3 Lessons In 3 Years

This week got me thinking about when I started out and the three lovely years of TBLC - the ups and downs, the small and big wins, and everything it takes to keep a company up and running.

So today, I wanted to write to you about 3 lessons I’ve learned in the last three years that can be helpful for you if you’re just starting out (Trust me, there's a lot more haha, but I want to talk to you about these three today)

1. Work-Life Balance

As creatives, we love what we do and sometimes end up working 24/7 because it doesn’t feel like work.

There have been times where I’ve been so heavily absorbed in my work that I’m not aware of anything that’s happening around me, and I've spent very little time with friends and family which is not sustainable and can eventually lead to burnout.

It’s essential to create healthy boundaries and have a balanced life.

For me, the first step to do this was to stop working on weekends, that way I can rewind and be energized for the upcoming week.

Another thing that I’ve done recently is to have a separate WORK PHONE so all communication with clients goes through that.

2. Money Money Money

For the longest time, I’ve made the mistake of not focusing on analyzing my revenue streams.

A. P&L: Keep a check on your P&L, you want to know your numbers inside out. Doing a monthly check will help you understand what’s working in your business and what’s not so you can pay time and attention accordingly.

B. Overheads: Keep a track of your overheads, you want to keep them as low as possible

C. Budgeting: Keeping a long-time plan in mind, you want to allocate your funds.

D. Salary: It's also important that you take out a salary from your revenue and cover your expenses in that.

3. Learn to Say NO

I’ve been there, I know it!

As a people pleaser myself, it can get hard to say no to projects. I’ve burnt my fingers several times by taking up projects when I was already overbooked. Sometimes I also took up projects that I had a feeling I didn’t have the experience to complete.

All of this because I didn’t know how to say NO! And it eventually caused a lot of stress and burnout. Now I have a team of course but when I started out I was running a ONE MAN show - Marketing, social media, photography, and most importantly CALLIGRAPHY! And of course, I loved every bit of it but it certainly gets exhausting if you don’t take a break.

I know it can get nerve-wracking when you're starting out but take it from someone who's been through all of that - the magic is in the process.

Enjoy your journey and keep an open mind to new learnings and experiences!