So, you decided to start your own business.

You hopped online to find some information and splashed across every Pinterest board and on the internet in general, you find a lot of business advice.

Everything from how to start your business to getting clients to focusing on projects, organising systems, and being profit-focused to how to leave your full-time job, there are many stories about everyone’s experiences, vividly described and passionately told.

I love a good share, and like most business owners, I consumed a TON of how to’s before I started my business. It’s the Information Age, it’s available - primarily for free, and I’m not lost on the fact that this is probably the one time in history that we have this kind of access! It’s incredible, I know.

But let this one thing be said: Your business is not like any other business - and YOU are not like anyone else. So when it comes to taking advice from other business owners whose own life experiences and capabilities might be completely different from yours, it’s hard to use a cookie-cutter formula that will work the same way for you as it did for someone else.

The first year of building a business is about establishing your own unique connection with your audience and using every tool in your arsenal to go from potential business idea to viable, profitable business. While this gap is filled with a lot of unknowns, and there are a lot of moving parts, with the right amount of customer research and a lean approach towards building your product / service, it’s completely possible to launch without burning out or feeling out of your depths.

You might already have these things below set up - I’m sharing what’s available as a custom tool for your business: When I first started my business, I had absolutely nothing except for the deep belief and confidence in the services I was offering.

1. Seek out mentorship opportunities

Having a mentor when you have no experience of where to begin with building a business is a life saver. Bouncing ideas, creating opportunities for mutual growth, asking the difficult questions and gleaning from their experience - something that I would highly recommend. Mentors can connect you to industry leaders, introduce you to local events, shine a light on what you should or shouldn’t prioritise - and hey! You might just make a lifelong friend, too.

2. Business advisory services for custom solutions and ongoing accountability

Most start up business advisory services in Sydney are supported by Government funding which means, you possibly have the chance to get some sessions for free / at a discount. Bundle it up and make the most of it! The advice you get here and the support is something you

3. Coworking spaces / working groups

Haymarket HQ is a place I will treasure forever for their support and honest conversations, encouragement and accountability during the first couple of years of building my business in Sydney. The camaraderie and friendships built here are truly unique and I feel lucky that I was given an opportunity to be part of this amazing group of people. Trying out a few coworking spaces or entrepreneurial working groups can make the business building journey a little less isolating!

4. Business coaching

Coaching for something specific in your business - for example; how to market your product, or how to build confidence when pitching, or creating the deck for your next investor pitch creates immediate results because of the specificity of the information provided and the support given during the coaching session.

Live sessions, group discussions (if you’re in a group for coaching) and feedback are normally a part of coaching - it brings new confidence when launching or fine tuning your product or service, especially if you’re in the process of iterating it for the next stage of business growth.

5. Courses suited to your stage of business

We now have courses on every single topic on earth from how to build a responsive website, to creating social media strategy, to developing your marketing funnels. Make the most of it and learn. It’s going to play a big part in helping you execute!

Business information is great, and one thing’s for sure: You can learn a lot from genuine stories about genuine, bold humans who took the leap and made things happen. But the nuanced, intutive-led, inner workings of your own unique business? Those moves are yours, and yours alone.

I hope this shines a light in a small way on the distinction between learning from other’s and learning from your own journey. You can often glean gems of inspiration from the former, but the treasure lies in the path that is yours and yours alone.