16 Lessons in 16 Years of business with Dahna Borg

The first one, number one, you aren't for everyone, and that's okay.

Now, I am a perpetual people pleaser, and this one's been a hard one for me to learn.

Um, when I first started out in business, I was very much doing any marketing for anyone who needed me.

I'm here to help you.

[laughs] What we have learnt over that time, thanks to some lovely education, wonderful peers, those sorts of things, is that it's okay for your business to only be for certain people and not for others.

In the last week alone, we've had a couple of different businesses reach out that are like, "Hi, can you help us with your ad, with our ads?" And I am now in the very privileged position and the very good position of being able to say, "We're not for you, but I can recommend some people that are." And whether you're an e-commerce business or a service-based business or whatever your business is, it's okay for you to not serve everyone.

In fact, I think it's a good thing.

Number two, kind of irre-relevant to that point.

Taking on the wrong clients will cost you more than turning them away.

Again, I really like helping people.

I did not start this business as a money grab.

I did not start this business because I, you know...

I mean, I did really like marketing, but it was very much I like helping people, so when I couldn't help people, I still tried to help people, and that's not always the best thing to do.

So if your product doesn't serve everyone, if you're a service business, it's okay to say no. It's okay to say, "Look, this is not for us," and it is okay to just let that be.

The next big lesson is that you cannot do this alone.

Business is lonely.

[laughs] Business is hard.

Things change, and it is just so nice to have really good support, really good people around you, whether that's a team, whether that's a friend and family circle, or whether you find a bunch of colleagues.

Having people around you really, really makes all the world of difference, and I would say that this is a two-part thing.

There is not doing this alone and having that support network and having people to bounce ideas off and having a really good, like, support system.

And I would also say in that having a really good team and, you know, other service providers that help you.

I could not do this without my accountant.

I could not do this without the amazing team that I have.

I could not do this without, you know, Em and the guys at Sparrow Studio who just redid our website and redid our branding and kind of changed the way we thought about business.

Business is hard.