Tales From the Front: Starting Your Own Business Advice from Charlotte Women Entrepreneurs

We polled our @womenofclt again and asked for their tips on starting a business, and got an abundance of excellent advice. There is literally an entire MASTER CLASS out there just waiting to be learned from these warriors.

Without further ado, here is just a fraction of the wisdom they have. Want to know more? Follow our ‘sister’ instagram account HERE and follow-up with any one of them. This is a community worth joining!

The Most Common Tips

Don’t be afraid to just START!

Connect with others in the community

Be true to yourself

Take time to plan

Be Flexible

Embrace Failure

Stephanie from Welch Care Concierge Medicine

1. Know your purpose- there will be times of doubt so being able to have a clear purpose to focus on will keep you going!
2. Connect with others in the community – I have made so many connections this year and thankful for all the opportunities of learning and community.
3. Always be willing to learn – growth is hard and can be uncomfortable. Always he willing to learn and grow
4. Be adaptable – if something isn’t working- pivot!
5. Ask for help – we cannot do it all, whether in personal life or professional, it’s important yet difficult thing to do.

Juliana Lievano of Alpha Lit Charlotte

“Having a business is HARD! People think that by creating one, you will enjoy and have more “free” time. Working 8-5 what a nightmare, let’s become a business owner and have my own hours. Well wrong! Becoming a business owner – it’s even harder. You are now working 24/7. Non stop. Every little thing depends on you. Your employees, the decisions you make, your marketing. “

1. Be Patient. It takes time to build customers, to make people trust your brand, and what you do.
2. Choose/hire the right people. At the end, the people you hire are the ones that are going to be showing your business. Make sure they also love their job just as much as you love yours.
3. Be present. Show your employees you do the same work. Connect with them.
4. Enjoy your journey! There will be good and bad days. You will learn from them all.

Kenzie Harkey of Simply Dare

The best piece of advice I’ve received on building a business/entrepreneurship is to do quarterly planning. It sounds obvious, but when you are just getting started you have so many things to do and think about that it’s easy to fall into the trap of working, working, working without taking the time to step back and reflect, think big picture, and make a game plan for the next 90 days. I also think a 90 day sprint keeps you nimble and is easier to commit to than 1-year and 5-year goals. I still set those but they are loose goals and all boil down into quarterly steps. 

Amy Strasser @cltfoodgirl

My number one piece of advice is be true to yourself and to your brand. Being authentic is super important for integrity of your person and business. I often receive DMs from followers who enjoy my “authenticity” and can see the passion I have for my job through my page. 

Sarah Hudak of Ava Aliza Candle Co.

1. Use your “before” as a stepping stone. So you look back and aren’t happy with your product? Level up! Pinpoint what you want to change about it and go from there. Keep building.
2. Don’t let criticism break you. A successful business owner didn’t find success with their product without constructive (and sometimes just flat out) criticism. Take it in stride, assume that is comes from a good place and use it to grow. Not only does it help to improve your product/business, it thickens your skin.
3. Don’t be afraid to just START! I have met so many people who have such amazing ideas for businesses of their own, but they tell me that they don’t know where to start. They are afraid because they won’t get followers on social media, or they don’t think people will like their ideas. I always tell them, just start. Start the Instagram account. Apply for local pop ups. Go out of your comfort zone and reach out to fellow business owners and get their advice. If you don’t dip your toes in the water, you’ll never know how amazing it feels to swim. 

Jackie Fogartie | Jackie Fogartie Events

1. Just start! I had another job while I was building my business but I had a friend create a logo, ordered business cards and started a free blog. I contacted every and anyone in my network and asked them to spread the word.
2. Soak it up! I didn’t have any formal event planning training. To make up for it, I volunteered on non-profit boards planning large galas, shadowed wedding planners, and did Event Sales for a small venue space where I was able to learn on the job.
3. Admit what you don’t know and ASK QUESTIONS! 
4. Communication is KEY!
5. Trust your gut and work with clients who are a good fit 

Hannah Neville of Honeybear Bake Shop

1. Always believe in yourself and why your created you business. Keep true to yourself.
2. Have a great support system behind you, having a business is not easy and you want to make sure you have a good cheerleading squad.
3. Know that there will be good days but also bad days. Long days but also short days. Running a business is not easy. If it was everyone would do it.
4. Have fun! We start businesses to do what we love so have FUN with it.
5. Know it takes time to put processes and procedures into place. It took about 2 years to get set procedures into place for my business. 

Mary Jayne Wilson of Thoughtful Baking Co

1. Be true to your authentic self.
2. Take quiet time to plan.
3. Listen to experts about things you may not know as much about.
4. Persevere, never give up.
5. Be open to change and new ideas.
6. Don’t get attached to new opportunities before they come to fruition because things aren’t guaranteed to happen until they happen.
7. Don’t be so hard on yourself.
8. Trust yourself. 

Margo Zoeller of Malayà Floral Creations

Coming from a background with no experience or knowledge in running a business has been one of the hardest things to learn. It’s hard not to compare yourself to others, but at the end of the day I have to remind myself that I’m doing the best I can and that’s all I can do! I really confide in my fellow business owner friends for advice and they are truly a blessing. But I also continue to do my own research on certain aspects of growing my business. My best advice is to take a deep breathe when things get overwhelming and take a break. You got this and you’re doing great!! 

Helia Forsyth & Comfy-Cozy

1. Follow your passion – Starting a business is hard work, and it’s easy to get discouraged. But if you’re passionate about your product or service, you’ll be more likely to keep pushing through the challenges.
2. Do your research – Before launching your business, make sure you thoroughly research your competition, market demand, and potential customers. This will help you to create a strong brand and marketing strategy.
3. Start small- It’s important to remember that you don’t need to have everything figured out at once. Start with a small product line or service offering and focus on building a loyal customer base.
4. Build relationships!!! Networking and building relationships with other entrepreneurs and industry professionals can be invaluable. They can offer advice, support, and even help promote your business. This is one of the most important points on this list that has helped me the most. I am a women, so I have been a part of women networking groups and also business-focused groups, but I think just being a part of a cohort of like-minded people is vital to your journey as a business owner.
5. Embrace failure – Not everything will always go according to plan, and that’s okay. Learn from your failures and use them as motivation to keep pushing forward.

Cara DeFelice of The White Bounce House

Community. There are so many reasons that community is important. In today’s age, building your community happens by building up the people around you, and by doing so you find yourself right where you need to be. By working with all the great entrepreneurs of Charlotte and the businesses they have built, you find that you are naturally building your own! Another reason community is great is because being a business owner is just down right hard. You will need to surround yourself with people who see you, hear you, and UNDERSTAND! 

Katie Cooper – Queen City Crunch

The best advice I can give on building your company and your brand is to stay true to what you know and want to create. It takes courage to do the hard things and to stop thinking and just DO. Push aside the fear that your product wont be liked or your business wont succeed. Believe in yourself and the rest will follow. Always be willing to learn from others and to listen to the advice of others. You don’t always need to follow the advice, but you should always listen. Be kind to everyone – you know know how and when someone will come across your path again, or in what way they will end up benefitting your company. Most importantly, have fun and dont take life too serious!! 

Keyah of Blü Nail Laquer LLC

Hey Babes, Something that I would try to be mindful of is having the courage to persist! Formulating, finding vendors, social media, events, branding, marketing it is all so overwhelming. Take a break, take a walk, then take OVER! You can do this, surround your self with mindful people, and it’s certainly ok to delegate to your village. 

Jessica Law, The Dog Salon

1. Take ownership. Over everything – celebrate the good, own up to the bad, and fix the ugly!
2. Fake fearlessness. Being the leader is scary. Making hard decisions can really suck. Being rooted in who you are and learning to overcome however imposter syndrome shows up for you is everything.
3. Never stop learning. You don’t know it all. Never will. Keep those who inspire you close. Ask questions and never stop reading. If you’re not inspired, your not growing.
4. Try. Seems simple, right? It’s so much deeper than showing up. Be uncomfortable! Try new things. Figure out what works and let go of what doesn’t. Take ownership of mistakes and keep on keepin on.
5. Listen. This is a tough one for me. I have to actively listen, often. I listen with not only my ears (obvi) but with my intuition. My heart has never led me wrong.

Jessica Hodnett of Sweet Seoul Media

The best advice I can give to those wanting to start a business is JUST START IT! When consulting, the most common obstacles, I hear are fear and the idea of potential failure. First off, I never look at failure as a bad thing. I use my mistakes in business as lessons to level up and grow professionally. Starting a business isn’t easy. If I hadn’t taken the first step and remained dedicated, Sweet Seoul Media wouldn’t be where it is today.

Shaleiah Sanders of Life For The Hopeless Foundation

1. Don’t compare yourself to others, everyone’s definition of success looks different.
2. Never let one “NO” discourage you!
3. Get out the house and network with others in your field, have a brainstorming party.
4. Make peace in the beginning stages of your business with not being able to please everyone.
5. Most importantly, build a team! You can not do it alone no matter how much you think you can. 

Jen Dufresne – Cross Conditioning Training

1. Be Patient. Nothing good comes when you demand it. Often a lesson we teach our kids but something we have to remind ourselves even as adults. The best things sometimes come with time.
2. Trust your gut. If something doesn’t feel like a good fit – it probably isn’t.
3. Don’t be afraid to say no. It gets easier with time as you identify who you are and confident in what your business is.
4. Invest in your community. If you want people to give to you, practice finding ways you can give to others in your community.
5. Have fun! Owning a business is more work than anyone can explain. If you aren’t enjoying what you do, others will notice. 

Tahwii Spicer | The Porter House Co.

1.  If you can get completely lost in the state of flow and find yourself smiling, then you’re onto something. Think of ways to build a business around this.
2. In the early days, find ways to streamline all aspects of your life so that as you scale you have a system in place to support you. This could be something as simple as keeping an uncluttered inbox by opting out of emails or signing up for a weekly meal service to take meal planning out of the equation a few times a week.
3. Aim to have a consistent sleep/wake schedule. The first thing many of us sacrifice is sleep when the demands of entrepreneurship take hold, however it’s one of the quickest ways to experience burn out.
4. Always trust your instincts, they are there for a reason and are a tremendous help in navigating the waters of entrepreneurship.
5. Tax season is enough of a headache for any business owner big or small to want to throw in the towel. I urge anyone starting out to pick a single day a week to tackle all of the accounting needs of their business such as logging miles, reconciling bank statements, uploading receipts/expenses, and paying invoices. These little tasks done weekly will not only help you ease into tax season stress free, but will also help you have a better financial picture of your business.

Danielle Jefferson, Jefferson James Consulting

1. Develop processes – even if it’s just you starting out. To begin building a business that will grow with you, how you work and service your clients must be repeatable in a way that doesn’t burn you out. By creating processes for your business, you’ll relieve the stress of starting from scratch every time and you’ll find optimization points faster.
2. Write things down. Eventually, you’ll need to hire someone and you’ll need to tell them what to do and how to do it. By documenting your business processes and procedures as you go, the lift of onboarding an employee will be much lighter.
3. Start with the basic and free versions of everything. When you’re starting out, you really don’t know what will work best for you, so don’t spend a lot of time and money on complicated systems.
4. Create an organizational structure to grow into. Every business needs a CFO, an operations manager, a marketing person. At the beginning, every role will be you! But someday, you’ll want to delegate those responsibilities and determine which to hire first.
5. Constantly re-evalute. Things change, life happens. You’ll fall out of love with parts of your business. Don’t wait too long before assessing. I recommend a quarterly basis to make sure everything is still on track. Why so often? Frequency means incremental changes, while waiting longer creates large, sweeping changes. It’s much less overwhelming to make small changes than to overhaul your entire business.

Shannon Mauro of Sugar Rush Crumb Cakes

Have confidence in your product. People will recognize the love you put into it. This is why ‘word of mouth’ becomes such a successful form of advertising- people want to share with others when they know they have found something good! Having something that is unique to the market is a big plus as well- it sets you apart from the the crowd. 

Natalie Norcross, A Design Partnership

1. Define Your Niche — Ask yourself what makes you unique? What speciality are you offering within the broader business category you’re entering? One of the ways to figure out where your company fits is by defining your ideal client. Get specific! 
2. Define Your Offers — When it comes to launching, it’s important to have one clear product or service tailored to a specific niche, especially at the start of your business. Offering too much leaves people confused. It’s time to claim your space in the industry as an expert! By trying to please everyone you end up resonating with… no one.
3. Do Your Research– We often think we know what our audience needs. But is that true? If we build our entire business on presumptions we might be running into a wall. To confront your ideas with the reality of the market, it’s important to have a good market research strategy in place to help you grow. You want to ensure that you’re offering services that people actually want and need!

Jillian Babb of Off The Floor Organizing

One piece of advice I would love to share that I have learned while growing my business is that you can never stop learning and growing. We tweak things to grow with current needs and demands. find something that you love to do, something that fills your cup so you can overflow to others in positive ways!

Michelle Cho-Dorado of Bright Futures EDG

Many people are afraid to try something new because they’re afraid of failure. But if you can change your relationship with failure, you will be surprised at what you can achieve. Many times, failure is required to find out what works and to decide how to best move forward. I frequently remind myself that those who succeed the most, fail the most because they are also the ones who try the most. You may make mistakes and fail along the way, but another quote I love is, “Only those who dare to fail greatly will ever achieve greatly”. I may be early in my entrepreneurial journey, but it has been both exciting and liberating at the same time. If you have a strong WHY and you lead with purpose and mission, you are less likely to give up. I believe having a focus on serving and giving to others is far more satisfying than focusing on what you can receive. And ultimately, following your own your core values and principles will help you keep your focus, no matter what you are trying to do.

Bonnie Bradley of Sweet Stella Treats

Don’t compare your first chapter with someone else’s 18th. We all start at different times. Getting in the comparison trap will drain you of what your goals are and hinder you from fulfilling them in the right time. Stay in your lane. Only get on Social Media to get inspired, connect or build community. Set boundaries so you aren’t feeling drained when scrolling. Remember your “why”. Reminding ourselves why we do things brings us back to reality and contentment. Give yourself grace. Running a business of any size is challenging. Stepping outside of our comfort zone is never easy. Congratulate yourself on small wins and keep going.