The 5 smartest things I did when I started my own company

This was a hard lesson for me, but it’s a fact: As a business owner, you can never stop marketing.

At a certain point, I had a lot of writing work, so I said, “I don’t have time to take on new clients, so I can stop marketing.” Then, the bottom dropped out.

In the same week, two contracts canceled, both for reasons within the client companies that were beyond my control.

It took me almost two months to find four new clients — and that was with pitching several hours every day. (Cold pitching via email and LinkedIn works best for my business.)

One coach wisely said I should always be prospecting, because relationships can take months to convert to paying clients. One of my biggest clients, in fact, took six months to sign on the dotted line.

While you may not have to prospect every day, market your firm at least several hours a week.

When I first set up my LLC, I hired a budget-friendly virtual accountant I found online. Unfortunately, that firm recommended and set up the incorrect business structure for my personal situation, which caused me to overpay on taxes on multiple fronts.

Luckily, a fellow business owner who’d been in a similar situation told me to shop around for the right accountant. (Whether or not the firm is local to you, it should understand small businesses and your state’s particular forms and regulations.)

I visited several local accountants and found one I felt was the right match for me. That accountant set up my new business structure, helped me get all the paperwork in order for my state, and even refiled my 2017 taxes so that I’d get back some of the money I overpaid.

When I first started my business, I did it all: marketing, selling, invoicing, and producing all of the creative content. It became overwhelming.

If you’re used to working in a company with colleagues or a staff, suddenly wearing 15 hats can be daunting. My business coach suggested hiring virtual assistants, who are business owners offering contract administrative services. For a solopreneur like myself, this was amazing news: I couldn’t wait to say goodbye to the days of starting working at 5 a.m. and working on and off till midnight.

Now I have two assistants. One handles my bookkeeping and accounts payable and receivable. My other assistant helps me with all sorts of nuts and bolts activities for my clients. For example, she posts blogs I’ve written with images on our clients’ sites, or she’ll schedule their social media posts via Hootsuite.

As my workload increased, my handwritten to-do lists just didn’t cut it. Now, every Friday, I email one of my assistants a list of my work tasks due the next week, along with plenty of white space so I can fit in personal stuff, like scheduling doctors’ appointments, going to the gym, or even getting a massage.

I also use the Pomodoro Technique (which one of my coaches suggested). I set a timer for 25 minutes and focus on a single task during that time (no checking email or a client’s social media). The longer I’ve done this, the easier it’s become for me to draft a client blog or another writing exercise that used to take much longer.

Now, I get up every day feeling like a real boss, and loving the business I run.