This is the first time I’m admitting this to anyone outside my hubby and a select few close friends. Because for years just thinking about it gave me a sucker punch right in the gut.
One of my biggest entrepreneurial failures cost me over two years, lost time with my family and hard for me to admit…25 thousand dollars. Ouch!
I’m smart, ambitious and educated. So how did I let this happen? Oh let me count the ways…
A SIDENOTE:
Heads up, this is a long post because it includes detail on how and why I made my decisions. Why? So that YOU LEARN from my experiences. If you walk away with even ONE “aha” moment – you’ll be ten steps ahead of where I was….and that would be a big win!
And now, back to the story…
About three years ago I knew it was time to expand my business model from a local in home service to a scalable global one.
For me this was when I went from amateur to pro and I knew what had gotten me here…wasn’t going to get me to the next level.
At that time, my hubby and I were partnering in my new endeavor. With his strong finance and business background, and my creativity and vision, we embarked on finding the right marketing partners to bring “Life Is Organized” to fruition.
So we started interviewing local marketing companies to help us out. We finally hired one to help develop my business plan, branding, logo, and e-commerce website.
Lets stop right there.
I had read “Lean Startup.” I even scoffed at other business owners who poured money into their sites and programs with beta testing them first. And yet, somehow after all my learnings, I found myself doing the exact same thing. And the worst part of it all was that, I knew it...but I thought I’d be different. Yes, I would be the one in a million case to make it work on the first go around without testing my model.
LESSON LEARNED: Don’t jump into big investments (of money, time or energy) without proving a model first.
And when we were speaking to the “marketing experts,” I got totally caught up in everything they told me I was supposed to have and supposed to do to create a successful and profitable business. I was convinced! …well sorta…
CONFESSION:
I often felt uncomfortable with decisions we were making – but did them anyway.
For example, the company we hired used an online platform that I’d never heard anyone use. I had been studying online marketing incessantly and all the”gurus” touted WordPress. I knew in my heart this other platform wasn’t the direction we should follow, but given their expertise and years of business experience, I doubted my knowledge (and intuition).
Example #2, after spending hours and days on a discovery process about myself and my brand, we all agreed on a look and feel of my site. The problem was that it never really felt 100% “right to me.”
But we’d gone so far into the process, burned so many hours and cash, and been through so many rounds, that I was fine with it. And the truth is, it was beautiful. BUT, it was not really me. And I always knew it in my gut.
Last example. In our initial brainstorming phase I had mentioned that my vision was to have a membership site, (a monthly subscription model). And over half way through our painstaking site build, our marketing partners figured out a way I could launch with a subscription service (and make my dream come true right away!)
LESSON LEARNED: What sounds too good to be true, usually is.
I’d never even sold an one hour of coaching online (everything was in person, face to face) or created and marketed an online course. And I was going to launch with a profitable subscription service too? Whaaaatt?!!
But wait!….There’s more. 😉
Any successful subscription service has tiers of course! And each tier needs to have a customized user experience. (Think upsells, unique benefits, distinct language etc).
Again, I knew this was “smart business” but it felt wrong to me. In the sense that it was simply TOO MUCH. Not “lean” at all.
But my husband kept pushing me, my marketing experts showed me how it worked with other companies, and so without even having a moment to question my doubts, I hustled like I’ve never hustled before.
Eventually I would find out the very hard and heart breaking way, it would be too much for me to handle.
CONFESSION:
To create all the versions and customized programs in these membership tiers, I worked myself to the bone. I neglected my children and family so much. They were incredibly understanding but at times my kids were so upset I was on “the laptop again!” I brought it with me to practices, games, birthday parties. I felt awful – but kept telling myself I was doing it for “us.” The truth is, I was so caught up, I lost sight of how I prioritized my business and my family.
And the money. Lets not talk about the money. Scratch that. Lets talk about the money. This is after all my whole journey.
Our budget to create the business plan, branding and site was $10K. That included my blog and one virtual product to sell.
As we changed business models over half way through the build and continued to add bells and whistles, our whole team was pulling all nighters and no one was closely tracking time and money. By the time we ready to press publish, our $10K had ballooned to $25K.
LESSON LEARNED: Always be reassessing. Consistently check in to your project or activity and bring it back to the basics. Ask yourself these simple questions:
- What is my goal?
- Is what I’m doing the best (most efficient and effective) way to reach it?
(If you’ve ever worked with me, you know this is exactly how we spend our time: clarifying your goals and figuring out how to stay on task to achieve them. Not rocket science, I know. But it’s so easy to get distracted, lose your focus and most importantly, forget why you started what you’re doing in the first place).
THE LAUNCH:
It finally happened and by now you probably know where this story is headed. My free video blogs (which were actually very popular) required a log-in, which was confusing and ineffective.
And the few people that did sign up for my membership program were far from my ideal ones. My low-cost subscription model did not attract the type of clients I was used to working with.
Plus I had to deliver an entire new course every single month (complete with videos and downloads). And to top it all off, the platform was so challenging to use and NO coder in town knew how to use it. Any and all changes took eons to make.
At this point we were no longer engaged with our marketing team as we bled through cash. And so it was up to me to manage the site and the marketing and create the courses. (In between my breakdowns of course). 😉
Needless to say, three months in I finally accepted what I’d known all along.
I’d allowed myself to be persuaded down a path that never sat right with me.
And until this day, I take full accountability for it.
Which has brought me to my MY MOST IMPORTANT LESSON OF ALL:
No one knows YOU as well as you do.
No one knew my business as well as I did.
No one knew my target as well as I did.
No one had the knowledge that I had.
But I let the “experts” get the best of my insecurities and guide me down a path that I knew didn’t feel right in my gut.
My lack of confidence in listening to my inner voice spiraled from one misaligned decision to another.
To finish this story off, three months after launch I got back to the basics. FAST.
I simplified.
I streamlined.
I re-organized my thoughts.
I got clear on my goals.
And then I stripped. My site, that is. 😉
I stripped over $15K worth of work off my site. No more membership site, no more tiers, no more multiple programs.
Simple one-to-one coaching with a soon-to-be revamped home organization course that wasn’t like everyone else’s but…really, truly, whole heartedly mine, in my quirky, loving style. Unmistakably me.
LESSON LEARNED: K.I.S.S.: Keep It Simple Sister.
CONFESSION:
Although my business got back on track and began to flourish, I spent way too many weeks, months and even years beating myself over all “my mistakes.” Most friends and family don’t know what I went through, out of pure embarrassment. I felt like a total loser. Kind of like getting out of a really bad relationship and not being able to be honest about it, because you’re so embarrassed you were in it in the first place.
Only through the last couple years of personal development and self reflection have I finally come to a peaceful place. I don’t beat myself up over it anymore. And that’s because I finally realized this:
Your past mistakes are meant to guide you, not define you.
But as I’m typing this, here’s what I’m thinking now…
They’re not mistakes at all. If it weren’t for those experiences, I’d never be where I am now.
And where exactly is that, you may ask? 😉
Last summer, after almost two years of blaming myself and suffering through super challenging site experiences, I finally let go of the idea that “I wasted $25K.”
I accepted this idea instead.
I invested that money, time and energy to bring me the clarity and confidence I have now.
With clear direction, a new focus and boosted self assurance, I scrapped my site and hired an amazing developer and designer to create my new brand and site. (Built on WordPress of course). 😉
And now I help other ambitious professionals master their goals and time so they make the biggest impact on their biz and career too.
MY FINAL TAKEAWAY:
As a result of my experiences, I am SO intentional now as I make decisions. I take time to consistently check in with myself. Whether it’s creating a new service, package, blog post or any other communication I ask myself:
- Is this the “real me?”
- What are my goals?
- Is what I’m doing getting me closer to them?
- And am I doing it in the best (most efficient and effective) way?
I’ve learned that it’s totally possible to “work smarter, not harder” so you can work less, get more done and consistently get massive results.
If you’ve made it all the way to the end of this post, congratulations and thank you! But there’s one more thing to make it to the finish line.
I end all my posts with a challenge and here’s what I’d love to know from you.
- What was your biggest takeaway from my story? or
- What can you learn from any of my experiences?
Obviously, I’m an open book and I’d LOVE to know if my journey helped you in any way, so please don’t be shy to spill it in the comments below.
Remember, your greatest learnings will come when things don’t go the way you planned. That’s when you reach deep into your soul, ego and and heart and come out on the other side, a better and more empowered person.
Here’s to learning from our experiences…and getting more of the right things done!
Xo,
Mridu
P.S. If you’re feeling like you should be doing more and doing it better, I’d love to connect with you. Sign up here for a free chat and I’ll give you my best advice on how to make your biz and life easier, faster and less overwhelming.
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