5 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me When I Started My Business

I’m nearing my tenth year of business here at MeravWrites. For the first few years, it was just me on the Slow Grow Train: picking up more projects and clients, chugging along, doing it all on my own with no real strategy or game plan. Only in the past few years—which saw me become a mom, hire a team, and diversify my offerings—has it started to feel like an actual business with (a little) more direction.

In that vein, here are five things I wish someone had told me when I was just starting out:

1. Picking a niche makes things easier (but it isn’t a silver bullet).

It took me a loooong time to pick a niche—far longer than any business “guru” would recommend. Personally, my winding journey helped me settle with more confidence and clarity, so I don’t regret it, and I often recommend that newbies take their time and test it all out. That said, the gurus are right about niches: since settling on mine, I’ve found it much easier to create and price offers, attract and connect with the right people, create relevant content, and decide what to invest in.

As a commitment-phobe, I remind myself of two things: 1) You can always change or adjust your niche if it doesn’t feel right anymore, and 2) Just because you picked a niche doesn’t mean you’re obligated to work exclusively in that niche; if a different kind of project comes along and seems like a good fit, you’re totally allowed to give it a go.

2. Nothing is set in stone.

I have a bad habit of procrastinating on business tasks (such as creating or updating my website, choosing a logo, solidifying my offer, and more…) because I want everything to be “perfect” before I put it out into the world. Over time, I’ve learned just how permanent decisions are (not very) and that everything (except having a child 🤣) can be changed, so it’s best to stop sitting on them and simply launch.

Not happy with the pricing you chose? You can always update it. Getting the sense that people aren’t biting on your offer? Try something else! Not feeling 100% about your website? You might never feel 100%, so it’s better to get it out there and make tweaks later on.

3. Business can be lonely. 

If you’re part of a team, you (usually) have people to bounce ideas off of, brainstorm with, or get the occasional pulse check. If you’ve struck out on your own, you might find yourself feeling…well, on your own. Your family and friends might not be supportive at first. You’ll probably spend a lot of time checking out your competitors and feeling simultaneously inspired and jealous, wondering if you can pick their brain or if you should keep your distance. It will take time and effort to identify the people you can count on, such as team members, coaches, peers, communities, and so on. (I’m still very much working on this.) And you might still encounter moments of loneliness even once you’ve found your footing and your people—after all, no one else is on the same journey as you are.

4. Nobody has it all figured out.

It’s so, so hard not to see other people’s viral LinkedIn posts or beautiful websites and say, “Wow, she’s killing it” or “He’s ahead of me, doing all the things I wanted to do.” But everyone I’ve ever spoken to says some variation of the same thing: There’s no playbook. We’re all just feeling our way around in the dark. That’s part of doing business. (I mean, just look at all the different business books, espousing different theories and approaches, in that photo above!)

If you’re looking at someone else’s business or life with envy, know that there’s probably someone out there looking at yours the same way. We’re all just seeing the shiny tip of the iceberg, rather than the imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and endless trial-and-error under the surface.

5. Beware: Success can be a moving target. 

Last year I achieved all the goals I set for myself. Woohoo, go me! I didn’t expect that. Another thing I didn’t expect, though: that the feeling of pride would last about 12.5 seconds before evaporating into thin air and being replaced with angst. Why wasn’t I over the moon? Why did I still feel behind? Why was I already chasing the next thing?

In a world where everyone’s always flaunting their achievements, it’s easy to get shiny object syndrome and lose sight of what you really want and why you want it. If you don’t stop and reflect, your goals will be meaningless and your achievements will blow right past you with no acknowledgement (and, whoops, just like that you’re back on the hamster wheel you tried to get off of by starting a business). Instead, try to make a point of celebrating wins and setting thoughtful goals rather than arbitrary vanity ones (easier said than done!).

If you’re just getting started (and even if you’re not), I hope these tips help you find your footing and succeed.

To learn more about starting a freelance UX writing business in particular, join the waitlist for UX to Success.