Seven tips for small business owners, as I enter my seventh year of business. 1-hire an accountant/finance pro I know this can seem like a big cost, but the earlier on, you can do this, the better. Get somebody doing your taxes, your bookkeeping, and giving you advice about what you can do to start off in a good place with running a small business and be profitable. The biggest mistake I see people making is not charging enough and in result not paying themselves. 2-not everyone is for you. When you can realize that you do not need to be liked by everyone, It is a wonderfully freeing place to be. Don’t get caught up looking at who unfollowed you or doesn’t follow you back or any of these things that people put so much unnecessary thoughts in our head. The majority of the time it has nothing to do with you, and there’s nothing good that comes from worrying about these things. 3-don’t make everything yourself. This is a hard one because that’s how we start out. We make the products down to the last little bit. Over time, if you are a person who makes all of the items you are selling, if you scale, you will burn out. There’s so much physical pain and consequences to doing everything yourself. Outsource help when you can. Consider carrying other items that align with your biz to take off some of the load. 4-don’t compare yourself to others. This is especially true on social media. The longer you look at other peoples work or idolize artists, especially in your field, the longer it takes for you to hone in on your own artistic voice. It’s fine to appreciate and honor others, but spend time NOT looking at what other people are doing and drawing from the deep well of creativity in yourself. 5-invest in your physical health. I’m not just talking about exercising and eating right, although those are obviously valid, but do things specifically that can help your body be able to adequately perform for your field. If you’re a jeweler, think about finger, arm and neck stretches and exercises, yoga, and different types of movement that can help activate and strengthen your physical body. I wish I would’ve invested more in this from the beginning because I am seeing a lot of physical issues now because I did not prioritize it. 6-if you don’t see it, create it. If you don’t have the things you wish were in your city create them. If there’s no small business market, or creative meetup for handmade businesses, create it.! We can so easily complain about all the things that we wish we had, or that our local community doesn’t have, and sometimes rather than complaining we need to be the answer. 7-Make small business friends. This should actually be at the top of the list, but I don’t know where I would be without my small business friends. Fortunately, for me, some of them have been local, and have turned into my closest friends. There is no price you can put on having people who understand what you’re going through, to be able to encourage and push you to keep going. I’ve almost quit a few times, and had I not had people who truly could understand what I was going through, and push me to keep going, I probably would have quit. Small business life can be very lonely and isolating. Find friends and encourage and cheer for each other. Bonus tip- Get advice from people who have been doing this for a while. It could be any small business, It doesn’t even have to be a creative one, but there is so much value in honoring and listening to other peoples wisdom. When I started, I asked many people who were successful “do you have any advice for me,or is there anything you think I should be doing?” I learned a lot from others who have walked the journey longer. -Lauren #smallbiztips #smallbusinesstips #smallbusinessowner