When the Entrepreneur Bug Bites: 4 Reminders When Starting A Biz by @tenaciousAngie

by Angie Weber | Featured Contributor

I have always been a self proclaimed intrapreneur so I never thought I would make the jump into entrepreneurship. But here I am getting ready to launch a new business, Hello Life. Even as I type that my heart is racing as this whole journey is terrifying and totally exciting at the same time. Anyone else out there with me on this? 

I will admit as I am getting into business, I totally have been blessed with the advantage of helping build up tena.cious. I’ve gotten a first hand experience on the fun, and not so fun, parts of building a biz. Now I get to take all of the lessons I have gained over the past 5 years and apply it to my own little baby.

While I have been on this journey, there have been those times where I have thought to myself, “What the heck am I doing?!” So if you are in this space right now, I want to share some reminders that helped me start and keep me going.

Wait until you can’t wait any longer. 
I dabbled with the thought of entrepreneurship about a year ago, but never thought I would take the leap. That was until one day when I was on my way to a meeting and I had that feeling- you know the one that comes over you and you just know something big is about to happen. And it did- the entrepreneur bug bit hard during that meeting. It was like something erupted and I couldn’t resist the urge to dive into something new. I guess you just know when you know.

But all comes in good time.
Thinking about starting a business is like being a little kid waiting for Christmas. You just want it to happen… now! But this can lead into premature decisions, unnecessary spending, and underdeveloped launches. I have learned through this process that everything happens for a reason… even when you don’t know it at the time. It has only been 6 months since this idea was hatched, although to me it feels more like 6 years. However, I know now that each steps has lined up perfectly rather than me trying to fit a square into a peg hole- and believe me I tried real hard to get some of the things to fit before.

Do your research.
This was a big lesson for me so please learn from my mistake. I got so excited about our initial idea and the name- it fit with our mission, our audience and our brand so well that it was a no brainer. I did research on who else was out there, dug in to see if anyone else had the name we had picked out, even looked at trademarks. Everything seemed good to go! We even announced this new business at the before. conference– and with a room full of women, we were getting really great feedback. Then we went to get everything in place- legally. Turns out even though I thought I was doing the correct research, it wasn’t good enough. Turns out that the name was already trademarked even though they were not using it for that type of product. OUCH. It was time to hit the drawing board again and, like I said before, everything happens for a reason. Turns out it was a blessing in disguise- even though that I meant I had a box full of promo mirrors sitting in my house with the wrong name on them. C’est la vie.

Find Your Why.
While we were going through renaming, it gave me some more time to think about the reasoning behind this whole thing. There was a bigger reason behind this besides wanting to provide women with natural cosmetics. One night when I was watching Shark Tank (guilty pleasure!) I realized I wanted some kind of philanthropy piece added into the business structure so after some deep searching, we have decided to partner with the Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health by donating $1 of each product sold to their organization. Personally, my “why” is to make an impact and I knew this would is a way I could fulfill my desire. Having a driving passion behind your business will help you push stronger, harder, and longer.

There’s a lot more that goes into becoming an entrepreneur, but I have learned that it all comes with a little bit of trial and error. I would love to hear your best reminder that keeps you going after your dream!

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After time spent searching for the perfect job and having no luck, Angie Weber was introduced to tena.cious. Not only did she find her passion for small business, she also discovered one very important thing about herself- she is a true intrapreneur. (You know, those people who act like entrepreneurs, but don’t have as much risk in the game?)

While she co-runs tena.cious and helps clients showcase their personalties online, she also spreads awareness about intrapreneurs- the good, the bad, and the ugly awesomeness. If you want to get an inside look on intrapreneurs, check out here podcast, The Intrapreneur Life.Save

Angie Weber