If you are reading this you are either entrepreneurial minded, own a small business, or a friend of ours. Well, maybe there are more than just that demographic, but I hope this encourages you at whichever point in life you are at.

Starting a business is tough, being successful in that business is even tougher. If you can get over the initial fear of going out on your own and creating something from scratch, it is one of the most rewarding events you can do in your life. Those of you who have done it are shaking your heads yes right now.

I believe our story is unique, but long. So we will have to talk about that another time. Below are a list of areas, if you will, that we learned more about when we quit our jobs.

1. Time management. When you have the ability to set your own schedule you still need to be structured with what you do, or you will put it off.

2. What I’m doing matters. You don’t necessarily see the results when you are working for a company or someone else.

3. See the results of the business. You reap what you sew.

4. The ability to meet remotely on a consistent basis. Technology, at least in our industry has allowed us to meet 4 hours away and still get things done at work.

5. Start working with a partner before you quit your job. You want to be able to trust the person you are going into business with. We learned this, really even before we quit our jobs.

6. Not being afraid to ask for help. It is tough starting out on your own, and you will need help at some point.

7. Scheduling time for other people who matter to you outside the business. It is very easy to lose track of time with the business.

8. Health insurance.Setting it up and learning the process. It was simple after we figured it out, but the thought sometimes can be daunting.

9. Making quick decisions.Your business will require you to act quickly and make major decisions.

10. Learning to have your passion and use your passion! It isn’t always easy to let yourself follow your passion because you may think that it is wrong. You need to give yourself permission to have fun doing what you love.

We learned those ten items and so many more and are continuing to learn and grow with our business. If you are running your own business we would love to hear from you in the comments if you aligned with any of the items we learned from or if you had a different experience.

As always, if you ever have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to ask. We are here to serve you.