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4 Lessons I Learnt in 4 Years as a Business Mentor
- By Gloria Kyengo
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Let Me Start By Sharing My Journey In To Online Business And Entrepreneurship...
In April 2020, right at the start of the pandemic, I made a bold decision that would change the course of my life. I quit my “stable” job as a Buying Manager at Burberry and ventured into the unpredictable world of entrepreneurship and online business by starting my own e-commerce and retail consultancy and mentoring business.
At 28 years old, I had very little knowledge about starting an online business. However, I knew my strengths and I knew what I enjoyed doing, so even though I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it, my skill set was highly transferable to other opportunities.
If I was good enough for Burberry, managing a £380 million business, surely I was good enough to help small businesses thrive, right?
Despite my confidence in my abilities, I soon found out that transitioning from a corporate environment to entrepreneurship came with its own set of challenges.
I faced imposter syndrome, anxiety, a lack of boundaries, and low self-worth. When I first started, I was the ultimate “yes” girl – saying yes to everything, even when it didn’t serve me. I undervalued my services, took on projects that weren’t aligned with my values, and struggled to see the true value I brought to the table.
I didn’t know another way to be. I had a vision, but I lacked a clear path to achieving it. More importantly, I didn’t have a support system – a business coach or people around me who’d already done what I wanted to do to help me expand my mindset and realize what was truly possible.
Four years into online business, I am not the same person I was when I first started.
Thankfully, along the way, I learned some invaluable lessons that have reshaped my approach to both business and life. These lessons are crucial for anyone navigating the complex world of e-commerce entrepreneurship, especially those who are just starting out so I am going to share them with you in case you’re planning to start an online business sometime soon.
Lesson 1: Understanding My Worth As A Business Coach - THE HARD WAY!
One of the most transformative lessons I’ve learned is understanding and embracing my worth and value as an online business coach.
I started off charging <£30 per hour as an online business coach in the e-commerce niche. I was working out my pricing based on what I’d been paid in my full-time job as a Buying Manager at Burberry, as I had no other reference.
In hindsight, this was a TERRIBLE way to work out how to price my offers. When you’re a service business entrepreneur, you don’t get paid holidays, time off, you’re paying your own taxes, no sick pay – you have to factor all of these things in.
But I wasn’t. I did not know how to price myself in a value proposition.
And wow – how much money I must have lost in that first 6 months in business is crazy to me looking back, but ultimately undercharging got me my first clients, those clients gave me testimonials and referrals and from there I learnt my first lesson.
How to charge my worth as a business coach.
When you’re offering a service to clients pricing based on time DOES NOT WORK. You need to price based on value you could bring to their business. I had been working for 11 years before I became a business coach, but yet my initial pricing didn’t reflect the fact I’d gone through so many years of training and experience at some of the worlds biggest fashion brands.
I can now clearly see the value I bring to my clients. Having assisted over 100 online business founders in launching and growing their businesses, I’ve seen firsthand the impact of my experience and expertise on their businesses, which has allowed me to build more confidence in my coaching abilities – so that I can now clearly see the value I bring to my clients and price accordingly.
Whether it’s through my online business coaching 1:1 sessions or my signature programme The Freedom Model Method, the strategies and insights I provide have helped businesses launch, scale, and increase their profitability.
I’m now unapologetically confident in the value of my services. I will never work for free, and I won’t offer discounts just because someone doesn’t have the budget for my help.
This is a significant shift from where I started, and it’s a lesson every entrepreneur needs to learn.
Knowing your worth and pricing accordingly is essential to building a sustainable and profitable online business.
Lesson 2: Setting Boundaries and Saying No To Clients As A Business Coach
Most of my life I had no ideas setting boundaries and saying no was something I was “allowed” to do. In my job as a fashion buyer for some of the worlds biggest brands saying no to my boss wasn’t really a thing. You were expected to do as you were told, stay late, and complete the work at all costs – your health and wellbeing came last.
Looking back again this was CRAZY that I didn’t know when to say no, but that was my reality for a very long time. I learnt how to set boundaries and say no in year 2 of business and since then, setting boundaries has been a game-changer for me.
As a self-proclaimed people pleaser back then, I REALLY struggled with the idea of saying no, often taking on projects that weren’t aligned with my values or long-term goals. I feared that turning down opportunities would make me less secure financially or limit my growth potential. However, I soon realized that saying no to what doesn’t serve me is crucial for my well-being and my business’s success.
Now, I am seriously selective about who I work with and only take on clients that align with my vision and values. In turn this has allowed me to show up better for my coaching clients, providing them with the best possible service.
For those navigating their entrepreneurial journey, learning to say no is powerful. It allows you to focus on what truly matters and avoid burnout, which is all too common among online business founders.
Lesson 3: Personal Development Is Crucial As An Entrepreneur
Something I did not expect was how much my entrepreneurship journey has been one of HUGE transformative personal growth.
In the early days of my business, I woke up every day with anxiety, frequently battling panic attacks. The constant pressure to succeed, coupled with the fear of failure, left me feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. I burnt out way too many times than I’d like to admit.
The thing is – when you’re a one-man band, anxious, burned out, and overwhelmed founder of an online business, your business suffers. If you’re not ok, generally your business is not going to be either, as it’s basically an extension of you. If you can’t show up for yourself – how do you expect to show up for your clients?
So I had to make some BIG changes to sort myself out. Through various trial-and-error approaches (meditation, breathwork, yoga, reiki, journaling, sleep hygiene and diet), I’ve learned to manage and reduce my anxiety, allowing me to approach my business with a clear and focused mind.
Personal development is just as important as professional development. Investing time in improving yourself, your knowledge, your mental health, developing coping mechanisms, and cultivating a positive mindset can have a profound impact on your business.
Entrepreneurs who take care of their mental well-being are better equipped to handle the ups and downs of running a business. This is a lesson I often share with my clients, emphasizing the importance of balance and self-care in the entrepreneurial journey.
Lesson 4: You're Going To Have To Trust The Process
Perhaps the most important lesson I’ve learned is to trust the process.
You might have a strategy, you probably have an end goal and you might have a really clear vision of how that’s going to go. But the thing is in the world of entrepreneurship, things don’t always go as planned. Even when you can see your vision clearly, the path to achieving it may not unfold the way you expected. This has happened to me SO MANY TIMES.
And do you know what – it’s ok. It’s all part of the process. The best thing we can do as online business owners is understand that failures and pivots are lessons. If something doesn’t turn out exactly how we expected, we MUST LEARN from it, instead of being thrown off by it. That’s how you build momentum.
I’ve lost count of the amount of times my business has changed, pivoted, failed in ways I never imagined and through it all I’ve learned to trust that everything happens for a reason, whether it’s to teach me a lesson or steer me in a better direction.
This mindset shift has been invaluable in helping me navigate challenges without getting discouraged, and that’s why in everything I do with my clients now as an online business coach I start off by working with them on their mindset and unblocking any limiting beliefs.
Trusting the process means accepting that you are exactly where you need to be, even when things aren’t going as expected. It doesn’t mean not taking action, but it does mean sense-checking in that action is actually driving you forward or keeping your stuck. It also means not comparing yourself to others, but instead focusing on your own journey and growth.
If you’re struggling with trusting the process, working with a business coach life me can really provide the support and reassurance you need to stay on track regardless of what challenges are thrown at you. I have a couple of ways you can work with me. Check out my services here!
What Lessons Are You Going To Adopt In Your Online Business?
By applying these lessons
- Knowing your worth and pricing accordingly
- Setting boundaries
- Focusing on personal development
- Trusting the process
You’ll be better equipped to navigate the challenges of online business and entrepreneurship.
These principles are not just theoretical; they are practical tools that can help you build a resilient and successful business. If you are looking for support in your online business entrepreneurship journey, you can check out all my FREE business resources here!
