Last week I celebrated the 16th anniversary of my marketing company, Egg Marketing. I've since shed the name but continue to offer content marketing services, as well as intuitive business coaching.
Man. I feel old.
Sixteen years is a LONG time to be in one job, which is part of why I've shifted my focus over the years. After writing—literally—thousands of articles about marketing and entrepreneurship, business and finance, I like to think I've learned a few things. May these words of wisdom help you on your entrepreneurial journey, my dear.
1. YOU Make the Rules. You Don't Need Permission
For a long time, I think I was waiting for someone to give me permission or tell me how to run my business. I didn't come from a family of small business owners, so I pretty much taught myself what to do from books and mimicking others. There was a lot of second-guessing myself.
But what I've finally learned is: I make the rules in my business.
In addition to the writing and coaching I do, I also have a company called Goddess Magic Circle, where I offer goddess oracle readings. Don't feel bad if you don't know what those are. I pretty much made them up. Other people offer them, but it's my unique mix of connecting with Divine Goddess energy and relating it in the written word that makes my business. It took a while for me to realize that I was creating the blueprint and that I wouldn't find it anywhere but within.
My advice to you? Give yourself permission to run your business however you want. It doesn't have to look like anyone else's. In fact, it shouldn't!
2. It's Okay to Pivot
Years ago, I made a name for myself by writing press releases. I literally wrote the book (well, A book) on the subject. But as press releases began waning in popularity, I pulled back from that being my core offering. I began to focus on writing blogs and ghostwriting.
I wrote for a variety of industries but kept being pulled to the technology and financial sectors. By owning my niche, I began to attract more of the types of clients I wanted.
Recently, I've decided that writing content for brands isn't enough, and that's when I began my journey as an intuitive business coach. In some ways, this spiritually-based business is worlds away from the analytical, logical work I've been doing for ages, but it's also aligned because I'm bringing my 20+ years of experience in business into the spiritual realm.
3. It's Even More Okay to Be Yourself
Something I've been so excited to experience since I started opening up about my spirituality in a business setting is how well-received I've been in doing so. I write about this on Forbes now and let me tell you: I was effing terrified because this was a site that focused more on ROI and KPIs than crystals and tarot cards.
But my articles have brought some awesome people out of the woodwork. I've had two interviews in the past few weeks, one for a print magazine in the UK and the other for The Hartford's Small Biz Ahead podcast, both the result of being me publicly. I've also started seeing leads for the coaching without doing any other marketing.
We've hidden behind professional masks for far too long, in my opinion. It's time to be who you are. It is SAFE to be who you are. You are a badass entrepreneuse with cool interests and neat things going on, and you should absolutely share those with the world!
This list of lessons is very different from what I've shared in the past. While delegating, investing in your business, and balancing work and life are still very important, how I operate as a business owner is shifting. I'm more interested in being authentic, in working with companies and people that light me up, and in loving what I do...and writing about it!