Lessons from the Inside: 5 things I Wish I Knew Before Starting My Business
Starting a business is often painted as the ultimate path to freedom - freedom of time, freedom to create, freedom to live on your terms. And while that can be true for many, there’s a lot that doesn’t get talked about, especially when it comes to the backend of entrepreneurship.
Looking back, there is so much I learned that I really wish someone had told me before I started this journey. With the utmost positivity and not to scare me off, but to help me prepare.
If you’re building something of your own, or thinking about it, I'm hoping these reflections will help you.
1. Your Emotional State Will Affect Your Business
No one really emphasizes this enough: your business is a mirror of your inner world. If you’re overwhelmed, anxious, or doubting yourself, it shows, whether it’s in your messaging, your energy on a call, or how you price your offerings.
Managing my emotions wasn’t just about personal development, it was business strategy. The days I felt clear, calm, and connected were the days everything flowed. The days I pushed through stress or ignored how I was feeling? That’s when things felt stuck, heavy, and harder than they needed to be.
2. The Overwhelm Is Real (and You Can’t Predict It)
No matter how many courses or podcasts I consumed, nothing could’ve fully prepared me for the mental load of running a business for the first time. There’s strategy, admin, marketing, planning, decision-making, and you're often doing it all at once, wearing five different hats before lunch.
What made it harder? The pressure I put on myself to “get it right” immediately. What helped? Learning to regulate my nervous system, get support, and approach overwhelm with curiosity instead of perfectionism.
3. It Can Feel Really Isolating
I didn’t expect the loneliness, because I was always self-disciplined and also an introvert. When you’re used to working in a team or office, collaboratively, suddenly being solo can feel like shouting into the void. There were days I deeply craved someone who “got it,” someone to bounce ideas off of or just say, “Yup, I’ve been there too” or “This is how I navigated this.” I didn't realize how much this affected my productivity and just how much I needed this.
Community, mentorship, and emotional support became non-negotiables. You don’t need to do it alone, and you’re not meant to.
4. Work-Life Balance Isn’t Automatic Just Because You’re “Your Own Boss”
Before I started, I thought working for myself would mean slow mornings, long walks, full control of my time, and immense passion daily. What I didn’t anticipate was how easy it would be to blur the boundaries between work and life when everything was riding on my shoulders.
It took intention (and emotional work) to create real balance. Guilt for resting, fear of missing out, pressure to constantly “do more”, all of that had to be unlearned.
5. Inner Blocks Will Sneak In and Stall You, Until You Face Them
At some point, I hit a plateau. I couldn’t grow the way I wanted to, even though I was doing all the “right” things. As I realized later upon reflection, there were old patterns running in the background around visibility, money, success, and self-worth that I hadn’t even noticed or given space for. It didn't help that I bulldozed through while recovering from chronic health conditions, which were interweaved.
That’s where the real work began. Once I got curious about the blocks behind the plateau (and started clearing them with tools like EFT and aligned coaching), things began to shift. Not just in my business, but in how I felt about myself and what I wanted to achieve (instead of what I was programmed to spend my energy on).
If You’re In It, You’re Not Alone
Running a business is one of the most expansive and confronting things you can do. It will stretch you, push you, and invite you to grow in ways you never expected.
But here's the truth I wish I’d heard more often in the early days:
It’s not just about what you’re building, it’s about who you’re becoming along the way. That is the most beautiful and treacherous thing about going on your own.
And you don’t have to figure it all out by yourself.