Hey there Curlies,
It has been a minute but I’m happy to be talking to you!
This post originated from a question from one of our trusty Facebook followers. Dustin wanted to know “Can you tell us about the ups and downs of starting a business from scratch and some of the things that surprised you?”
WOW! What an awesome question and one I love to talk about. My true hope is that you are asking because you are entertaining starting your own business, looking for business ideas or perhaps you already have a startup!
I’ll say very honestly, right off the bat, it’s a good thing I had no idea what I was getting myself into. :) I’m not saying I wouldn’t have done it, I’m just saying that sometimes, ignorance really is bliss. :)
Starting a business from scratch, overnight, with no experience, is hard.
The very simple truth is that I didn’t mean to start a business! I was just trying to come up with something that worked for my own hair. Once it became clear that other people weren’t interested in making their own hair products, but would rather buy it from me, all of a sudden my life was totally different and a startup was born.
A lot of people who go into business have the luxury of time and planning. They know in advance their business ideas, they think it out, talk to people about starting a business, and learn about their target market so that when they officially go into business, they know at least something about…anything. :)
What I knew about was hair. And people. Not opening a business. Not websites. Not graphic design. CERTAINLY not bookkeeping. (I still don’t, actually.) So I learned very quickly the importance of doing what I was good at and trying to figure out how to get other people to do what I couldn’t. I was really lucky over the years in that a lot of people saw the potential in the startup and helped me out, offering their knowledge and sometimes even professional services, because they knew there was something to this whole “curly hair thing.” :) I’ll go into more specific details about some of those specific people in future posts so please keep watching here!
Let’s go back to that part about what I DID and DO know about – people. Namely, curly haired people. Jessicurl has always been a very customer-driven company. It’s why we have three scent choices and why those choices didn’t get axed when we did our re-branding. You appreciate the option, and it’s something that sets us apart. Heck, back in the early early days, I used to custom scent EACH BOTTLE for people! :) (Please don’t ask for that now though, ok? We can’t really do that anymore. :-)
From the very beginning, I knew this was what I was meant to do. I also knew that if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be able to keep doing it. So you matter to me. Very much. That’s the first lesson I learned, and one that I will not forget. :)
I really do think the 50,000 foot view of starting your business and having the advantage of hindsight is kind of two-pronged:
- Necessity is the mother of invention, and
- Develop what you know and love, hopefully to a place of success
But the most important part of the whole puzzle is to cultivate and cherish the relationships you make along the way and lean on the people in your tribe to startup. It has worked beyond measure for me and I hope it does for your own business ideas.