Starting your own business is exciting.  You get a ton of energy at the beginning to tackle this huge challenge.  You are hopeful things start smooth and stay smooth.  Your product is a hit and you make a lot of money.  That sounds incredible! 

The reality is that it pretty much never goes like that.  That brings up the question on whether you should tell everyone you know what you're up to or keep things under wraps a bit as you grind.  You want to tell people to share the excitement, but you don't want to overhype what you're up to and then feel the judgement from others later.  

For Sloane I think we took a middle route, which I think has allowed for us to get the support we need while avoiding the constant questions that come up about how the business is going.  Those questions are well meaning, but when you are grinding hard and feeling like you're trying to stay above water those questions from your aunt aren't too fun to answer.  

At the beginning you need some support and positive energy.  People to try your product.  People to invest.  People to support your Kickstarter campaign.  People who might know people for early advice.  I remember I sent an individual note to everyone I knew on Facebook telling them about our Kickstarter.  Every dollar mattered for that, so needed to let the world know.  

In the beginning I would talk about Sloane to a broader group and got nice connections to website designers, brand experts, lawyers, accountants, etc.  Super helpful!  Once we got the base solidified I wasn't as vocal broadly.  A big part was because I had a full time job and didn't want there to be a question of my allegiance.  If I was spouting off about Sloane all the time, then people would wonder what my plans are.  

I would talk about Sloane to a smaller group of people who I trusted and would provide me with the advice I needed.  I would put my head down and then just execute.  Day after day.  Getting your company up and running talks way longer than you think.  It obviously takes even longer when you're doing it as a side hustle.  Patience is really important because it's so easy to get antsy and rush things.  

That issue is made even more intense if everyone is asking you how things are going.  Is the website up?  How are sales?  What?  No sales yet?  What are you guys doing?? Enter stress and other people's expectations.  You don't need that stuff clogging your mind as you are trying to build.  

Confidence in your business is needed to succeed.  You have to be one of the most optimistic people out there.  Arrogance and over-confidence are not good traits.  And they are often closely tied with confidence.  It's a balancing act that often entrepreneurship just teaches you when you're in the trenches.  You soon realize you might not be as smart as you thought or this might not happen as soon as you thought.  

That feeling is ok and for the strongest people it just motivates them more.  This isn't easy and they will just grind until they get it.  That's what it takes.  

I get a lot of questions about how I can have enough time for a side business when I have a demanding full time job.  Time seems like a very hard thing for people to control.....and it is!  

Before Sloane I watched a lot of TV.  First 48 was my binge watching show.  I could NOT just watch one episode.  Physically impossible to turn off the TV.  When I see the show pop up on my guide today I still get some sort of dopamine rush.  I'd watch reruns with the same intensity as a new episode.  

All that TV time added up to lots of hours.  I'd say 2 hours of TV time a day.  When I look back I would say I was entertained, but it wasn't adding much to my life.  If you do the math the 2 hours a day means 10 hours a work week.....and 14 hours for the full week.  I think I watched even more TV on the weekend, so that is a conservative number.  Over a month that is 56 hours!  56 HOURS!!  Just sitting on my butt watching.  

When I moved to Cincinnati to start at P&G I decided to challenge myself and not get a TV.  I said the minute I REALLY needed one I'd just go to Best Buy and get one.  I went 5 years without a TV.  I missed First 48 and all the sports I love.  What I found was that I actually got more enjoyment transitioning those hours into Sloane and learning at work.  

The only reason I got a TV after 5 years was the cable company called and said that I could get cable and internet for less than what I was currently paying for internet.  I ended up getting TV, but barely watched it.  I was hooked on spending my time learning and growing.  

Look at how you spend your time.  There are hours there.  My current battle is fighting my phone screen time.  I think there is a lot of time there I could get back.  It's a hard process to break habits.  Start small and see the benefits.  

I have recently thought back on some things I would have liked to have financially dealt with.  Student loan.  Down payment on a house.  A better car.  Mine is almost 30 years old and has 213K miles on it.  I am hard on myself about it because I feel like I SHOULD be able to handle these things.  I'm an adult and SHOULD be winning in these area.  

I then think of where a lot of my money has gone over the years.  Money to start Sloane.  Money for a website.  Money for a big inventory order.  Money to take a risk on an up and coming influencer.  Money for a legit photo shoot.  ALL of that was necessary to keep Sloane up and going.  I COULD have a nice car, but that would have come at the expense of something I needed for Sloane.  

There is no way I could have had everything going.  Too many needs and not enough resources.  Welcome to the life of an entrepreneur.  

I have a cousin who has his own restaurant in Dubuque, IA.  The place is great and has been very successful over the years.  He took me on a tour of the place.  I was very impressed with the kitchen, traveling BBQ truck, fridge, etc.  As they've grown the business they have had to buy new stuff to support the growth. 

My cousin pointed to their huge new walk in fridge/freezer.  He said that when many of his friends are buying new pickup trucks he's buying a new fridge for his business.  A fridge.  That statement stuck with me.  I laughed about it at the time, but that is REAL.  You cannot have it all.  Sacrifices must be made and you need to understand how much sacrifice you are willing to make. 

Do you want a car or a walk in fridge??? 

Having plentiful resources SEEMS like the best option.  The answer to the question, "Do you want plentiful resources to go to war or not?" would be a pretty obvious answer.  "YES"!  Give me everything I can take. 

In starting a business I often think that starting with a lot of resources is a curse.  It leads to unneeded spending and laziness.  The attitude of money will solve everything starts taking over.  The fact is that money isn't the x factor in success.  You see this in almost all successful businesses.  What wins is attitude, fight and unending hard work. 

There are so many examples in history of this.  The Wright Brothers figuring out flight before the much better funded competition is just one.  The Wright Brothers just flat out wanted it more.  They had the grit to keep going and figure it out. 

For Sloane there were a number of things we just had to figure it out.  If we actually had money we might have made different choices and I think would've ended up in a worse place. 

Logo:  We could've hired an expensive firm to do this.  Instead we leveraged 99 Designs to come up with our logo.  We were forced to think about what we wanted our brand to be about.  This took a LONG time.  That thought allowed the story of Sloane to come out, which gave us pride and was a story we could tell to our consumers.  A quick fix cute logo from an expensive design firm would have never let our story come to life. 

Website:  We found a freelancer in OR who made our website.  We did not find the hottest website design company out there.  We just got it done.  We spent probably one-third what we could have.  The website worked and served us well in the beginning. 

Models:  We found models for the website on our own.  We worked with an agency to find people, but went with guys who got the job done versus being the top of the line guys.  Each time you look at the options as you build your company it hurts a bit to take the middle of the road options, but for most decisions that is fine.  Spend on the KEY items, but don't spend on ALL the items.  You will need every penny as you grow. 

These are three quick examples of where we saved thousands of dollars.  That saved money was put into our product.  We didn't want to have a sweet website and a terrible undershirt.  The undershirt is where we needed to differentiate.  We chose the best fabric on the market.  This was a wise decision because when people wore it they told their friends.  Those friends went to our so so website.  Saw our so so design.  Saw our so so models.  And purchased. 

Figure out what is the most important thing to drive purchase.  Invest the most in that.