Things I have tried and failed

I consider myself to be successful.

We all have different definitions of success.

Defining success

Mine is that I live a self-determined life for me and my family.  I earn enough money for us to live a comfortable life and have great experiences. I have complete control of how much or how little I work, and how much time I have for my family.  I get to be fully ME everywhere I go.

Those are my definitions of success.

My journey

I don’t really consider myself an entrepreneur. I haven’t owned multiple businesses and I don’t have stories of huge failures I’ve come back from in my business.

But, to get to where I am today, there’s a shitload of things I’ve tried and failed, or tried and decided they’re not working, and therefore stopped.

It’s so easy to look at someone enjoying success and think they always get everything right. I soooooooo haven’t!

A business manager

I’ve hired and been left high and dry by not 1 but 2 business managers. No, I didn’t hire the right people. Yes, I learned some things. It was a fairly expensive lesson.

A social media manager

He didn’t have the skills he said he did. And he misrepresented the hours we worked. It was a bit scary giving someone that much access to my world and then realising they can’t be trusted.

Paying someone to write blogs for me

I mean, I’m a writer, DUH. But I was soooooo busy and never writing for me and I thought if I just gave someone the main points and they knew my brand voice it might work. It didn’t.

A virtual assistant

I think I’ve tried 3. Holy fuck trying to save time by outsourcing stuff is SO TIME CONSUMING! I found the right one eventually. But they weren’t as virtual as I thought they’d be. *hiyeee Ninja*

My first Google Adwords campaign

I went with a big, recognisable brand. Thought that meant they’d do a good job.  They didn’t. It was expensive, they didn’t listen, and they got me exactly zero results. They hooked me into a contract and wouldn’t give me any information about my own campaigns. Fuck all of that. If you need a great digital marketing team, talk to Adhesion. I’ve never looked back.

At least 2 websites (Maybe 4)

I think this is just normal. Any website needs regular updating. I’ve never had one I’ve been happy with for more than 2 years, and some MUCH shorter than that. They can be fucking expensive. But as long as you’re learning each time, meh, that’s business I reckon.

5 collaborations

I get so excited about the possibility of working with other amazing people. Luckily my business doesn’t depend on it. I can do my own thing really well, and the idea of collaborating is just the cream on top. Because of this, and because I’m a get-shit-done no-mucking-around ACHIEVER, none of these have played out the way I’d hoped. Honestly, I’m all good with that. Things work out when they should. And again, I’ve learned so much.

A CFO

Finances are the bane of my life. They’re not something that comes naturally to me. I’ve had therapy, 2 different accountants, different arrangements with an accountant, tried 6 different versions of having a CFO or financial controller. So far, the only things that has really worked is freaking blood sweat and tears, keeping myself FULLY and PAINFULLY informed about my financial situation as regularly as I’ve been able to manage.  I’m getting there. It seems like there’s no such thing (yet, in my world) as handing this responsibility over to someone else.  Uggh.

A business mentor - She had one way of coaching/mentoring, and it didn’t work for me.

A sales coach - She didn’t live up to her own sales pitch.

A technical writing qualification - I knew more than the tutor.

Saying yes to everything

*laughs maniacally*  I actually think this was a useful and legitimate philosophy in the first few years of my business. It got me here. I learned sooooooo much. I grew. And now I’ve grown to the point that saying yes to everything is not only DUMB, it’s wrong. For me, my family, and my clients.  I am no longer a yes-girl.

I’m sure there are more.

I just thought maybe you might need some reassurance that it’s ok if you’ve tried something and it didn’t work out. There’s no shame in that.

Or maybe there’s a dead horse you’re currently flogging and it’s time to stop. Chalk that one up to experience and learning, and move on from it.

Hugs!