Truthfully, it feels a little strange to celebrate anything right now. Our lives have looked drastically different since mid-March, and both professionally and personally, things are shifting and changing by the day. On the other hand, it feels like the perfect time to talk about the anniversary of Take Flight.
After all, it’s a leap of fate starting any business, and the unknown remains part of small business ownership forever. There is also a steep learning curve and things pop up (almost daily!) that you would never expect. Owning a business means juggling decisions to be made, records to keep, documents to create, meetings, brainstorming sessions, strategy, and expenses. So. many. expenses. But as March came and went, it happened: Take Flight Social Media Consulting is now in its fifth year! After four years, I can say I still find owning a company exhilarating and challenging, but I am still learning as I go.
It’s okay to ask for help
I can’t do this alone. Take Flight is not a huge company, nor do I have my sights set on it being a huge company. With a small team, I know we can (and do) create expert work and build little by little, while keeping impeccable standards.
It’s okay to fire a client — or have a client fire you.
When Take Flight started, it felt like every client was the perfect client and that we could be the perfect company for every client, but that’s simply not true. Change is good, and relationships most definitely change and evolve over time, even and especially business ones. Sometimes a client isn’t for you anymore and vice versa. Maybe you’ve taken them as far as you can, or their needs have outgrown your resources. Facing this and speaking up about it is extremely difficult, but necessary for the good of the business, your headspace, and workload.
The client who pays the least will ask the most
And that’s all I’ll say about that.
You do not have to be on call 24-7
Not every email or text must be responded to immediately. When you are a small business owner, boundaries must to be set between professional and personal time. Plus, you never want to be hasty. Some replies require careful thought and responding to them with only part of your attention on the communication can create more work for you to untangle later.
Business opportunities exist everywhere — a lot of opportunities
We’ve been very fortunate that most of our business has been a complete fluke. Word of mouth and referrals have built such a large part of our clientele. However, I know if I had the time (like gobs and gobs of extra time), I could network and build a much bigger business. I am never in a public situation where someone doesn’t share, “I need social media help. I have this side hustle/ great big idea/small business I’m trying to grow, and I don’t know where to begin when it comes to promoting myself.” I love these conversations and many of them are how we’ve gained our clients! Keep your ears open wherever you are, and you’ll see opportunities emerge.
Our services aren’t free — and yours shouldn’t be either
I love talking about social media and sharing my insight, but I have learned the hard way that I need to charge for my time and knowledge. I believe this to be true across the board. No matter what your business or brand may be, it’s easy to get caught up in sharing. After all, you’re doing this because you love it! But working for free makes it harder to fit paid opportunities into your schedule, and that just leads to frustration and burnout.
Always go above and beyond
There’s always room for a little extra, whether you’re talking about specialized packaging, extra kindness in your interactions, or delivering before a deadline. By over delivering, I believe people will remember, respect, and entrust their business with Take Flight.
My daughter, Lola at my “desk”, the dining room table in the early days.
Cheers to Take Flight Social Media Consulting — and to our community
When you start a small business, small goals can have a big impact. As many home-based businesses begin, my office was the dining room table. I now have a dedicated space, and I didn’t realize how important that would be in creating boundaries between my personal and professional life. Someone once asked me if it was worth it. I correctly assumed they meant being a small business owner: struggling with the day-to-day minutiae, taking on clients for little pay, dealing with demands, and struggling with work/life balance. Without hesitating, I responded, “yes!”. Enthusiastically, I might add.
I started a business I am proud of and can’t wait to see where year five takes us. I am grateful for our clients, our incredible team, and of course our families for putting up with us, our deadlines and supporting our dream. As I sit in this space, celebrating how far Take Flight has come and imagining where it can go, I want to leave our amazing community with one final thought, a quote that’s gotten me through some of the more challenging times over the last four years:
Your reputation is more important than your paycheck, and your integrity is worth more than your career.
- (Ryan Freitas, About.me co-founder)