I started this business in 2020 with a broken keyboard and a big vision for my future. One that’d take myself and partner out of the teaching field and into opportunities for growth and adventure, and freedom. 

And just a year and a half later the KC Brand grew enough to retire Dale from his teaching job and let us choose anywhere on the map we wanted to live. (Spoiler Alert: We chose the sub-tropical oasis of Mauritius (an island nation in the Indian Ocean) and now spend our days paddle boarding in the turquoise waters by morning while I support industry-leading clients in the afternoon). 

In March 2022 the KC Brand celebrated two years in business – and damn has it been an incredible, life-changing ride. Seeing how much my business has grown in such a short amount of time has been a privilege and a joy, and has also left me feeling reflective in all of the hard-won lessons I’ve learned along the way.

To mark the occasion, I’m breaking down the 24 lessons I learned over 24 months running a multi-disciplinary business. 

So without further ado, let’s dive in…

Lesson 1: You HAVE TO put your blinders up. 

Lesson 2: Hold your values closer than an adorable kitten. 

The online business world is like the Wild Wild West – you’ll see people doing anything and everything to sell to grow their businesses or to come off a certain way.

Don’t do that. 

Stay strong in your convictions and in your values. Hold them close to your heart and to the core of your business. Come back to them from time and time to ask yourself if you’re operating out of alignment with those values, and you can start to use them as a filter to judge decision making processes. 

Lesson 3: Go deep, then wide.

This is something that took me a little while to learn in business, but it cannot be more true. If you’re going to try to put your hand in all of the pies or spin a million plates in the air at once, eventually everything is going to crumble down. You will definitely not do a sufficient job at everything, that’s for sure. It’s much much better to own your expertise and focus on one core thing at one time.

Go narrow, then you can go wide later.

Lesson 4: Own your brilliance (and never forget it).

You have to believe in yourself more than anyone else – and this is especially true when interacting with clients and leads. People can feel your energy, especially if you’re marketing publicly and getting on sales calls talking to people. They need to feel that you embody confidence in what you do and the expertise in your offer. And if your audience believes it, clients will follow.

And we’re not talking about creating a fake-it-til-you-make-it mentality either – You should believe that you are a competent, intelligent, wonderful individual, because simply put, it’s true.

Lesson 5: Your brand is an e-x-p-e-r-i-e-n-c-e. 

Your brand isn’t physical and it’s definitely not an actual thing – Your brand is a feeling. One that encompasses all the ways your audience interacts with you.

So ask yourself, if your brand was magically transformed into a female embodiment overnight, what kind of personality would she have? Is she a quiet, studious, introverted girl in big moon shaped glasses that attracts people with her attention to detail? Is she an audacious, 7ft curse-word spewing machine that attracts clients with her bold confidence? 

Or is she, more than likely, something else entirely.

There’s no right or wrong, just make sure that whoever she turns out to be, she reflects your values – your core essence – and then assess how that feeling is being translated to those interacting with your brand.

Lesson 6: Be willing to unlearn what you were taught. 

We all exist within our own experiences. So if you came from a corporate setting where your boss was a bad role model, it’s important to unlearn what you were modeled and taught. It’s also important to redefine what things like leadership mean to you.

What does positive leadership look like? What type of culture would you like to create in a perfect version of your business? Once you identify it, go out, implement and execute.

This can be applied to a wide range of areas within your business as you continue to grow. So much unlearning needs to happen to find success on your own individual path.

Lesson 7: Ask for help. 

his could be from your family, a friend, a partner, or a business coach (And let me tell you, investing in a business coach is one of the best ways to get to next level implementation).

I attribute so much of my growth to working closely with a coach, and it’s something I’ll continue to do in my business. Having someone who has been where you’ve been and is operating where you want to go is invaluable, and a great way to continually expose yourself to new ideas and perspectives

Lesson 8: Prioritize yourself. You’re kind of important.

Prioritize yourself as a human outside of your business, because if you don’t have your health or wellbeing, you have nothing. Believe me, I learned that the hard way. Take care of yourself first, and always exercise healthy habits and boundaries.

Lesson 9: Instagram is just an app.

Get off it and out into the world – it’ll be there tomorrow. Enough said.

Plus, there are plenty more reliable marketing avenues that don’t have erratic, ever changing rules e.g. Email Marketing.

Lesson 10: Be generous with your knowledge.

Lots of people + particular “gurus” will tell you to teach the ‘what’ and not the ‘how’, but I wholeheartedly disagree. Yes, you can get a lot of first-time sales using the ‘what-only’’ strategy, but when people find that your content lacks the substance to actually help them, you can say goodbye to repeat + referral customers.

Even pure ‘How-to’ content is also now the bare-minimum, because it doesn’t have weight or value unless you’re also educating your audience on why it matters.

Note: This doesn’t mean giving away everything for free. But if you’re giving your audience quick, tangible wins using your expertise and insights, it makes them think, “Wow. If that was her free stuff, imagine how good her paid stuff is!” 

Then, just make sure you deliver maximum value on your paid offers.

Lesson 11: Set strong boundaries. 

We initially think of our clients when it comes to setting boundaries, which is wonderful. But don’t forget to set boundaries for yourself, too. Set an alarm so that when it goes off at 5:30pm, you stop working and go enjoy your hobbies or be with your family.

Set clear expectations for yourself, within your team, and with your client base so that everybody knows what’s expected. And don’t be afraid to reinforce them.

Remember, your life is not your business.

Lesson 12: Build a community around yourself. 

Entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey. Just like it takes a village to raise a child, the same can be said for a business. You can try to do it alone, but you’re pretty much guaranteeing yourself a harder journey than other entrepreneurs who connect, who network and who support each other. 

There is no greater power in business than finding your community of like-minded business women – working towards the same goals, facing the same challenges and able to offer unique solutions and insight to problems that can seem overwhelming when dealing with them alone.

Community is literally everything – find your people and get your instant support network.

And that’s it for Part 1! 

These 12 things are essential to running a successful, rewarding business. But, alas, if only just reading these lessons was enough to make change happen (Here comes the teacher in me…)

My challenge for you is to pick one of these lessons and make a plan to ACT on it. What will you change about your business this week to grow and improve from reading these lessons?

Big or small, it doesn’t matter – just make sure it’s something.

***

Watch this space next Monday for Part 2 of 24 Pivotal Lessons learned in 24 Months of Business. Even better, hold yourself accountable for making positive change in your business by DM-ing me with your chosen change @krystle.church. No joke, these DMs make my day!

Not sure what to write? You can copy and paste:

Hi Krystle,

I read your 24 Lessons in 24 Months blog and have decided to…