What I've Learned (The Hard Way) About Growing a Small Business.

3 Tough Lessons from a "Do First" Entrepreneur.

I've always been a "Do First Think Later" kind of person. I used to blindly jump into things without really considering what the full scope was.

Back in my roofing / bartending days (odd combo I know, but a girls gotta pay the bills somehow), I was chatting over a lovely Riesling with my friends mom in her kitchen when I said to her, "I think I'm going to be a pipefitter. They make a lot of money, right? How hard can it really be?" And just like that, my mind was made up. 4 years later I had my Red Seal and was raking in 6 figures easy.

But it was hard.

Like, much harder than I expected. There were so many challenges that I hadn't anticipated that had literally nothing to do with the actual act of pipefitting.

But despite all of that, I got my ticket and I made my money.

Goal Achieved.

So when I said to my partner over another lovely Riesling (this is when our best ideas happen, am I right?), "I think I'm going to start a business. How hard can it be?" you would expect that I reflected on how this statement has impacted my life in the past...

...And you would be so wrong.

I did not think starting a business was going to be difficult.

I thought "I'm literally a Red Seal Pipefitter. I can handle running a business." and off I went into a world that I knew very little about.

Since then, I've learned A LOT about being an entrepreneur and owning a small business. And I've learned most of it the incredibly hard way because, apparently that's how I learn best.

So I'm going to share the 3 biggest lessons that I've learned the hard way in the hopes that someone can learn from my struggles or maybe that someone sees themselves in this post and finds any comfort in it at all.

Lesson #1: Growth Takes Time

(Even When You’re Determined as Hell)

When I started my business, I truly believed I’d hit six figures in six months. Not because I had a plan. Not because I understood anything about running a business. But because I’ve always been a determined person, and historically, determination had gotten me everywhere I wanted to go.

So in my mind, it made perfect sense: if I worked hard, success would happen quickly.

What I didn’t realize at the time was just how much goes into building a business beyond “doing the work.” I had no idea how many systems, processes, and behind-the-scenes decisions there really were. Websites, onboarding, contracts, branding, communication… it was a whole world of things no one had warned me about. Not that I would've listened anyway....

By the time the six-month mark rolled around, I obviously wasn’t making six figures. Cue my first massive entrepreneur “Menty B.”

My partner had to talk me back to reality in that moment, saying something along the lines of, “I love that you think you can achieve everything overnight. And you will achieve everything. Just give yourself some more time.” Thankfully, he knew I just needed a reminder that immediate success isn’t exactly realistic.

Growth takes time. More time than you expect. More time than you want. And more time than people online make it seem.

And honestly? It’s still something I remind myself of today. I’m not ten years into this business yet. I’m not supposed to be operating at the level of someone who’s had a decade to figure things out. Patience isn’t just a cute entrepreneurial buzzword, it’s a skill. One that I’m still practicing.

Lesson #2: You Don’t Always Need to Be the Expert...

You Just Need to Be Honest

I used to feel incredibly nervous talking about my business. Everywhere I looked online, people were saying the same thing: “Position yourself as the expert.”

Except… how was I supposed to do that when my field was brand new to me?

I wasn’t an expert (at least not yet) and pretending to be one felt disingenuous.

The real fear underneath it all was that I’d be exposed as a fraud. I imagined people judging me, thinking I was unqualified, or wondering why I thought I could start a business in the first place.

But something interesting happened.

During my first consult calls, I decided to tell the truth. I told people I didn’t have years of experience yet. I told them I didn’t have formal training or any degrees, but I did have enough experience to get this business off the ground. I told them I was learning as I went, and that if something felt outside my skill level, I would be transparent about it.

I also told them that I wanted the chance to grow, learn, and challenge myself through this work.

Turns out, all they cared about was my confidence, my ability to figure things out, and the fact that I was honest with them. It surprised me how quickly people trusted me simply because I was being real. And with every client who said yes to working with me, my confidence grew.

My skills have grown immensely over the years, and I’ve learned things I never imagined I would in the beginning. I don’t know what the official requirement is to be considered an “expert,” but I do know this: I’m continually learning, growing, and delivering work my clients love.

Being honest has done more for me than pretending to be the “expert” ever could.

Lesson #3: Just Keep Going

Even When It’s Hard & Even When You’re Not “Good” Yet

About 10 months into my first year, I had a client end their service contract with me. It made me realize how fragile my little baby business really was. They said they just weren’t getting the value they expected from their monthly investment.

I was scared. And for a moment, quitting felt like the easiest option.

But I couldn’t just shut everything down. People were counting on me and they were all really happy with the value they were getting.

“Maybe you just can’t please everyone,” I thought.

I also knew that the alternative was going back to the oilfield or working for someone else. And the thought of that made me want to be sick. I wasn’t ready to walk away from my dream because of one setback.

So I reminded myself: if it was easy, everyone would do it.

And that moment taught me something huge. Losing that client didn’t mean I'd failed. It was an opportunity for me to learn what didn't work. It forced me to accept that nothing in business is perfect, predictable, or linear.

You don’t magically become “ready” one day. You don’t suddenly wake up with every skill mastered. And you definitely don’t grow by staying comfortable.

The only way to figure out what works is to actually do things. You can use other people’s strategies as starting points, but no two businesses operate the same way. Losing that client made me realize I had to refine my systems, my rhythm, and my way of doing things. The only way to do that was to try, mess up, adjust, and try again.

This is also why comparison does more harm than good. You’re not running someone else’s business. You’re running yours. You’re not on their timeline. You’re on yours.

To quote one of my favorite scholars, Jake the Dog from Adventure Time, “Dude, suckin’ at something is the first step to being sorta good at something.”

And honestly? Losing that client was exactly that. My first step in figuring out how to get better.

You have to be willing to be “not great” at something long before you ever get good at it. So keep going. Try the things. Mess up a little. Learn a lot. Do the damn work.

That’s how you grow. Not perfectly, but consistently.

My Takeaways from Owning a Small Business

Running a business has been humbling to say the least.

I’ve stumbled, learned, grown, and reshaped myself in ways I never expected. And the truth is, I’m still learning every single day, just like every other entrepreneur out there.

But I wouldn't have it any other way. Entrepreneurship may not be for everyone, but I'm glad I tried it out because it's definitely for me.

If any part of my story resonated with you, or if you’re navigating your own messy, imperfect, beautifully human business journey, I hope you feel a little less alone in it.

And if you’re looking for support with your business next year, from someone who gets the ups, the downs, the learning curves, and the late-night “what am I even doing?” spirals, there's a spot for you on my 2026 Waitlist.

let’s grow your business together, one honest, imperfect step at a time.