5 Lessons I’m Carrying Into 2023
If you’ve been a member of my community for a while now, you definitely know I like to share a lot of what works, or doesn’t, for me through my journey. It’s been a while since I last wrote, and that’s because 2022…. wow!
2022 was my first year officially “adulting”. It’s so funny how surprisingly, we clear campus and parents, family and even friends look up to you as the beacon of success. And while this may be true, what I’ve learnt from since clearing school is that that’s where the real work begins. There are no manuals to guide you through and somehow you just have to figure out life because society expects you to. Others have done it before, so what makes you different?
The beauty of life is that everyday is always a learning experience. I had highs last year, similarly I had lows, To sum it all up, as I give a little background to each, here are 5 lessons I learnt in 2022 that I’m definitely carrying into 2023!
- Simplicity = Success
I wanted to be so many things after campus. I wanted to run a successful social media business, hit six figures monthly, enrol for gym membership, and generally just have a good time with my family and close friends. Unfortunately, 2022 would not be the year to achieve this as I later came to realize….
In January 2022 and as a social media freelancer, I accepted and tolerated social media clients of all kinds… the ones okay to pay up what I charged, the ones who had a slightly lower budget, the ones who’d default with payments for weeks on end, the ones who even told me right to my face that I was doing the “bare minimum”. I’d accept all kinds of offers provided at the end of the day I was going to get paid. If anything, “this is Kenya and here, we should take jobs even if just to survive”. This was the only right approach I knew, and boy, was I overwhelmed!
I was so overwhelmed that I had to outsource help. And on the months a client defaulted, I had to pay my social media assistants from my pockets. I was constantly disappointed, and also not quite satisfied with how one of the assistants was handling work.
In March of that same year, I had either done away with these clients, or they had terminated the agreements we had. It goes without saying that I also had to cut down on the costs of having 2 social media assistants as I couldn’t keep up paying both from my pockets… so I ended up retaining the better of the 2.
Looking back, I’m so happy I did this, because the thing is, as an entrepreneur and making money, you don’t really care how, on what, or who you spend money on. But when money isn’t coming in as much as you’d want it to, your creative juices really flow and you’ll often be thinking about how to make more money. As an entrepreneur who only wanted profitability at the time, I cut down on costs I didn’t need anymore, and thought of ways to increase revenue for my business. This ended up working for me, and it’s definitely something I’m carrying into 2023.
2. Stop Meeting People where they’re at, and start holding them to their HIGHEST potential
Thankfully, I’ve been blessed to work with people, either as my assistants, or even colleagues at work. That has meant learning to HOLD THEM TO THEIR HIGHEST POTENTIAL!
Have you ever worked with someone, and all they did was ask for help on a consistent basis, day in day out? Yet these same people will actually be on my payroll / on the organization’s payroll.. and will be expecting a paycheck at the end of the month! It doesn’t sit right with me when I see people consistently asking for help for a job they are being paid to do.
The thing is… when you show people they are nice, they will have no problem at all seeking help from you time and again. You’ve shown them you’re nice, right? Trust me, it never stops.
So what I’ve learnt to do is to know how much help I’m willing to offer on a task. I’ve learnt to shamelessly tell people to do research or take up courses if need be, sorry to say. By holding people to their highest potential, I’ve avoided burn outs and never-ending cycles of consistently being the go-to person when Person X doesn’t know how to do something.
It’s working just great for me so far, and it’s something I’m definitely carrying into 2023.
3. Entrepreneurship starts when things are hard, not when a business is profitable.
Losing clients and jobs… that does something to an entrepreneur. And at the time I was losing all this, I had no map or strategy mapped out on how to get more clients … so I started actively applying for jobs. April 2022 has a record history of job applications made on my email. I sent out applications day and night. And at that time, I felt like a failed entrepreneur.. till I read something that really reassured me…
Dear Entrepreneur, there’s absolutely no shame in taking up jobs before your business grows. This is what I did, and it was not easy as I’d be handling my job during the day, and my business at night. Sometimes I felt so overwhelmed, especially in the earlier days of trying to strike a balance between both.
There’s times things will be really good in business, and times things will not be as good as I expect them to be … was one of the key lessons I learnt in 2022. The process of recovery, or rather, getting from point A TO B, is what matters! It might take more time, or less time depending on circumstances, but either way, learning to trust the process is something that I’m always carrying with me, regardless of the year, through and through.
PS: I also rebranded SMM Kenya to Digital Mtandaoni, and I have so much good things coming your way this year… especially for people who’d like to grow a career path in Social Media. If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, please follow me on my Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn as I’ll exclusively be explaining more about this on those platforms.
4. It takes 3 months for you to see results / clean up your mistakes.
April 2022 was kind of a reset month for me because… the first three months prior had been complete chaos. I didn’t have solid boundaries when it came to work and I was feeling constantly overwhelmed.
Thereafter, I got my first breakthrough 2 months later through an international role. The salary I got for the first three months was enough to help me survive, and instead of using it on myself, I used the money to invest into Digital Mtandaoni. This meant buying equipment I knew I needed, such as a good laptop, a work phone and content creation tools. And it was not the easiest of things to do, but necessary in order for me to upscale.
By October 2022, I was pretty much back on my financial feet, and the investment into my business also helped me get better clients! So this was definitely a win because I see now that had I been selfish with my money, I’d still be stuck in terms of getting clients or sustaining side hustles for my business.
I can say for sure… that 3 months is enough time to start seeing the changes you want to see… be it with your business, or any other thing you’re hoping to see results with.
5. Being aware of my upper limit problem.
Sabotaging our own happiness and success seems like a crazy thing to do. But, most of us have at least one limiting belief that keeps us from achieving our goals. When we get close to achieving what we most desire, our negative beliefs kick in because we can’t tolerate exceeding our previous level of success or happiness.
This inner thermostat for how much happiness, success, love, or money we allow ourselves to have is programmed in early childhood. Common upper limit problems include fear of failure, fear of being alone, and fear of outshining others, especially your family and close friends. And, these types of hidden barriers exist in many areas of our lives.
For example, you may have heard your father say, “There is never enough money to go around,” so you developed the belief that you will never have enough money. When you reach the point of possibly making enough money, your inner programming kicks in to sabotage your ability to reach your goal. This ensures that you will continue to be included in your family, and you won’t feel guilty for outshining anyone.
In my case, my upper limit problem happens to be the fear of outshining others.
In order to move past your upper limit problem and achieve your dreams, you must be able to identify your subconscious negative programming and false beliefs about yourself to overcome them.
Being more aware of yourself helps you know how to deal with yourself, and with those around you. So, what’s your upper limit problem?
Let me know in the comments section below!
Happy 2023!
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