The No-Holds-Barred, Comprehensive Guide to Starting (and Running) a Business
The nitty gritty, the fun, the hard, the tactical.
Well, hi, friends! This week’s Wednesday post is coming out on Monday because Wednesday is LAUNCH DAY for 2024 Simplified Planners (and more)! Enjoy!
This is not your average guide to starting a business. There are a lot of places you can find that information on the internet. This is what I wish someone would have told me 15 years ago and what I would tell my child if he or she was considering pursuing an entrepreneurial dream today.
I have a masters degree in public administration, a bachelors in creative writing, and minor in marketing. None of those prepared me for being an entrepreneur quite like becoming an actual business owner. *The School of Hard Knocks,* right? I started my company during the economic disaster of 2008. It had wobbly legs, like most businesses, at first — changing shape and direction a few times before landing on a firm path in 2011. That’s when the Simplified Planner was born, as was my first child. The timing was both serendipitous and messy. Do not recommend birthing a baby and a dream at the same time. 😂
We grew. We tried new things. We fell on our face, and course corrected. We tried digital planners (pro tip: stick to what you know). We lost five figures on that one. We branch out into more than just planners (that was a mega-win). Our planner company thrived during the years when everyone’s plans were cancelled (the Covid-19 pandemic). It’s been 15 years since I bought the domain for Emily Ley Paper and I’ve learned a few things you’re not going to learn in Entrepreneurship 101 at your local college (bless it, I’d love to sit in on one of these classes).
What I didn’t have, back in the day, was anyone to turn to with my idea to get solid advice from someone who’d been there. I hope this post is that for you. It was just me, my idea, my guest room, and a really old PC. The walls were red. The desk was brown. The window faced a fence 18 inches away. But what did I need? I had this idea and this unquenchable thirst to make something that was truly good and beautiful in the world. Mostly, I wanted to make a life for myself and my family — one that would allow me to work from home (both my family’s biggest blessing and my own sometimes personal curse… brb: laundry is ready for the dryer). 🙃