Starting My Entrepreneur Journey: A Step-by-Step Guide for New Business Owners
Starting this entrepreneurial journey will be a rollercoaster of experimentation, decision-making, and valuable lessons. Like many aspiring business owners, I’ve set a goal for myself to stay consistent in the many phases of uncertainty, trial, and error to finally settle on a direction that feels right for me. In this post, I want to share the beginning steps I took, the industries I explored, and the decisions that will ultimately shape my entrepreneurial path. Whether you're just starting out or still figuring things out, I hope my experience can offer some guidance and inspiration for your own journey.
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Figuring Out What I Want to Do
One of the most challenging parts of becoming an entrepreneur is figuring out exactly what business you want to pursue. I knew I wanted to be my own boss, but narrowing down the right industry was a process and still is a process. Everyone tells you to niche down and focus on one thing, but if you are anything like me everything seems doable. Everything seems fun... The business world is vast, and there are countless opportunities, but each comes with its own set of challenges. Initially, back in college, I tried dipping my toe in the hair and beauty industry, but it just didn’t resonate with me. It didn’t excite me the way I thought it would and I quickly realized it wasn’t the right fit.
For a time, I did give up. It took graduating and getting my corporate job to even think about a business again. I was too busy traveling on my new corporate checks and exploring the state I moved to. Then 6 months went by and I wanted a business again. This time I tried Print-on-demand and I was so excited. It was easy! Unfortunately, nothing came from it and I gave that up and looked into the crafting and travel industry. In which, both still have my interest today. Both seem like areas where I could really combine creativity with business-two things i’m really passionate about.
Now since I can’t choose which one I really want to focus all my energy in I am going to try both and see where it goes. This is where all of you come in on my real time journey figuring out what it takes to be a entrepreneur and how to be successful.
Exploring the Crafting Business and Travel Industry
After my experience in the beauty industry, I shifted focus to something more aligned with my passions: crafting. The crafting business immediately appealed to me because it allowed for creativity and self-expression while also offering plenty of ways to make a profit. I also found myself really enjoying making pretty packages and adding cute trinkets. As I dove deeper into the industry, I realized the possibilities were endless—from custom items to home decor, the opportunities were vast.
Once I settled on the crafting industry as my next focus, I began researching different types of crafts that could be turned into profitable business.There are countless possibilities, and I quickly realized that to be successful, I’d need to find something unique that could stand out in a competitive market.
Stay tuned for more on all the crafting ideas I looked into and will look into. Blog link go here once posted (Link to blog).
However, my interests didn’t stop there. The travel industry also captured my attention. I love to travel and immerse myself in different cultures, and I thought it would be amazing to turn that interest into a business. I considered offering personalized travel planning services, helping people book vacations or even offering custom itineraries based on their interests. Travel is something that has always fascinated me, and I saw an opportunity to combine my entrepreneurial spirit with my love for exploring new places. Whether it was through planning vacations or offering travel advice, this industry felt like a natural extension of my personal interests and values.
The travel industry like the crafting industry are two saturated industries that I feel I need to continue to do my research in and seeing where I could fit in. As all the influencers keep saying, “We have to find what makes us different." So what makes us different?
What I Researched? Who I Watched?
To start, I turned to YouTube—there's a wealth of information out there, and I found some incredible creators who shared their personal experiences of starting a business in both the crafting and travel industries. Watching these videos helped me understand what works, what doesn’t, and gave me practical tips to consider when launching my own ventures. I recommend watching Jade Beason, Reinventing Glamour, Klasshey The Ceo, and Codie Sanchez. These are just a few that I’ve been watching to learn about marketing, business platforms, and so much more. Hopefully this gives you place to start when searching through YouTube for great content.
I also spent hours window shopping on platforms like Etsy, Amazon, and other crafting websites to see what materials were readily available and how much they cost. This gave me a sense of the pricing and allowed me to experiment with calculating costs and profit margins for my products. I played around with numbers, figuring out what I could charge for each service or item while still being competitive.
In addition to YouTube and window shopping, I decided to start reading books. The first book I would recommend is Mindsets by Carol Dweck. This book speaks a lot about a growth mindset vs a fixed mindset. It really dives into how to think about life which could really apply to our businesses. The next book that I would really recommend that I am currently reading right now is Faith Driven Entrepreneur by Henry Kaestner, J.D Greear, and Chip Ingram. It really dives into how to keep God first in all our entrepreneurial paths and how we can be and stay successful with faith in God. As I continue this journey and update you guys, I will share more books that I am reading to help propel my businesses to success.
Another key research area was finding out where to sell my products. Platforms like Etsy, SquareSpace, and Shopify seemed like great places to start, but I also looked into social media options like Instagram and TikTok, where visual content can help drive sales and engagement. For my travel venture, I also researched whether I wanted to start under a host company or from scratch. With that, creating a list of cons and pros for a beginner travel agent/advisor.
Final Thoughts
Starting a business is never a straight path. It’s about trial, error, and ultimately finding what works for you. As I continue to explore different industries, try new things, learn valuable lessons along the way, build my brand, and offer valuable services, I’m excited to see where this entrepreneurial journey takes me—and I hope my experience helps you find your own way too.
If you’re just starting out or still figuring things out, don’t be afraid to try new ideas and explore different industries. With the right research, patience, and passion, anything is possible. Let's grow together!
