6 lessons learned after 6 years as an entrepreneur

6 lessons learned after 6 years as an entrepreneur

Last month marked 6 years since we started The Humble Penny and we reflected on what we learned this year 😀.

If you want to start a side hustle or business, taking that first step is key.

Most people can become an entrepreneur and even do it alongside their job if they want to.

However, from a mindset perspective, it’s important to go into it with the right intentions, put in the work, and stay flexible to learn every day as things change.

Recommended: Start a side hustle that earns you monthly recurring income

6 lessons learned after 6 years as an entrepreneur

Here’s what we learned about running a business in our 6th year:

1. From Blogger to Author

While many people know us from our YouTube videos, what some don’t know is that we first honed our skills by starting a blog.

I would write and my wife, Mary, would draw the creative elements.

This year made me realize what all these years of blogging have been preparing us for.

Not only did our blog gain authority, but we also published our debut book📕.

This year has taught me that writing for fun opens up more possibilities than you might imagine.

I thought I would be a writer one day? There is no chance!

I just wanted to do something creative that helped others outside of my boring job.

The identity of an “entrepreneur” is something I have gradually embraced over time.

2. Sleep monitoring

We tracked our sleep scores this year and it helped improve our results and change our behavior.

Pursuing a great sleep score means forcing ourselves to sleep 7 to 8 hours a day now 😴.

This helps us to have 4 sleep cycles which helps in physical and mental recovery.

If you want to track your sleep score, I use this watch.

What gets measured improves as you know. So get started today.

3. 80% Writing, 20% Work

In the last 12 months, I spent about 80% of my working time writing📝 and 20% on other business activities.

However, our business and platforms are still running smoothly, albeit not perfectly.

This reminded me of the importance of having systems that do much of the heavy lifting.

Plus the freelancers who work a few hours a month to help keep things going.

This way you stay lean and still get great results 💪🏽

My point here is that when you start a side hustle or business, you should treat it as such.

Get help and don’t do it all yourself.

Otherwise, you’re just creating another job for yourself.

Recommended: 12 Lessons from 5 Years of Entrepreneurship

4. Planning the year

To stay ahead, we planned the whole year 📅.

In an Excel sheet, we create both a cross-platform plan for content and a plan for income for 12 months.

That way, we never go into the new year blindly.

We then focus on 12-week activity cycles.

Note that we were not always so organized. It took 6 years to get here.

However, if you adopt this mindset for your side or business activities, you will flourish.

5. Continuity as a platform

We learned the importance of sustainable business models, e.g.

This not only creates continuity, but it creates community and space to really learn about the problems you can help your community solve.

In the age of artificial intelligence, having a sustainable business model🔋it is what will help you protect your income.

I think it’s never been easier to get started.

You can join our free 5-day challenge to learn how.

6. Reinvestment in other assets

Applying my Personal Finance skills, I have learned to reinvest at least 20% of any earnings into other assets🪴outside of our business.

This helps to sow new seeds and create balance in times when things are not going well.

It ensures the sustainability of our work, meaning we’ll be around for longer.

I think this is where many small business owners fail.

They put all their eggs in one basket and don’t differentiate themselves.

Bonus Tip – Give

We loved giving this year beyond 95% – 99% of everything we already create for free.

Giving the gift of mentoring or fully paid scholarships or financially supporting others starting out in small ways has been very rewarding 😊

Giving is not just about money. Give time, talent, network, etc

The heart with which you give matters 🫶🏾

More to read about becoming an entrepreneur:

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👉🏽 Thinking of starting your own business or company? What is your biggest pain point or struggle? 🤔. Comment below