how to start a SUCCESSFUL small business in 2024 🌷📦 the ULTIMATE guide, advice, everything i learned

Summary

The speaker shares their journey of starting a small business, emphasizing the importance of consistency, having a clear vision, and balancing planning with action. They discuss the challenges of launching a shop with a small initial success and the lessons learned, such as setting realistic expectations, offering affordable shipping, and considering digital products. The video also touches on the benefits of a content calendar and the importance of detaching from the performance of one's work to foster continuous growth and creativity.

Takeaways

• 😀 Consistency is key in growing a social media following and developing a unique style.
• 🔍 Having a clear vision for your business goals helps maintain motivation even when progress is slow.
• 🛠 Over-planning can lead to inaction; it's important to balance planning with actual steps towards your goals.
• 🎨 Developing a unique style from consistent creation can attract a following and build a brand.
• 🤔 It may be beneficial to keep business ideas and goals private until they are executed to avoid external pressure.
• ⏰ Setting a hard deadline for launching a business can create urgency and drive progress.
• 📦 Practical considerations such as shipping options and product variety can impact the success of a business launch.
• 📈 Starting with a broad range of products can increase the potential order total and customer satisfaction.
• 📝 Streamlining packaging processes is crucial for scalability and efficiency as the business grows.
• 📊 Keeping expectations moderate and learning from each business iteration can lead to steady growth.
• 📈 Considering digital products can reduce operational overhead and allow for more flexible business management.

Q & A

What was the initial motivation for the speaker to start a small business?

The speaker was inspired by watching others on YouTube who were packing hundreds of orders and wanted to start and grow their own small business.

Why did the speaker open a journaling account on Instagram during high school?

The speaker opened the account for fun and to create content, without any intention to sell anything initially, but started gaining a following which made them take it more seriously.

What was a significant mistake the speaker made with their Instagram account?

The speaker did not have a big picture idea for where the account was heading, which made it hard to stay motivated and continue posting despite having grown a substantial following.

What are the two main lessons the speaker learned from their early experiences with Instagram?

The first lesson is the importance of consistency, which not only pleases the algorithm but also helps in developing a unique style. The second lesson is the necessity of having a clear vision for one's goals, even at the beginning.

Why did the speaker hesitate to share their shop idea with others before executing it?

The speaker found that sharing their goals or plans with others before execution can create unnecessary pressure to perform well from the start, which can be demotivating.

What was the key moment that led to the actual launch of the speaker's shop?

The key moment was when the speaker set a hard deadline for opening their shop, which forced them to take action and make tangible progress.

What was the speaker's experience with their shop launch in terms of sales?

The speaker received around 30 orders and made around $600 in sales, which was a disappointment compared to their high expectations.

What practical lessons did the speaker learn from their shop launch experience?

The speaker learned to keep expectations moderate, offer cheaper shipping options, start with as many products as possible to increase the highest possible order total, and consider the platform for hosting the shop.

Why did the speaker consider offering untracked shipping options for their shop?

Untracked shipping options like letter mail can be much cheaper and more affordable for international orders, making the products more accessible to a global audience.

What is the speaker's current educational status and how does it affect their approach to their shop?

The speaker is a sophomore studying computer science and art at Carnegie Mellon University. This busy academic schedule has led them to consider digital products and to focus more on YouTube for their shop's promotion.

What advice does the speaker have for maintaining consistency and avoiding burnout when running a small business?

The speaker suggests using a content calendar to batch create posts and products in advance, and to detach emotionally from the performance of the work to avoid getting too attached to the outcomes.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Starting a Small Business: Lessons from Personal Experience

The speaker reflects on their journey of starting a small business, emphasizing the importance of consistency in posting and developing a unique style. They also stress the need for a clear vision for the future of the business. The speaker shares early mistakes, such as not having a big picture idea, which led to a lack of motivation. They learned that consistency helps in developing skills and a unique voice, while a clear vision helps maintain motivation and progress towards goals.

05:01

🤔 The Paradox of Planning vs. Action in Business Growth

This paragraph discusses the speaker's realization that excessive planning without action can hinder business growth. They share their experience of planning for over a year without making tangible progress towards opening their shop. The key takeaway is the importance of balancing planning with action to avoid overthinking and to start learning from one's own experiences rather than relying solely on others' advice.

10:02

🎨 Designing Products and the Impact of Feedback

The speaker recounts their initial struggles with product design and the mixed reactions from friends, which affected their motivation. They learned the importance of not sharing goals or plans with others until they are executed, as this can prevent external pressure and the potential negative impact of unsolicited feedback. This insight is particularly relevant for creators who may be sensitive to early criticism.

15:02

📅 The Power of Deadlines and Launching a Business

The speaker highlights the importance of setting a hard deadline for launching their shop, which helped them overcome procrastination and complete necessary tasks within a tight timeframe. They also discuss the disappointment of their launch not meeting their high expectations, leading to lessons on managing expectations, offering affordable shipping options, and starting with a variety of products to increase potential sales.

🛍️ Scaling a Business: Practical Tips for Growth

In this paragraph, the speaker shares practical advice for scaling a business, including the benefits of having a higher average order total, considering the platform for hosting the business, and streamlining packaging for efficiency. They also touch on the potential of digital products as a time-saving and inventory-free alternative to physical goods.

🗓️ Maintaining Consistency and Detaching from Outcomes

The speaker discusses the challenges of maintaining consistency in posting and designing products, especially after a disappointing shop update. They learned the value of a content calendar to avoid burnout and the importance of evaluating the primary platform for business growth. Additionally, they emphasize the need to detach from the performance of their work to prevent emotional extremes and to focus on continuous creation and improvement.

🎓 Balancing University Life with Business Pursuits

The speaker, now a university student, shares their current efforts to balance their education with their ongoing commitment to their shop. They express excitement about building a community on YouTube and sharing aspects of their life, including productivity and student experiences. The paragraph concludes with an invitation for viewers to subscribe and join the speaker on their journey.

Keywords

💡Small Business

A small business is an independently owned and operated enterprise that is not dominant in its field. In the video, the speaker discusses their journey in starting and growing their own small business, emphasizing the importance of consistency, planning, and action. The speaker's experience with their small business includes opening an Instagram account, selling designs, and learning from both successes and failures.

💡Consistency

Consistency in this context refers to the regular and continuous effort put into a task or activity, such as posting on social media. The speaker highlights that consistency is crucial for developing a unique style and voice, which helped them build a following. Consistency is also linked to pleasing social media algorithms and is a key factor in the speaker's advice for starting and growing a small business.

💡Big Picture Idea

A big picture idea is a broad vision or plan for the future that guides actions and decisions. The speaker mentions the importance of having a clear vision for where one's goals are leading, even in the early stages of starting a business. This concept is crucial for maintaining motivation and making progress towards goals, as it helps in navigating changes and challenges.

💡Planning vs. Action

The speaker discusses the balance between planning and taking action in the context of starting a business. While planning is necessary, the speaker learned that too much planning without action can lead to stagnation. They emphasize the importance of starting the journey and learning from experience, which is more effective than trying to learn everything from others' experiences.

💡Design

Design in this video refers to the creation of visual elements, such as sticker sheets and art prints, for the speaker's shop. The speaker shares their experience of transitioning from creating journal spreads to designing products for sale, highlighting the challenges and learning process involved in developing a unique style for commercial products.

💡Deadline

A deadline is a fixed date or time by which something should be completed. The speaker sets a hard deadline for opening their shop, which serves as a motivator to complete all necessary tasks within a specific timeframe. The deadline is a key factor in pushing the speaker to take action and launch their business, illustrating the importance of setting clear goals with time constraints.

💡Expectations

Expectations in this context refer to the anticipated outcomes or results one hopes to achieve. The speaker reflects on their initial expectations for their shop launch and the reality of the outcome, learning to keep expectations moderate. This concept is important for managing one's own expectations and for setting realistic goals in business.

💡Shipping Options

Shipping options refer to the various methods available for delivering products to customers. The speaker discusses the importance of offering affordable shipping options, such as untracked shipping, to make products more accessible to customers, especially for international orders. This is a practical lesson learned from their experience in running a small business.

💡Digital Products

Digital products are items that are delivered in a digital format, such as digital art or printables, which do not require physical shipping. The speaker considers the benefits of digital products for their business, such as reduced inventory management and the potential for easier scalability. This concept is explored as a strategy for balancing the demands of business with other responsibilities.

💡Content Calendar

A content calendar is a schedule or plan for creating and publishing content, such as social media posts or blog entries. The speaker advises using a content calendar to maintain consistency in posting and to avoid burnout. This tool is crucial for managing content creation and ensuring a steady flow of engaging material for the audience.

💡Primary Platform

The primary platform is the main social media or online channel through which a business or individual communicates with their audience. The speaker reflects on their choice of Instagram as their primary platform and considers the benefits of YouTube for its long-term content visibility and potential for a more dedicated following. This concept is important for strategic planning in digital marketing and audience engagement.

Highlights

The importance of consistency in posting on social media to develop a unique style and voice.

The necessity of having a big picture idea for your goals, even in the early stages of starting a business.

Learning from the mistake of over-planning without taking action towards opening a shop.

The realization that action is more effective than overthinking for tangible progress.

The challenge of transitioning from journaling to designing products for a shop.

The mixed reactions to early designs and the impact on motivation.

Advice against sharing goals or plans with others before execution to avoid external pressure.

The strategy of growing an audience organically to reach a larger, diverse audience.

Setting a hard deadline to launch the shop to overcome procrastination and indecision.

The disappointment of a less successful launch than expected and the lessons learned.

Practical tips for offering cheaper shipping options to improve customer satisfaction.

The importance of starting with a variety of products to increase potential sales.

Considering the choice of platform for hosting the shop and its impact on sales and growth.

The need for streamlining packaging to balance aesthetics with efficiency for scalability.

Exploring the option of digital products to reduce inventory and shipping burdens.

Maintaining consistency in posting and designing through a content calendar.

Evaluating the primary platform early for better alignment with long-term goals.

Detaching personal emotions from the performance of work to focus on continuous improvement.

The speaker's current status as a university student balancing studies with running a shop.

The transition to using YouTube as a primary platform for sharing and growing the business.

Transcripts

foreign

[Music]

starting your own small business

if you're anything like me when I was

first trying to start my own small

business you're probably watching a lot

of videos on YouTube trying to figure

out how to actually get started and grow

your shop and getting super inspired by

watching others pack hundreds of orders

on their channels I remember when I was

first starting out I wished I could see

not only the logistical side of how

others got started but also the methods

people use to stay on track to actually

make progress towards their goals so in

this video I want to share with you my

journey and the most important lessons I

learned along the way to hopefully help

you get inspired and see how possible

starting and growing your small business

actually is I hope this helps please

keep in mind that I am not an expert and

I do not have the hugest most successful

shop so I would take my advice with a

grain of salt but because I have a few

years of experience running my shop I

hope that what I share can help you to

not make the same mistakes that I did

I would say that my journey really began

when I opened up a journaling account on

Instagram in high school

at this point I did not have any

intention to sell anything I was just

creating for fun but I started gaining a

following and took notice of that and

started to actually take it more

seriously but one mistake that I made at

this point was that I really didn't have

a big picture idea for where this

account was taking me so even though I

had grown a following to around 28 000

followers over two years it was really

hard for me to stay motivated to keep

posting because I couldn't see the

purpose of continuing to pour so much

effort into this account that I couldn't

really see as being part of my future so

from this I learned two main lessons the

first lesson is that consistency

actually works and I'm sure that you've

heard this many many times before but I

think that consistency works not only

for the reason that it pleases the

algorithm but mainly because each time

that you post consistently you're

exercising a skill of creating posting

and sharing your work which ultimately

leads you to develop your own unique

style and voice and and in my case that

style really helped me to build my

following and the second lesson that I

learned is that you really need to have

a big picture idea of where your goals

are taking you even if you're just

getting started because you like

creating I would still recommend that

you have a big picture idea or plan as

to what you're going to do because

everybody changes and everybody's

interests change so if you don't have a

Clear Vision for why these are your

goals you will find it much more

difficult to continue working towards

your goals when things aren't going as

smoothly as you expected them to

the next key moment was when I actually

had the idea of starting my own shop

given that I already had a following on

Instagram it seemed possible for me to

open up a shop and start selling my own

designs so once that idea entered my

brain I got planning and I started

thinking about what I'd want to sell and

in this stage I really was planning and

thinking and planning and thinking

without any action and for over a year I

made zero actual tangible progress

towards opening up my shop now from this

I learned that ultimately there's only

so much planning that you can do and you

will learn a hundred times faster

starting out on your own journey and

learning along the way then trying to

learn everything from other people's

experiences on the internet and of

course this doesn't apply if you're not

the type of person to overthink

everything and never get started because

I do think that it's important to

balance the thinking with action and too

much of either one is probably not the

most efficient in the long run

continuing on the next key moment in my

journey was when I actually started

designing my own products I had finally

saved up enough money to fully commit to

buying an iPad Pro apple pencil and

procreate so I bought it and started

getting to work and I quickly learned

that I may have developed my own unique

style from creating my journal spreads

but creating sticker sheets in the art

prints was a completely new thing for me

so you could say that I was less than

satisfied with my work

still feeling inspired to improve my

designs though I went to school and I

remember that my group of friends asked

me if they could see the progress on my

design so far so I hesitantly showed

them and I just remember that their

reactions were pretty mixed some of them

were hyping me up a lot and some of them

were really quiet

I really don't blame them because we

were all just tired high school students

trying to get by but because I cared

about my shop a lot and was really

excited about it at the time the lack of

reaction from the quiet friends did

affect me

now what I learned from this experience

is something that really stuck with me

and it's basically to not share your

goals or plans with others before you

actually execute them and I know that

this can sound a little sad but I

learned that I work best this way

because there's no pressure to perform

well from the very beginning I do think

that this is why my journaling account

grew as quickly as it did because even

until I had thousands of followers no

one other than my sister knew about the

account and looking back it really was

easier for me to post when I was sharing

my work with people that I didn't know

and I think that this goes against some

of the advice that recommends people to

share their businesses when they're

starting out with the people that they

know in real life to get it off its feet

and bring some attention to it but

ultimately for me in my experience I

found that growing my audience and

following organically was the way that I

developed my own skills to reach a

bigger audience which is what I wanted

my shop to do I wanted it to reach

people outside of my own community

and of course this really depends on

your personality and how you work best

because telling other people about your

goals may keep you accountable or

motivate you even more but this was

really just a key Insight that I had

with myself and how I work best and it's

also the reason why I didn't tell anyone

else except my boyfriend that I was

starting this YouTube channel

the next key moment is probably the most

important thing that you could take away

from this video and it's basically when

I set a hard deadline for when I would

open my shop this hard deadline meant

that no matter how many products I had

created or finalized I would just

announce my shop and start selling I

basically set this hard deadline because

I was really tired of wanting to start

something so badly yet contradicting

Myself by not starting it for too long

and because the shop was something that

I really knew that I wanted to start I

decided that I should probably get it

done before College app season because I

was a high school senior at this point

from my one year of doing nothing so in

order to finish everything before

College app season that meant that I had

to open my shop in around six weeks and

within those six weeks I really got to

work immediately after I finished school

work and my other extracurriculars I

would just get started on designing

during these six weeks I really promised

myself that I would open no matter what

so this deadline actually scared me and

I was designing as I was researching

manufacturers and materials packaging

and equipment that I might need to start

my shop and this is when I learned the

importance of a deadline and by a

deadline I mean a deadline that actually

means something to you so if you haven't

already create your deadline create your

plan and just get to work because as you

will get it done if you have that time

pressure and that promise that you made

to yourself that that deadline is real

okay so the next key moment in my

journey was when I actually opened and

launched my shop I announced that I had

started a shop account on my main

journaling account and that day with

that one announcement I gained around

700 followers who were interested in my

products and after a few days of posting

and showcasing my designs on my shop

account it was finally launch day now I

was really expecting my launch to be

very successful like the many channels

that I see on YouTube packing hundreds

of orders so when my own launch happened

I was actually pretty disappointed I got

around 30 orders and made around 600 in

sales I was super excited of course and

grateful for all of the support and the

fact that I was sending my work all

around the world but it got me wondering

what I might have done wrong and as to

why my shop launch may have fallen short

of my expectations

looking back the number of orders I got

for all of the mistakes that I made is

actually a lot now these lessons that I

learned are lessons that are more

practical but number one keep your

expectations moderate number two offer

some cheaper shipping options when I

launched my shop I only offered tracked

shipping so that meant for international

orders shipping would be eight dollars

and fifty cents and for us orders

shipping would be three dollars and

fifty cents and keep in mind that I was

selling flat sticker sheets and art

prints that cost much less than eight

dollars and fifty cents with flat paper

goods it's a really good idea to start

also offering untracked shipping options

such as letter mail that can be much

cheaper and more affordable for

international orders where letter mail

from the US is only two dollars and

letter mail being sent within the US is

less than one dollar the next lesson is

to start off with as many products as

you can so that the highest possible

order total is greater back when I

opened my shop I had two products where

the highest possible order total was

18.50 but now given that I held a lot of

shop updates and created many more

products the highest possible order

total is over a hundred dollars and just

from a practicality standpoint of if

you're selling physical products packing

orders does take a long time so if your

average order total is higher it's a lot

more rewarding for the amount of effort

that you're putting in

the next lesson is to really consider

which website to host on for me I

decided to start off with my own website

instead of etsy or any other selling

platform that already had an existing

Marketplace I thought that this would be

a good idea because I already had a

following and I really wanted to

establish my brand now that I'm in

University though and a lot busier I

wonder if Etsy would have been a better

idea because with Etsy you can continue

to bring in sales through the Etsy

search feature even if you're not

actively trying to grow and maintain

your social media accounts but this

really could just be the grass looking

greener on the other side because I

haven't used Etsy as a platform myself

and I have heard that Etsy does take a

large percentage of the revenue that you

make per order

now the next tip that I have is also a

practical one it is to streamline your

packaging I know that you want it to

look cute because I really really wanted

it to but balance that cuteness with

practicality if you want to grow and

scale your small business you can't be

putting in all of your time into packing

a few orders because what will you do

when you get hundreds of orders you

really can't neglect other areas of your

life just to pack orders because if

you're a student like me or have a job

or have other responsibilities you're

going to have other things that you need

to get to and packing all of your orders

in a really nice fancy custom way isn't

going to be the best use of your time

now the next tip that I have is to

consider digital products this is

something that I'm looking into more

this year because with digital products

you don't need to worry about keeping an

inventory or packing every order that

comes in so especially for me as a

student having a few digital products

could be a great way for me to continue

sharing my work while saving some time

moving on the next key moment in my

journey after my shop launch was when it

was time for my next shop update as I

was packing orders and dealing with that

inner disappointment it was harder for

me to post consistently and design other

products for my shop update

I think that this had to do with the

fear of disappointing other people I

thought that my next products for the

launch had to be better than my original

products and because of that pressure

that I put on myself it was really hard

to create anything the lessons that I

learned from working towards my first

shop update were to keep a Content

calendar to help you stay consistent

you're not going to be able to keep up

if you continue creating posts just

barely In Time by the time you need to

post them this is something that I had

been doing for two years with my

journaling account and with my shop

account I was creating posts right by

the time I needed to post them and of

course with this system you are going to

burn out and you're going to run out of

ideas so with the content calendar if

you can batch create all of your posts

and products by a certain date you don't

need to worry about them constantly and

you will ideally have posts and products

ready to go so by the time that you need

to post them the second lesson that I

learned is to evaluate your primary

platform early this is one of the things

that I wish I had done because I would

rather have YouTube be my primary

platform knowing what I know now rather

than Instagram this is because with

Instagram you have to continually post

and post and post every single week to

have your content recommended to other

people whereas with YouTube you can

create content once a week and it can

get recommended to people years down the

line so in that way it's much more

sustainable for my lifestyle currently

as a student and I also do think that

established YouTube channels have a more

dedicated Following over a more short

form content platform like Instagram or

tick tock the third lesson that I

learned from this is to try to detach

yourself from your work so whether it

performs well or bad don't get too happy

or too disappointed and of course take

the analytics into account but don't

dwell over them just learn from them and

move on to creating your next post or

product because ultimately that's what's

going to move you forward and lead to

progress

so a few shop updates later we're now at

where I am now so I'm a sophomore

studying computer science and art at

Carnegie Mellon University and I'm still

trying to devote more time to my shop

but like I said instead of on Instagram

through YouTube more consistently this

is my second video on YouTube so I feel

like I'm super new to the game but I'm

so excited to build a community here and

just share parts of my life and my

journey on my shop productivity and

University student things so if you're

interested in any of those things please

feel free to join my

to subscribe

and yeah

see you guys in the next video

thanks for watching