be in a place professionally or personally where you feel like you’ve failed yourself because you did not follow through on your goals and I wanted to let you know that you are not alone. Yes, I felt like I had failed my first iteration of my business launch based on my own personal standards, but in reality it was a learning period. As my business grows, I will continue to have these starts and stops. The important thing to recognize is that I am not starting from scratch each time. Little by little, my business is establishing itself and overtime it will become the thing that I keep dreaming about.

I hope you found this encouraging and would love to hear from you. If you need some help redefining your vision and goals, even if it’s just to say them out loud in a judgement free zone, please send me an email at nicole@atkinswebdesign.com or send me a DM on any social platform.