Like this article? PLEASE +1 it! Evan Signature
Evan Carmichael Top Header
Share for a Cause









Celebrating 10 Years in Business Lessons Learned

Written by: Eileen Chadnick

Article Overview: As a coach and professional communications consultant, I've experienced a lot in my first 10 years in business. This article shares some of the top lessons learned. From balance, to personal marketing and hard work...some tips to help folks just starting out get on the right track.

Free Download - Are You Addicted to the Yes Habit? By Eileen Chadnick
Name: Email:

Celebrating 10 Years in Business Lessons Learned

This August I started my 10th year of being in biz for myself. Here are some of the lessons I’ve learned thus far:

1) When you are a solopreneur remember that you are the business. Take care of yourself. Health, fitness and balance — they add up to a fuller and more resilient you which is good for you and good for biz.

2) People hire people. Your brand must be authentic and credible. Make sure you are clear on who you are - otherwise how can others truly get to know and trust who you are?

3) Your work-life must reflect your values and your priorities. Make sure you know what is most important to you and regularly monitor if your work life reflects that.

4) If you build it - will they come? Wrong. You must build AND promote. Don’t confuse the two.

5) Expect that there will be ebbs and flows to the business. Some days are feast while others may feel like famine. Trust that if you do all you can, the slow periods will pick-up.

6) Networking is very important. For biz building and also for your overall personal growth. It can be lonely on your own. Get out there!

7) Figure out your boundaries and respect them. Know your boundaries, communicate them and respect them. If you don’t – who will?

8 ) Review and reflect regularly on your biz …not just how the biz is doing but also how you are doing in it. Still working for you? If not, make some adjustments.

9) Build a team of professionals (and/or others) who will support you. A coach, accountant, financial planner, tech person and others – they can help you navigate the challenges, opportunities and complexities involved in running your own biz.

10) Celebrate success along the way…..but make sure you define success on your terms. Financial success and clients are important measures but what else is important to you? Name it, claim it and celebrate it!

NOTE: a longer version of this article can be found on my TGIMWORKLIFE blog where it was first published.

Related Articles
  Important "Lessons Learned” For Leaders, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
  Ten More Important “Lessons Learned” For Leaders, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
  It Takes Teamwork to Make a Company Dream Work
  Leadership Lessons Heard
  Are Leaders Born Or Are They Made?

Home > Business-Coach > Eileen Chadnick > Celebrating 10 Years in Business Lessons Learned
Article Tags: accountant, blog, boundaries, challenges, coach, complexities, famine, feast, financial planner, financial success, health fitness, measures, networking, personal growth, priorities, slow periods

About the Author: Eileen Chadnick
RSS for Eileen's articles - Visit Eileen's website

Eileen Chadnick, ACC, ACPC, ABC, is an ICF Certified coach and an accredited business communicator. Principal of Big Cheese Coaching, she coaches leaders on success and fulfillment at work and in life. Eileen also brings more than 18 years of communications consulting experience with various sectors. She is a recipient of the 2007 ICF Prism Award for excellence in leadership and performance coaching. Find her at her blog: www.TGIMworklife.com or see www.BigCheese-Coaching.com. You can also contact Eileen at 416-631-7437 or Eileen@BigCheese-Coaching.com

Click here to visit Eileen's website
Dashed Line

More from Eileen Chadnick
Are You Addicted to the Yes Habit
Celebrating 10 Years in Business Lessons Learned


Related Forum Posts
300 rules! 300 rules! - 300 was my favorite movie of 2007 and Kevin you did a great job in highlighting the Business Lessons from the Movie.
My entry My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
Books for Women Entrepreneurs Books for Women Entrepreneurs - There's a thread for good books in the Resources folder, but it doesn't target books for businesswomen particularly, so I figured I'd start such a thread here. It doesn't matter how successful you are in your business - it's always possible to learn something new. In subsequent posts I give Table of Contents and brief descriptions for various titles - most of them devoted to the businesswoman - and sometimes a review. If anyone else has read a review, or has read the book and found it useful, please comment! 1. The Old Girl's Network 2. Mother's Work 3. The 7 Greatest Truths About Successful Women 4. Pitch Like A Girl 5. Workplace Warrior 6. Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the Modern Consumer 7. Contingency Planning & Disaster Recovery 8. She Wins, You Win 9. Napoleon On Project Management 10. Why Good Girls Dont' Get Ahead, But Gutsy Girls Do 11. Comeback Moms: How to Leave Work, Raise Children, and Restart your Career even If you Haven't Had a Job in Years 12. The One Minute Millionaire 13. Talking From 9 to 5 14. Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambitions 15. 101 Best Home Based Businesses for Women: Everything You Need to Know About Getting Started on the Road To Success 16. Work With Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living. Revised and Expanded 17. Fail-Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful 18. Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End 19. Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide 20. Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen 21. Start Small, Finish Big: Fifteen Key Lessons to Start - and Run - Your Own Successful Business 22. Rewired, Rehired or Retired: A Global Guide for the Experienced Worker 23. The Martha Rules: 10 essentials for achieving success as you start, build or manage a business 24. The Essentials of Entrepreneurship: What it takes to create Successful Enterprises 25. Net Ready: Strategies for Success in the E-conomy 26. The Promotable Woman 27. Leave The Office Earlier: The Productivity Pro shows you how to do more in less time and feel great about it 28. The Work At Home Balancing Act: The professional resource guide for managing yourself, your work, and your family at home 29. Secrets of Six-Figure Women
Exclusive: Interview with Results Exclusive: Interview with Results - Hi Forum Members, I'm helping start up a Business Coaching and Consulting company here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (a Subsidiary of RSC Business in Los Angeles). As a Research and Development Intern I am required to practice my listening and interview skills by surveying Small and Medium Businesses on thier Business. This Survey is designed by RSC Business to also assist the Business being interviewed more insight into their own business. I am looking to interview about 30 businesses across North America over the span of 3 months. At the end of these interviews I will be publishing a report of the results and they will be made available for free to the Interviewees. The Report data will include responses from a minimum of 100 interviews. I would like to extend this opportunity to members of the Forum. If you would like to have this short 20-30 minute interview conducted on your Business and you reside in North America please send me an email or PM. Please contact me at andy[at]jvprosperity[dot]com to arrange our interview and to get free access to the results when they are published.
Happy New Years! Happy New Years! - Happy Belated New Years! Out of curiosity what are your new years resolutions for your business? Did anyone manage to honour their past resolutions?


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.



Featured Article


Bottom Footer
Share for a Cause












Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Popular Articles

Induction – your first management job

Ready for a Fresh Image?

What is Discretionary Cash Flow

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.