6 Things I have learned running a business from a young age.

Since I was a young boy probably around the age of 12 I have had this business mindset and have been so fascinated with the business world.I knew running a business was going to be hard but I can definitely say it been the most amazing part of my life so far and I have learned a hell of a lot due to the sheer volume of information we have access to over the last 10 years.

I now feel I have reached a point in my business where I know exactly where I want the business to go and how we are going to get there. I want to spend today looking back over the past few years at what lessons I have learned running a business so other business owners starting out can take not from this. I’m a massive believer in finding your own feet through your own experiences so definitely take risks in your business but I want to share with you my experiences.

One thing I see a lot from either client of mine or even close friends in the business world is that they work on their business from 9–5. I’m not stating that one bit and I actually believe some businesses work better in 9–5. My main point is those entrepreneurs that want the success but will only work 8 hours a day to get it.

You cant expect to grow a million pound business from working 8 hours a day it just doesn’t make sense to me that some people will moan and complain about not being where they want to be yet they won’t put in enough hours it takes to get there.

For the first few years of working on my business I had to put in 14,15,16 hour days and even then I didn’t see many results for the first year of being in business. But all that hard working started to gain traction and the results came later. If you want to take your business to the next level then put in more work.

I think one of the hardest things you have to go through when you are starting and running a business is rejection. Rejection sucks big time and the hard part is you’re going to get a hell of a lot of No’s.

When I first started my creative agency we had a portfolio of I think 2–3 pieces of work and clients were skeptical at first as to if we could deliver what it is they needed.
Most companies don’t want to take a punt on the smaller businesses until they have credibility and the number one thing you have to remember after all these pushbacks are you’re one step closer to getting a yes.

Once that first yes comes along then it gets easier and easier to get another one. For me, I literally spent every working day meeting clients and getting pushed back and pushed back because of the inexperience. 4 years later we still get a few pushbacks but have also had the opportunity to work with some great companies. Your time will come.

Now you’ve probably heard this from most businesses owners at some point in their careers and that’s due to the fact that it’s just so damn true.

When you first start running a business and run into those first couple problems you have only yourself to dig in and sort those problems out. You cant speak to family or friends about your new business venture because half of them don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.

Its hard to find similar people with the same experiences who know how to answer those tricky questions you have. Not to mention the late nights on your computer working until 2 am to finish off that blog post ready to go out in the morning.
One thing to take away from this is to go out and network with business owners. Instead of chasing the business and sale make a genuine friendship with these people. Local business owners that have similar interests can be a blessing for the first couple years in business.

This is probably a massive trait in most small business owners. They want the flashy cars and nice watches within a month of starting their business. They work hard for the first few months and then give up because they haven’t got to where they wanted to yet.
For me, this is a massive business killer and most business owners don’t realize what they are getting into in the beginning.

As I previously mentioned previously it took me nearly a year before I started getting consistent income and it was bloody hard work to get that stage. This was working long hours and reaching out to hundreds if not thousands of people. I worked hard every night while everyone else was working their 9–5 job.

I think having that crippling mentality of wanting something so bad but not putting in the work to get it is something that will ruin your business.
Having the patience to keep going until the results come is hard but oh so rewarding. So keep in mind it won’t happen overnight.

When I say you have to innovate in your business I don’t mean change your business all the time and keep changing. I mean doing little things to make your business run more smoothly. If you see an opportunity in the market then jump on it.
Now when innovating would be a smart thing to do is later on in the business when the world is shifting. You don’t want your business to become irrelevant to the current way the world works because then your business will more than likely fail.

Being in the creative and digital marketing space things are constantly changing every day and we have to keep up with it otherwise we will lose in this competitive space. This goes for every industry. You will always have competition trying to pull ahead and you have to switch it up to stay relevant.

As an entrepreneur and business owner, I believe it is absolutely crucial to keep investing and putting back into your business. In order to keep scaling and growing your business carry on investing. I see way too many people not wanting to put more money into their business until its bringing in a good sum of money to invest back into it.

Now obviously its wise not to be putting thousands into a business that just isn’t working and that’s up to you to make the assumption if your business is worth keeping open or not.
To me, every business needs to keep the money down in order to get more results from the business and a lot of clients I have worked don’t want to invest in their business.
This is where us creatives get the term of $500 websites. If you want good results you have to put the money and work to get it.

Either way, the big thing to take away from this constantly keeps working towards investing more time and money into your business and you will get results. could take 6 months, could take 6 years but either way it is crucial.

I just wanted to finish up on this with one last thing and it applies to business as well as day to day life. Be genuine and likable. When you are 100% complete yourself your clients and customers will see that and respect you more for it.
Whatever business you are running whether it be the same business as ours in the creative space or whether it be a mobile repair shop. You have to follow certain rules in order to continually grow and keep your business open for years to come.
I hope you can take away at least one valuable thing from this and would be great to hear from you what the number one thing is you have learned running a business.

Until next time

Benjamin Jones

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