Some people say the path of entrepreneurship is a lonely one. I can only guess that they don’t have friends like Brittany Krystle and Jen Morilla. In the difficult world of entrepreneurship, having friends who understand what you’re going through is something money can’t buy.
Brittany is a personal branding and growth expert. She is the host of the top-rated Beyond Influential Podcast, where she has conversations with experts and industry influencers.
Jen is an impact travel blogger and mentor to entrepreneurs. She is on a mission to create incredible possibilities of transformation for humankind to live lives of impact, purpose, and badassery.
We’re inviting listeners of Her Life, By Design to tune in to this raw, honest conversation between friends. In this special episode — Brittany, Jen and I share our biggest lessons learned as online entrepreneurs from preparing a launch, to navigating friendships in this competitive space.
Mistakes May Be Your Greatest Asset
A trait that separates successful entrepreneurs from the rest is their ability to keep fighting the fight, despite any mindset block or obstacle being thrown their way. From the outside, it may look like the entrepreneur doesn’t face any limitations. Instead, they look perfect and mistake-free.
As women, we tend to err on the side of perfection. We think of perfection as the goal when really, it is a symptom of imposter syndrome. Perfectionism kills any room for mistakes, causing fear and doubt while undermining our abilities.
Brittany reminds us that “making mistakes, in your business or in life, is a given.” Entrepreneurs of all sizes will make mistakes every single day, so start accepting them as the norm. In fact, we wouldn’t be where we are today without the mistakes we’ve made in our own businesses. As Jen says, “all the mistakes that we’ve gone through are why people pay to work with us,” turning mistakes into our greatest assets.
One-Size Does Not Fit All
One mistake that should be avoided from the start is assuming that someone else’s path will work for you. This could be in the way of emulating someone’s business structure, how they shoot their content, or where they host their course. Doing this got me in a hole as an entrepreneur and creator.
Instead of focusing on my lane and improving my business, I was so busy looking at how other people were running their businesses and trying to make their ideas work for me. Unfortunately, when it comes to entrepreneurship, one-size does not fit all.
“Something working for someone else does not mean it will work for you,” Brittany confirms.
If you’re just starting out on your entrepreneurial journey, it is easy to get caught up comparing yourself to people who you admire. In your eyes, they’re already successful — so why not emulate them?
Jen reminds listeners that “success can look like whatever you want it to base on what you think success is for you. But you’re looking at that person and they’re showing you all the good stuff. They’re not showing you the behind-the-scenes, the dark shadows, texting their girlfriends that they’re freaking out about life… What you don’t realize is they started at the bottom and it took them a while to build that success.”
In the episode, Jen and Brittany get candid about the struggles entrepreneurs face when comparison enters the frame. We discuss the many pitfalls of following someone else’s path and how entrepreneurs can use tried and true formulas by making it their own.
Behind-the-Scenes of a Launch
Between the 3 of us, we have launched several online products from courses, programs, and podcasts. It’s safe to say that we know a thing or two about the launch process. When it comes to launching a course or program, there’s more to it that meets the eye. Beyond writing the script, shooting the video, and marketing the product — there’s a lot of time spent doing research and warming your audience up before the launch.
Many young entrepreneurs expect a 6-figure launch with their first course, and it’s easy to see why. Comparing yourself to another online entrepreneur based on surface-level information shared on social media is holding you up against impossible standards. What you don’t see behind-the-scenes include hours of work, relationship building, and a team that works on different areas of the launch process. People won’t buy a course just because you have one. Digital entrepreneurs have to bring value to the table before anyone could consider making a purchase.
Jen describes the process like this: “If you’re baking cupcakes and giving them to people, you want to tell them what’s in the cupcake. You want to tell them the process and how delicious it is before they even try it especially if they’ve never met you before. Think of a launch the same way. How can you serve somebody before you sell someone the cupcake?”
The launch process, in itself, is a series of mistakes and lessons learned. You’ll learn something about yourself through the experience of creating a product, building out a sales page, and establishing trust with your audience. You will also have a lot more respect for people who crush it in the game.
Building a Healthy Relationship with Numbers and Data
The skills needed to strategically launch a course versus creating one are incredibly different. While your course may be great, smaller numbers and lower sales do not indicate the quality of the content. Don’t feel intimidated and defeated. Numbers are to courses what a check engine light is to a car. It’ll tell you what needs to be worked to improve performance and sales.
We all agree that these numbers just mean an adjustment must be made. But before you jump in and make changes, give the data enough time to develop. Sometimes, what needs to be fixed isn’t immediately clear to you. If you’re a workaholic like us, it’s important to know that’s it’s ok to step back and take some time to reassess.
Similarly, you have to treat any number on Instagram in the same way. Brittany reminds listeners that “your worth is not tied to your follower count.” A smaller, more engaged audience is more valuable than a larger uninterested one. It’s easy to get caught up in the hits of dopamine when you receive likes, followers, and comments, but these numbers are not a direct correlation to how much money an entrepreneur is making.
It is important to remember that behind every number is a real human. They’ve taken the time to follow you, so take the time to get to know them. Brittany informs listeners that “this isn’t all intuitive. It takes a lot of work to be a true leader. It takes a lot of work to be worthy of being followed.” Build these relationships with authenticity. At the end of the day, a large audience that doesn’t convert won’t pay the bills.
Juggling friendships in such a competitive space can be tricky. It’s why so many entrepreneurs find the path to success so lonely. What stops them from forming friendships is the idea of competition. A lot of influencers and entrepreneurs feel as though they have to safeguard their processes or secrets to success.
That feeling is related to insecurities one might have about the industry, and it often jeopardizes lives and friendships. The fear of scarcity, not having enough followers, or not making enough money could isolate an entrepreneur. In this space, it is crucial to reflect within and be self-aware.
“Should you be giving away all your secrets? No. But I believe there’s more than enough for everyone,” Jen adds. Although Brittany, Jen, and I are technically competitors, we don’t operate our friendship as such. Many times, a lot of my audiences have crossed over to both Jen and Brittany’s content and vice verse. This proves that there is more than enough to go around.
On top of that, we have the ability to share our honest opinions with one another. We don’t sugarcoat truths that we need to hear in order to become better.
In the episode, we discuss why it’s important for entrepreneurs to maintain invaluable friendships. We talk about how competition stems from a place of comparison, the difference between borrowing ideas versus copying, and why it’s important to have friends in the same — if not similar — industry.
Community over Competition
Finding honest and valuable friendships in the competitive space of online entrepreneurship is a rarity. If you truly are the average of your five closest friends, I’m thankful that Jen and Brittany are two of them. The people you surround yourself with affect your attitude, influence your behavior, and determine the conversations you have.
I hope you enjoy this episode of Her Life, By Design, as much as we did. We chat about how we’re forging our own path in the same space, in our own individual ways, and how you can too.
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Relevant Links:
Brittany’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/brittanykrystle/
Brittany’s Website: https://www.brittanykrystle.com/
Jen’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/jenmorilla/
Jen’s Website: https://www.thesocialgirltraveler.com/
Free blogging class: https://christinagalbato.lpages.co/freebloggingclass/
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