Five areas of focus for your first year of business
Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash
My business started slowly and gradually over the course of about a year. It was towards the tail end of lockdown when I was still at home with a toddler and a baby. I was squeezing chunks of work in when I could - mostly evenings and the odd weekend afternoon.
It was hard work but I was extremely motivated and the upside was that it made me very good at prioritising my time and only focussing on one thing at once.
Ironically, the biggest challenge came when my time opened up more. I had clients but I wasn’t fully booked by any means and although I was trying out lots of different approaches to marketing online, I wasn’t sure what was an effective use of my time in terms of growing the business and what wasn’t.
I went with the approach of saying yes to everything that I now count as a valuable part of my learning, but it also left me with that feeling of being busy but finding it hard to pinpoint what I’d actually achieved.
Through both experience and hindsight, here are five things that I would focus on in my first year to support both you and your business:
1. Start creating your ideal week from the outset
Even if you’re not fully booked yet, begin shaping your weekly schedule as if you were.
Block out time for focused learning, potential client work, admin, and rest.
Experiment to find when and how you like to work best.
Create appropriate boundaries around your time, even if your calendar is still spacious.
This helps you build rhythms that will support you later, so when your business fills out, you’re not scrambling to retrofit rest and structure into an already full week.
2. Build your network (even before you’re ready)
One of the most overlooked parts of early business growth is relationship-building. But the truth is that most business happens in conversation. That doesn’t mean only focussing on potential clients. It can also be:
Peer support from fellow business owners.
Collaborative opportunities with colleagues.
Communities that overlap with what you do.
Even if you aren’t completely sure what you’re offering or who you help, building relationships with others can stand you and your business in good stead for the long run.
3. Get comfortable describing what you do
This can be really tricky to begin with, both having the confidence to say what you do and finding the right words when you might not yet have found your niche.
But not only does it help others understand and potentially refer you, it also helps you start to embody your new identity as a business owner and practitioner in your chosen field.
4. Track a Small Number of Metrics That Matter
Tracking the right things is a good habit to get into early on. It takes a while to build a system that works and feels enjoyable and so starting when your numbers are simple helps. Even if it feels like there’s not much to track, doing this from the outset will provide a valuable bank of information further down the line when it can feed into and support your decisions.
Start simple:
Know your baseline income and expenses.
Keep track of how clients find you.
Reflect on your time: what energises you vs. what drains you.
Lastly, tracking doesn’t need to be complicated - a simple spreadsheet is more than enough.
5. Create Space and Build Your Skillset Through One Offer
You don’t need to launch six different services in your first year. In fact, the opposite is often more powerful.
Choosing one core offer:
Gives you room to deepen your expertise and start mastering your skillset.
Lets you refine your delivery and marketing.
Simplifies how people understand (and refer) your work.
It’s easier to build momentum with one clear offer than to juggle too many ideas at once.
In Summary
The first year in business is all about planting seeds.
By focusing on the things above, you create a solid, supportive base for your business to grow in a way that’s sustainable, meaningful, and truly yours.