50 Top Tips For Starting Your Online Business
My friend Rachel knows: You deserve the life you desire!
When it comes to business advice, there’s nothing like the wisdom of someone who has walked the path before you; someone who has navigated the ups and downs of running their own show and learned a thing or two along the way. That’s why today I’m sharing 50 fabulous tips from successful entrepreneurs, as gleaned from my popular Studio Talk 5 interviews from my previous website.
From networking and finance to mindset and self care, there are nuggets of gold here for business owners of all kinds. Enjoy!
1. Tap into your network first.
The people in your network are a valuable resource, so treat them nicely, show them you care, and know when to ask them for help on your journey.
2. Build strategically, ethically, and legally.
When you put integrity and people at the heart of your business, you’ll always win.
3. Get clear on what you’re not.
When you first start your business it’s natural to first try and ‘fit in’. Given my rather abrupt leap into web design, I certainly felt I needed to earn my place by showing I was ‘one of them’, from the highly-styled IG feed (which I got nowhere with) to the ‘tips and tricks’ blog posts (which I never wrote).
But to hone in on your unique space in the online world, you have to keep asking yourself how you're different, not only when it comes to the people or brands you don’t like, but (especially) those that you love as well. Getting clear on that difference will help you get clear on your unique brand identity, from your voice to your style to your purpose.
4. Make space for yourself.
Early on in my entrepreneurial journey, I visualized a jam-packed iCal as one of my images for success. It meant I was ‘wanted’, doing good work, and making a good living. Space on my iCal meant the opposite! That visual must have really stuck with me as I soon found myself so choc-a-bloc with client work that I’d squeezed myself out of my own business. I wasn’t giving myself the time and space to reflect, rest, recalibrate, get inspired, play, let my business breathe. This meant that, firstly, I was overwhelmed and depleted and not doing my most inspired work, and secondly that I was really just being reactive and treading water rather than moving my business in a direction that I felt in true alignment with.
When we’re ‘living our passion’ we often think that prioritizing work is prioritizing ourselves, but it really isn’t the same. You are your business's greatest asset - make sure you get all the physical, emotional and creative nourishment you need.
5. Just start.
It won’t be perfect. It may not even be pretty. But it is a step in the right direction. Since I began working in Squarespace, I completely overhauled my client onboarding and offboarding processes. You have to see what works and what doesn’t and go from there. Value progress over perfection.
6. Run a lean business.
If you already have a computer, web design doesn’t require a lot of monetary investment. Choose systems that are free or cheap when you start. Use HelloSign for contracts instead of a full-blown automated system like Dubsado. (I did this for years before paying for software.) Use Wave for accounting instead of Quickbooks. (I’m actually still using Wave!). Invest in something only when it solves a problem.
7. Have at least 3-4 portfolio pieces ready for your website when you launch.
This one was a bit challenging for me even, but it’s really hard for people to hire you if you don’t have work examples ready to show.
8. Make sure you have a great project management system.
Especially if you’re going to be self-employed. I have no idea where I would be if I didn’t have mine.
9. Get enough sleep.
It sounds silly, but enough sleep helps the mind and body. You’ll be more productive, less stressed, and your creativity will prosper. I learned this the hard way! You never want to experience the burnout.
10. It’s okay to say no.
The thought of a new client is exciting, but sometimes they aren’t always the best fit for what you do. If you’re not passionate about the project or don’t think you can reach the client’s expectation, it’s okay to say no. Simply let the client know that you might not be the best fit, but refer them to a friend or colleague who might be. Don’t leave them high and dry – you still want to grow and maintain a positive reputation.
Cody Juhnke
Website
11. Find a single expensive problem you can solve.
This is the heart of a good market position and is easier said than done, but have real conversations with real business owners and LISTEN. You’ll start to see trends.
12. When you find that expensive problem, don’t be afraid to go narrow with an industry specialty.
For more on that, binge-listen to the whole first season of Philip Morgan’s The Self-Made Expert Podcast (formerly the Consulting Pipeline Podcast)—episodes 1-24. Queue them up.
13. You can’t do it alone!
I learned that from my first business. This time, after I had a few projects launched, I invested in a coach (Sarah Moon) who specializes in helping set up website businesses. I’m in a handful of very helpful communities that have been sources of support and business.
14. Get comfortable with sales.
Not just marketing, but brass tacks sales: Following up with leads, asking for the business, building a referral engine, being forthright and direct when people ask you what you do, etc. Without sales you don’t have a business.
15. Find your gift and align your purpose with it.
When my clients work with me they get a Copywriter and a Web Designer. Writing has always come naturally to me. I love the process and the feeling of words flowing effortlessly through my fingertips as I create.
I have aligned my gift of writing with my passion of supporting other small business owners on their journey. By following my heart, using my gifts, and aligning my purpose, I feel accomplished and fulfilled every time I design a site and deliver it my clients.
16. Be of service to others.
Always, always, always be of service to everyone you work with. That’s it.
Erin Neumann
Website
17. Walk away regularly!
Literally and figuratively, put the mouse down! Leave your desk. Leave your home—it's absolutely vital for clear thinking. Business problems, design ideas, bugs, etc., aren’t solved best by toiling at your desk for 10 hours a day.
18. One key ally is worth more than 1000 followers.
Find and value people who will pass you work. This is crucial if you don’t want to fall foul of losing enormous amounts of time and energy on social media doing your own marketing. Are you starting a business to spend all your time on Instagram? Or to get interesting and challenging work that gives you a sense of purpose? Being recommended saves you hours of marketing, so identifying key people who align with your business and can pass you work is gold.
Frances O’Reilly
19. Experiment.
If your client’s projects aren’t lighting you up, experiment with personal design projects and share them online! I use Dribble and Instagram for this, but I also do other creative things that I love and don’t share them as often either, such as calligraphy, and a lot of typography experiments (I’m obsessed with typography!).
20. Stop comparing.
Comparisonitis and The Imposter Complex are very real things. It’s not fair to yourself to compare yourself to others success or talent. There’s literally nothing beneficial from doing so. You can only keep working on yourself and invest in your own mental wellbeing. I highly recommend Tanya Geisler’s Starring Role Playbook for those letting doubt stand between you and your dreams.
21. Be patient.
It was 3 or 4 months before I even had my first client. I spent so much time laying the groundwork that it seemed like I would never have a paying client! But I did, and all that groundwork paid off.
22. Offer help for free or low cost pricing at the very beginning to get some work in your portfolio.
I started out doing the website for my tennis club and that is what started my career as a Squarespace web designer. I learned so much by diving into that project that I can apply to all future projects.
23. Don’t be afraid to say no to small projects or weird scope projects.
Once you get into a groove with your business, it’ll become easy to say no to smaller projects, since you’ve got a steady cash flow or client base coming to you for help. Too often, in the beginning, I was taking tiny jobs that ended up being a lot more work at the end of the day. Those clients got a huge deal, and I had a lot of work to do for a lot less than I should have been paid.
24. Invest in your equipment.
This might seem like a given, but I know a lot of people (business owners included!) who try to skate by with computers or gear they have, or who try to save money by getting something less expensive. If you need it to do your job, do your research and invest in it! This is one of the biggest reasons I use Squarespace in general, as a bunch of the other basic website builders out there don’t set your business up for the long haul. Just a few days ago I sent my work iMac out for upgrades. My gear at the time was slowing my productivity, and I needed it to be in tip-top shape to do my work. Don’t second guess it. (Plus, most of the time you can write it off as a business investment.)
Justin Mabee
Website
25. Listen to your spider senses.
Sometimes you just know from the first couple of emails that a client is going to be difficult. Sometimes something just tells you not to take this job on. Listen to your gut and walk away!
26. Hone your craft.
This may sound harsh but just because anyone can build a Squarespace website, it doesn’t mean anyone can be a Squarespace designer – at least not without a bit of groundwork. I’d encourage you to spend a LOT of time on Squarespace, read blog articles, hang out in Squarespace Facebook groups, learn some basic CSS. The more you know, the more comfortable you will be when communicating with clients and the better fees you’ll be able to charge. If your business isn’t Squarespace design, the same concept applies. Take time to make yourself an expert.
Kayleigh Noelle
Website
27. Start small and create incremental goals.
It’s tempting to want to go all-in when you start your business. I wanted to, but it’s not always practical. If you’re starting whilst working a full or part-time job, take on one project a month, or whatever feels right, and build up from there. Set yourself achievable but challenging income and client goals and then break down the steps to getting there so you don’t overwhelm yourself.
28. Educate yourself, but not too much.
Taking online courses for business and design has been really game-changing for me, but only when I selected the correct courses, and actually followed through on the work. When I first started out I was guilty of consuming too much content or signing up for courses I never completed. Mostly I was avoiding doing the work because I was a bit scared. Find a couple of courses that are relevant to what you need to know, complete them, then implement them.
29. Start with strategy.
Many people have things like a logo or business cards at the top of their 'New Business To-Do List'. I understand that because the visual part of your brand/business is very exciting! However, these things should actually be near the end of that to-do list. Establishing your business and brand strategy should come first because this is the foundation of your business. You need to define your offers, your audience, and your value… and many other things!
30. Haters will hate. This says everything about them and nothing about you.
You will probably find that some of the people closest to you will be the least supportive of your biggest goals and dreams. Not everyone will be excited about your decision to go after your dream of starting a business. Many will be a little jealous. And some will just not understand. They don't understand your desire to work for yourself, just like you don't understand why they would want to work for someone else. People are different, and that's ok! However, if your immediate circle is not cheering you on (or if they are actively being unsupportive), find yourself a circle of people who will—namely other people in business who have even bigger goals than you do!
31. Have a safety net.
I don’t think I could have kept going if we didn’t have money saved up in the beginning. It was scary, but at least we knew that we could keep going for a while before we had to panic and quit what we were doing and go back to an office job.
Budgeting was something I resisted for a while, mostly because I had never learned how to do it properly. Saving as well - I had just been in the workforce for a couple of years and would go over budget quite a bit But I had a clear goal that motivated me. Even saving 10% of your pay check each month makes a difference in the end and I was privileged to be able to be able to do that for a while.
32. Don’t compare yourself with others.
It took me a long time to stop comparing myself to others and to be honest, I probably still do it a bit. When I started I kept on seeing those “Make six figures in months!” blog articles online and felt like a complete failure. I couldn’t understand how they did it without help or money on the side. I kept looking at designs online and couldn’t stop telling myself that I would never be as good as those people online. That’s why I quit Instagram for a while, it was becoming toxic for me and made me very depressed.
I now remind myself that everyone is different and that’s a good thing! People will hire you for you and your work, so stop trying to emulate others.
Maïa Hariton
33. Treat yourself as the most important client and spend the first hour of your day on your own business.
This is one of the best pieces of advice that I have received. We all get super busy with client work throughout the day that sometimes we forget to focus on our own business. This is why you should treat your own business as your most important client. The reason being is that we really focus on our client work without focusing on tasks that will help our own business grow. This could include: writing the blog post you have putting off, answering those unread emails, attending a workshop, etc. If you set aside one hour in the morning to work on your own business before jumping into your client work you will start to notice results.
34. Escape the 9-5 mindset.
This might be the hardest tip to follow and something I still struggle with to this day. One of the reasons I left my 9-5 was because I was tired of having to show up to an office every single day and having to sit in front of a computer for 8-10 hours at a time. It felt too much of a routine that I wanted to escape. Now that I am a freelancer and set my own hours, sometimes I feel guilty if it is 2pm and I am taking some time to go on a walk or read a book. However, something I keep reminding myself is that I left the 9-5 for a reason and I don’t want to bring that same lifestyle to my own business. Yes, I really enjoy the work, but I also enjoy taking breaks as well.
Max Pete
35. Learning to read client feedback without emotion is key.
Remember they probably have never done this before, so if they are frustrated. Stop, pause and listen to why they are frustrated, it's probably something simple that is easy to explain or fix.
36. Do your finances.
You can't hate spreadsheets, you gotta love them. And if you can't get yourself there then you MUST hire someone. How much needs to be saved for that quarterly tax bill, did you correctly apply that Target run receipt?
37. Get out there and network in the real world.
Facebook and social media platforms have their place, but sometimes you find negativity there. I find getting out and meeting people in the real world is much better and gives you a more first-hand experience of dealing with people face to face. I am a member of a local business networking group close to where I live, and it has done wonders for my business and my confidence.
38. Collaborate as much as you can with copywriters, photographers, graphic designers and other website designers/developers, especially if you work alone.
It is challenging to produce everything needed for a website, and reaching out to others with skills you don't have can be beneficial. When you work together, you can learn a great deal from others, and you may even discover talents you didn't realize you had.
Michael Collett
Website
39. Understand your worth.
This doesn’t mean go double your rates necessarily, but understand where you are on your journey. Just beginning? Intermediate? Expert-level? Knowing where you are can help you set a roadmap for your future, determine what further education you might need, and help you define who you want to be.
40. Release fear.
So much easier said than done! I am extremely adventurous when it comes to learning new tools, gaining knowledge, and starting projects. I didn’t realize until this year, however, how much fear I had in other areas of my life, such as promoting myself boldly and proudly. My Instagram and pricing suffered because of that fear and the imposter attitude I had.
41. Get to know your ideal client.
Everything you do in your business should be for them and with them in mind. Once you have your ideal client nailed down, every decision you have to make becomes easier. You’ll truly be going in circles until you get this straight, and while picking one person instead of trying to appeal to everyone feels scary, it’s key to success. They say ’the riches are in the niches’ and ‘if you try to appeal to everyone, you’ll end up appealing to no one’. It couldn’t be more true.
42. Focus on building an email list.
You’ll never have to launch to an empty room if you do so.
Paige Brunton
Website
43. Breathe.
You might have a slow month, or be waiting for that client to deliver content… I had to learn to just take a step back, fully enjoy being around my wife and kids and free my mind. A nice run mid-day or a long hot shower helps as well.
44. Invest and be kind.
We at FuseHub Creative Group want to give back so every year we work with one client in the non-profit field and support them in their journey to develop their website, (re)brand, increase their online presence, etc. It just feels right to do that and we will continue to do that as long as we can.
45. Nail down your process.
I cannot emphasize this enough! When you're confident in how you approach your work, clients feel it and are confident in you and your advice. I have every single step of everything we do mapped out in MindMeister, which sounds bonkers, but I never have questions about what the next steps are, because it's all documented. This means that I always have answers at the tip of my fingers when people have questions, which makes me much more sane. We also have all of our forms, contracts, canned emails, you name it, in Dubsado, so all those components are easily accessible. I can't even measure the hours we save each week because of all this.
46. Evaluate every project after it's finished.
What worked, what didn't? Did you like this client? Their industry? Listen to yourself and begin developing a sense of what you do best and what makes you happiest. Say yes to those projects and no to those that don't fit that mold, as you are able financially.
47. Break it down.
Beginning your own business can feel and be overwhelming. Break down the steps you need to get started and prioritize. I recommend creating a list of only 5 items that must be completed each day with the first item being the top priority. As a single mom, I have learned to allow for the unknown on any given day. Limiting your to-do list provides you space to shift your focus without falling behind.
48. Be open.
When I look back at my career and experiences, each choice I have made has brought me to where I am today. Every new opportunity that I said yes to, has provided me with a unique point of view and the ability to do what I love. Had I not been open to change, to alter my plan, I would not be running an agency right now with the ability to call the shots from day to day over my hours, work, travel, and most importantly, being able to be with my daughter whenever she needs me.
49. Simplify.
I spent so much time trying to figure out a CMS that worked for me. From Dubsado to Asana, I tried it all. But I've found keeping things simple is best. I use Google Docs for my client worksheets, HelloSign for contracts, my website for feedback forms, and Quickbooks for invoicing.
50. Don’t be afraid to go against the grain.
You don't have to do what everyone else in your industry is doing. Be YOU and share your unique qualities. That's what will set you and your business apart.
Two Bonus Tips!
51. Create more than you consume.
This is definitely something I struggle with. There is an abundance of amazing information out there for creatives. Of course, I want to learn it all! But the more I try to learn, the more I become overwhelmed and lack the time to follow through with what I’m learning. I have actually found that if I just take in a little bit at a time and then learn and practice from that, I feel more empowered and confident. It’s impossible to learn it all. And really it’s not necessary. Give yourself the time and space to learn along the way. That is also part of the journey!
52. Perfect is what you make of it.
My name is Taryn and I am a perfectionist. I am now redefining perfectionism to be a strength and not a weakness. Since there is no end to what is perfect, I am finding that perfect is what you make of it. It can be perfectly messy. It’s perfectly okay to just go after your dreams and goals with what you can. It will always change anyway. You will always grow and learn. But if you wait for everything to be too perfect, you will miss it all.
