As a business mentor who’s been through the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, I’m always eager to share practical business advice for start-ups. Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Suzanne Young on my podcast, “Many Hats of Business”. Her journey from corporate frustration to successful business owner offers valuable insights for anyone starting their entrepreneurial adventure.
Watch the full episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/EFdhAakhMF0
Listen to the full episode on podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/many-hats-of-business/episodes/011-Business-Advice-for-Startups-with-Suzanne-Young-e2mgig2
Podcast Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction and Overview
01:07 Why Suzanne Started Her Own Business
01:17 Challenges in Corporate Life
03:51 The Turning Point: Pandemic and NHS Work
06:12 From Working in the NHS to Setting Up Her Business
08:30 Helping with Toxic Workplaces and Building Confident Leaders
12:28 The Reality of Entrepreneurship and Wearing Many Hats
13:08 Importance of Delegation
08:23 Flexibility and Niching in Business
11:33 Closing Thoughts and Book Recommendations
Book Recommendations Mentioned:
How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind: Dealing with Your House’s Dirty Little Secrets – Dana K. White – https://amzn.to/3WdwpGJ
Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break – James Clear – https://amzn.to/4cR8IcB
Title: Essential Business Advice for Start-ups: Lessons from a Seasoned Entrepreneur
Why Start Your Own Business?
Suzanne’s story begins with a familiar scenario: frustration with corporate life. She registered her company in January 2020, just before the pandemic hit, while still employed but deeply unhappy. “I set up my own business because I’m absolutely fed up to the back teeth… of working for other people who knew nothing and had values that were completely different to mine,” Suzanne explained.
This sentiment resonates with many aspiring entrepreneurs. The desire for autonomy, alignment with personal values, and the opportunity to make a real impact often drive people to start their own businesses.
Key Business Advice for Start-ups: Identify Your ‘Why’
Understanding your motivation for starting a business is crucial. It will keep you going when times get tough and help you make decisions aligned with your values.
Navigating Unexpected Challenges
Suzanne’s journey took an unexpected turn when the pandemic hit. She was made redundant from her job but quickly pivoted to use her project management skills in the NHS during the crisis. This experience taught her valuable lessons about adaptability and recognising her own worth.
Business Advice for Start-ups: Be Prepared to Pivot
The ability to adapt quickly to changing circumstances is essential for start-up success. Be open to new opportunities, even if they’re not part of your original plan.
Finding Your Niche
One of the most interesting aspects of Suzanne’s story is how she found her niche. Initially focusing on coaching confidence and resilience in business owners, she realised after 18 months that her true passion lay in building confident leaders in the corporate world.
Business Advice for Start-ups: Don’t Be Afraid to Evolve
Your initial business idea may not be your final destination. Be open to evolution as you learn more about your market and yourself.
The Myth of the Perfect Niche
Suzanne’s experience challenges the common advice to niche down aggressively. While she focuses on highly competitive individuals in fields like accounting, law, and medicine, she doesn’t turn away clients from other backgrounds if they need her help.
Business Advice for Start-ups: Balance Niche Focus with Flexibility
While having a target market helps refine your message, don’t be so rigid that you miss opportunities outside your niche.
Overcoming Tech Challenges
Despite her engineering background, Suzanne struggled with certain tech aspects of her business, particularly her CRM system. This highlights an important point: everyone has strengths and weaknesses, regardless of their background.
Business Advice for Start-ups: Know When to Delegate
Recognise your strengths and weaknesses. Don’t be afraid to delegate tasks that aren’t in your wheelhouse. As Suzanne advises, “If you delegate one thing at the beginning, it’s the tech.”
The Importance of Self-Awareness
Throughout our conversation, Suzanne emphasised the importance of self-awareness in business. Understanding your working style, your tendencies, and your needs can help you structure your business for success.
Business Advice for Start-ups: Invest in Self-Understanding
Take time to reflect on your working style and preferences. This self-awareness will help you make better decisions for your business.
Avoiding the Shiny Object Syndrome
A common pitfall for new entrepreneurs is chasing every new course or opportunity that comes along. Suzanne admits to falling into this trap herself, at one point juggling four courses, a full-time job, and trying to build her business.
Business Advice for Start-ups: Be Selective with Your Time and Resources
Before investing in a new course or opportunity, ask yourself: “Do I need this? Do I need it now?” Be strategic about your learning and development.
The Power of Consistency
One of the key pieces of business advice for start-ups that Suzanne shared is the importance of consistency. She recommends the book “Atomic Habits” by James Clear, which emphasises the power of small, consistent actions.
Business Advice for Start-ups: Focus on Consistent Action
Rather than seeking dramatic changes, focus on small, consistent actions that will compound over time.
Managing Your Environment for Success
Interestingly, Suzanne also recommended a book about home management: “How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind” by Dana K. White. While this might seem unrelated to business, Suzanne found that the principles of consistent tidying and organisation significantly improved her productivity and happiness.
Business Advice for Start-ups: Don’t Neglect Your Work Environment
Your physical environment can have a big impact on your productivity and wellbeing. Invest time in creating a workspace that supports your success.
The Importance of Accountability
Suzanne shared that she’s an “obliger”, someone who needs external accountability to meet inner expectations. She found that co-working sessions with other entrepreneurs significantly boosted her productivity.
Business Advice for Start-ups: Find Your Accountability System
Whether it’s a co-working group, a business coach, or a mastermind, find a system that helps you stay accountable to your goals.
Balancing Learning and Doing
One of the challenges many new entrepreneurs face is balancing learning with action. It’s easy to get caught in a cycle of constant learning without implementation.
Business Advice for Start-ups: Implement as You Learn
Try to implement new knowledge as you acquire it. This helps reinforce learning and ensures you’re making progress in your business.
The Reality of Entrepreneurship
Suzanne’s journey highlights that entrepreneurship isn’t always a smooth path. From redundancy to pandemic pivots, she faced numerous challenges. However, these challenges also provided opportunities for growth and self-discovery.
Business Advice for Start-ups: Embrace the Journey
Understand that setbacks and challenges are part of the entrepreneurial journey. Each obstacle is an opportunity to learn and grow.
The Importance of Values Alignment
One of the driving factors in Suzanne’s decision to start her own business was the desire to work in alignment with her values. This is a crucial point for many entrepreneurs.
Business Advice for Start-ups: Define and Stick to Your Values
Clearly define your values and use them as a guide in your business decisions. This will help ensure your business remains fulfilling and purposeful.
Adapting to Market Needs
Suzanne’s story of pivoting from coaching business owners to focusing on corporate leaders shows the importance of being responsive to market needs and your own strengths.
Business Advice for Start-ups: Stay Attuned to Market Needs
Regularly reassess your offerings in light of market needs and your own evolving skills and interests.
The Power of Resilience
Throughout her journey, Suzanne demonstrated remarkable resilience. From navigating redundancy to pivoting her business focus, she consistently found ways to adapt and move forward.
Business Advice for Start-ups: Cultivate Resilience
Resilience is a key trait for entrepreneurs. Cultivate it by viewing challenges as learning opportunities and maintaining a growth mindset.
The Importance of Networking
Suzanne’s experience working in the NHS during the pandemic highlights the value of networking and being open to unexpected opportunities.
Business Advice for Start-ups: Build a Strong Network
Invest time in building relationships within and outside your industry. You never know where opportunities might come from.
Balancing Passion and Profitability
While Suzanne is passionate about helping people, she also recognises the need for her business to be profitable. This balance is crucial for long-term success.
Business Advice for Start-ups: Find the Sweet Spot
Seek to find the intersection between what you’re passionate about, what you’re good at, and what the market needs and is willing to pay for.
The Value of Experience
Suzanne’s diverse experiences – from corporate roles to volunteering in the NHS during a crisis – all contributed to her current business success. This underscores the value of varied experiences.
Business Advice for Start-ups: Value All Your Experiences
Don’t discount any of your past experiences. They all contribute to your unique perspective and can add value to your business.
The Importance of Self-Care
Running a business can be all-consuming, but Suzanne emphasises the importance of self-care. She mentions hiring a cleaner and a dog walker to free up time for her business. People often don’t look at the whole picture of their life and realise how the personal time freed up makes a huge difference in business too.
Business Advice for Start-ups: Prioritise Self-Care
Remember that you are your business’s most valuable asset. Prioritise your wellbeing to ensure long-term success.
Conclusion: Embracing the Entrepreneurial Journey
Starting and running a business is a challenging but rewarding journey. As Suzanne’s story illustrates, it requires resilience, adaptability, and a willingness to learn and evolve.
Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to entrepreneurship. The best business advice for start-ups is to stay true to your values, remain open to opportunities, and be willing to adapt as you grow.
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to take your business to the next level, I hope Suzanne’s insights and experiences provide valuable food for thought. And remember, every successful entrepreneur was once a start-up founder, facing the same challenges and uncertainties you might be facing now.
So, take heart, stay focused, and embrace the journey. Your entrepreneurial adventure is uniquely yours, with all its challenges and triumphs. And who knows? Maybe one day you’ll be the one sharing your business advice for start-ups, inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs.
If you enjoyed this episode you may well enjoy some more podcast episodes too – have a look here – Podcast Episodes – Many Hats of Business
