Hey there. Sorry I haven’t written, I’m still tackling some of the scary stuff mentioned in the last post, and it’s been all-consuming. As I’ve worked to start Lever over the last 8 months, there are some things I’ve already flubbed on. I’m sharing them here. Don’t do them, k?

1 – Neglected Networking

I’ll be honest and say it’s a lot harder to get motivated to go to networking events when you don’t have any colleagues to go with. Too bad, gotta suck it up! Networking is key as you get started establishing your business in the local community. I plan to really ramp this up post-baby (and a little bit beforehand as well – though my motivation decreases as my giant bump increases…)

2 – Fell Asleep On Social Media

If you look back through these blog posts or Lever’s twitter feed, you can see how things started to dwindle a few months ago. You start out and think “Man, I will NOT make the mistake of other small businesses and forget to get out there and market myself!” – and I hope you stick to it! I haven’t. It’s REALLY hard if you have a large client right off the bat. Your focus is on the client, as it should be, but you do everything you said you wouldn’t, and forget all about your own brand.

3 – Got Burnt Out

There’s not really time for burn out in the first year(s). I have not stayed inspired. I bought all of these great business/leadership/startup books when I left my job back in August and have only started to read one or two of them. Keep yourself inspired! Even hiring someone to help with the small tasks wasn’t enough, because I used the extra time for the wrong things. Staying inspired is key.

4 – Got Knocked Up

Not really, but yeahhhh… It wasn’t the best time for me to get pregnant, and a lot of the points above were magnified due to the pregnancy. If you can plan it out, you may want to plan to wait a couple years. I’ll get back to you on this since this is my first kid and I’m venturing into new territory!

There are many others, I’m positive, but these are the ones on my mind at the moment. I’m here at CherryBerry’s national all-owners conference and networking and listening to speakers and getting inspired again, and realizing just how much these issues have affected Lever’s momentum.

Do you have any mistakes to share with other brand new entrepreneurs?