New Orleans Business Owner: Lessons I've learned as an Entrepreneur

Several months ago my brother moved home (he's lived in Florida for a LONG time). He went to school out there and worked out there and had a life out there, but I'm guessing he thought it was finally time to come home. 

Once he did, he also decided he was going to start his own business. Now, New Orleans has been praised as a great place for entrepreneurs and young people, so this is a great place for him to start. But like so many other people looking to start their own business, he wasn't sure how to get moving or even where to start. So we sat down and made lists and worked on things together.

It's scary starting a new business. It's your own. You're constantly wondering if it will be a success and if the next client will come. You're investing time and money into this huge venture and there are absolutely no guarantees, but you do it anyway.

As entrepreneurs we’re often going after our dreams alone and it’s hard. There are so many ups and downs and it’s so easy to take a look at what other people are doing and wonder...“What is wrong with me? Why is it taking me soooo long? Will I ever be able to get to where I want to be?”

Being a business owner and someone that loves to see people happy and successful, I felt compelled to share some tough lessons because the more honest and open we all are about the reality and truth of entrepreneurship, the more we will empower each other to succeed. 

1. IT WILL TAKE TIME - This was a big lesson I learned (and am still learning). I remember when I was starting It's Your Time Events, someone said it could take a long time...sometimes it's the 3rd year, and other times it's longer for a business to be successful. That definitely didn't help my fears, but I kept going anyway.
   
   It's been 3 years and there are still many times when I am not sure if I'm spinning my wheels in place or if I'll ever have another client or if I'm doing the right things. We live in a world where we want to achieve everything now…We want 10,000 subscribers now, 100,000 website visitors now, lots of sales now. And so often we get caught up looking at what other people are doing and then think, “why is it taking me sooooo long???????” But as the quote goes, “Rome wasn't built in a day.”  It takes time (and LOTS of patience, faith and hope!).
   
   Once I started to be okay with this, it was like a weight had lifted. I stopped beating myself up about how long it was all taking and began to enjoy the journey more, because that’s what it’s all about anyway.  So, if you ever think to yourself, “why is it taking me so long?” just remember that it does take time, stick with it and be okay with it, because it’ll help you to enjoy your life right now more.
   
   I started It's Your Time Events because it made me happy. For every wedding and couple I worked with, I saw a future....I saw the hope that it represented. I started my business because I wanted to be a part of that and contribute to someone else's day. I started it because my daytime jobs did not meet my social or creative needs. That’s why I started It's Your Time Events. To be a part of helping others' special moments....to ensure they are able to enjoy those moments.
2. YOU NEED TO BE MENTALLY TOUGH - This follows on nicely from the first lesson I learned because entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint and in order to keep on going, you have to have mental strength – that’s what will get you to the finishing line (not that there’s really a finishing line in business, the line is always moving!).
   
   This is by far one of the toughest lessons to learn....and toughest hurdles to get over. Success begins with YOU. It’s an inside job and it’s something that you have to do on purpose, day in, day out. Heck yes it's scary! You're trying to achieve something you've never done before and you're doing it primarily on your own.  I know all of the excuses because I've said them to myself... “I don’t have the time, the money, the knowledge, I’m not ready yet etc.”
   
   I literally had to tell myself that I can do this. I will make it happen. I am going to start my own business. I had to condition myself, and you will have to do the same, to overcome the fear, to tell the excuses to go away and allow myself to step up and be the person I need to be in order to make it happen.
   
   When the challenges arise, when things go wrong, when everything feels like it’s taking foreverrrr, you have to have the right mindset to be able to deal with it and keep moving FORWARD.  This will be your BIGGEST asset in life, because the right attitude will help you to start manifesting a life and business you love.
3. IT TAKES MONEY TO MAKE MONEY - This is a lesson I learned early on - to make money, you've got to spend money. Because of my background in communications and marketing, I knew where I wanted to be to reach my audience. However, I also knew it is best to talk to those already in the industry for suggestions. So I figured it all out and with a credit card and a small spending limit a day, I was able to get my business and my offering in front of my audience from day one.
   
   I think so often we build a website, create a product or service and think that somehow people will discover us, that somehow miraculously we’ll be able to build a big list and make lots of sales. The truth us that if you want to want to grow faster (get more traffic, more subscribers, more sales) you have to pay. And I’m not talking about spending thousands… you can start off with an advertising budget of a couple of dollars a day.
4. YOU ARE NOT ALONE - Make friends with like-minded people, who get you and want to help you along your journey. This is one of the most valuable things I've ever done, not just in terms of my business, but in terms of my sanity!
   
   Knowing that I have people I can turn to to talk about my experiences and challenges and get perspective and advice, and people who are there to celebrate with me when I have a win, makes such a huge difference. I would go insane without my business friends, who are actually scattered all over the world.
   
   Being an entrepreneur can be so lonely, if you let it be… so don’t. Start getting better connected by reaching out to people who you resonate with, send an email, join Facebook groups, go to networking events, attend conferences – hang out where other like-minded people hang out and start building friendships.
5. BE CONSISTENT & FOCUSED - I actually learned this lesson when I was training for marathons and half marathons and a half ironman in DC. It takes a commitment and it take focus to make it happen.
   
   If you want to be great at something you have to practice being great at it consistently and you have to stay focused on it. I would have never thought I would be able to run a mile let alone do a half ironman! At one time in my life I would have thought that was impossible. But all that training and commitment and focus, showed me that I am capable of doing things I never thought were possible. Those races showed me what it takes to make big things happen.  
   
   It’s exactly the same in business, if you want to be great you have to practice being great every day… even when you haven't gotten a client in a month or more, even when you feel like you keep doing things wrong, even when you have hardly any followers/fans/subscribers.
   
   I get it. It's tough and scary and disheartening and so you want to try every different angle to improve, to make it happen. It’s sooo easy to feel the need to hop around from one idea/strategy, to the next, but this often leads to inconsistency. You start doing one thing and before long, you've moved on to something else… never allowing yourself the chance to become really great at it.
   
   So instead of doing a million things, just focus on being consistent at one thing (or a few), and then once you’re great, keep up the practice and, if you want, move on to something else too.
6. KEEP IT SIMPLE - You're starting a business. You have family and friends. You probably have a daytime job which pays the bills. There is a LOT going on in your life. Starting and maintaining a business can quickly become overwhelming and chaotic because there are a million and one things we need to be doing. It’s exhausting. It will be okay though. You can do this!!
   
   I've found keeping things simple is best. I literally have to list my priorities and focus on one thing at a time and make life easy by planning out the what and the when. I review my priorities and goals and needs and wants and if something doesn't fit within those goals or needs, then it's not on the list. It'll just have to get addressed later. When you know what you need to do and when you need to do it, it makes life so much easier!
   
   For me, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't carry my Emily Ley Simplified Planner. I literally schedule EVERYTHING: daytime work, It's Your Time Events work, family time, and I try for social and me time, but that doesn't always work out.  I know myself. If I don't keep track of my time and my priorities and what I'm doing or not doing, I will feel overwhelmed...I go insane. I get emotional and stressed and frantic and unable to focus on anything.   When you are intentional about your day and keep things simple and plan things out, I promise, you’ll feel so much happier and make lots more progress.  

Not entirely sure of what your priorities are or what your ultimate goal is? Here's a worksheet to get you rolling. Or we can set up a session to talk. I love coaching others and seeing their dreams come true! 

It's Your Time Events owner, Erin St Pierre England, is now offering Coaching sessions on starting and managing your business. If you have any questions or would like to discuss where you are in your process, we'd love to help! Contact us at Erin@Itsyourtimeevents.com

Life's a journey, you have to keep moving forward

At 18 or 19 years old, I thought I knew what I wanted to do in life. I came out of high school thinking I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I was going to head off to Baton Rouge and attend LSU for undergrad and then head to LSU Law, so I could work in a position where I would be able to help other people. 

To help other people....to help people....

But I didn't get into law school. In fact I was rejected from every single school I applied to. I even took an LSAT class where people didn't understand why I was there...I got all the homework right all.....the.....TIME! How could I not pass that test!? It's a test....not a guy holding a gun to your head! 

Talk about a blow to your confidence and drive in life.

It's called choking. Yup....that's about what I did. Each time I walked into the test setting, I told myself "this is the test that determines the rest of your life." Ouch...looking back, that seems like a lot of pressure on a 20something year-old. 

So, I sulked for a bit and then took the GRE and headed to grad school...at LSU of course :) 

I started in Political Science with the idea of staying on track to go back to the law school thing, but eventually a good friend helped me realize I don't need a law degree to help people. I began working with student athletes while at the same time working in government. I was a part of two very different programs but they both allowed me to feel like I was helping people....I was making a difference! 

Turns out my friend was right. I don't need a law degree to help people and make a difference in small and big ways. I pursued a Master of Liberal Arts with concentrations in Political Science, Counseling, and Higher Education (talk about a well rounded education!). I loved every second of it!

After an absolutely awesome SEVEN years at LSU, I finally stopped (because I couldn't afford being a professional student) and in the Spring of 2005 I accepted an internship with a smaller Texas school working in their athletic department. At that time, I was making....wait for it....$1,000 a month! (Yes, we all start at the bottom people. We all have to learn certain skills and knowledge that we are not taught in school.) I left home for the first time and had my own apartment and took advantage of activities on campus and saw a bright future. 

But then August of 2005 rolls around and everything in my world shifted a bit. Yes, Katrina happened and for many people from New Orleans Katrina became a milestone in our lives. Things happened pre-Katrina or post-Katrina (this thinking may be shifting a bit as we get older, but it's still there).  

August 28th...do you know where you were? I know exactly where I was at that time. I was helping move my mom from the West Bank to the Northshore. We were packing and not even paying attention until it was quite clear that Katrina was indeed coming. At that point what were we going to do? Leave her new house and all her belongings sitting....waiting for a huge storm to wage war? We stayed. We stayed and we were okay. I still hear the random voices of people calling in to WWL and telling Garland Robinette where they were and that the water was rising. I can still see the images toys and clothes left on the high-rise by the Dome. I remember the destruction I saw all along the entire gulf coast as I drove from my mom's house in Covington to my apartment in Texas and then to my sister in Pensacola. And every time I go to the Convention Center my heart still hurts. Yeah, Katrina was a doozy and did a number on all of us. 

I moved home immediately (Rita just happened to follow my mom and I to Texas so we kind of had to return to south Louisiana) and took a job working as an executive assistant. I floated between jobs for a bit until I got an offer from an old friend for a great opportunity in DC. 

DC was supposed to be a three year plan to gain experience and knowledge. I was moving to DC! How cool is that? I planned to bring all that knowledge and experience home to New Orleans and make a difference here. But it turns out leaving home for a place so far away from my family was truly one of the hardest things I've ever done in life and I hit bottom for a bit in DC. Talk about depression! AND in DC they don't give hugs and it's cold so there was no combatting it....

Eventually I got back up on my feet and learned to LOVE our Nation's capital. Working for the DoD I did some pretty neat things and learned so much about myself! I lived right up the street from the Capital and Supreme Court...who is not going to love that! But I still wanted to go home eventually and turns out getting a job at home wasn't so easy. DC turned into 6 years and a husband. 

At that point I took what I could get and hated it! I was working on contracts and budgets...that was it....no interaction with the outside world at all. I took a long, hard look at myself, and thought about all of my previous positions and what I liked or did not like about each them. 

• I'm a people person;
• I love helping other people; 
• I love making things happen;
• I love happy people and good times; 
• I like communications;
• I like being creative;
• I like managing and executing projects;
• I like planning....

I finally began to see a light....

I brainstormed and dreamed and asked myself "what would I do if I could not fail?" I slowly whittled my thoughts down from communications and public relations to project management and then finally to wedding planning and coordination. And I thought about how important a person's wedding day truly is and how much money we spend on it....and It's Your Time Events was born. 

It's definitely not easy being a business owner and trying to make a living. In fact, it's hard as heck! When I first opened the biz, I had a full-time job then at one point I was able to do the business full-time, and then eventually went back to a full-time job with benefits and that could pay ALL of the bills (not just some of them). Talk about trying times! Am I a failure because my business hasn't been steady? Heck no! I'll get there eventually! 

Life's a journey people. We're all going to do some form of falling down or choking on tests and getting depressed, but what is important is getting back up! We all have to make that decision for ourselves. Without going into details, I've been through some pretty tough situations and experiences. Things nobody thinks they will ever experience. And then you do experience them and you wonder if you'll make it back up...if you'll ever see hope again. I had to actively make that decision of whether to get up or stay down. I chose to get up. I might not be "30 flirty and thriving" (in fact I struggle quite a bit), but I am happy and I did choose hope over all the things that hadn't gone quite right in life. It's up to you to make your choice. What will you do? 

I can & I will. Watch me make it happen

So many people ask me how I can always be so positive and why I started my business and how I got here and where do I see it going. It's ongoing. And I love it! I love sharing my adventures with people who want to know. So I figured why not do it officially....

This blog is not just about weddings and planning, it's also a part of me and who I am and what I do. So I'm starting to document my adventures as an individual and as an entrepreneur....self-employed....and all the nuts and bolts and feelings and craziness that can go along with it.

We're going to talk about staying positive and things I do to stay on my own path (others can use it as an example, but ultimately we each create our own path). We will cover starting a business in Louisiana (whether it is in the wedding industry or not, we all pretty much start in the same place). And we'll talk about business plans and setting goals and being focused and moving forward. We'll research and review how to go about doing business in New Orleans, and get specific with wedding items like Second Line permits and escorts. With each lesson I learn, I'm going to post the story on here (both for myself and for anyone who needs it).

If you have a particular topic you'd like to hear about, let me know! I'm an open book!

~erin