What I learned from building a 6-figure business

In the beginning of 2016, I set out with the intention of relaunching my business in a whole other way. See, I had built my business locally, in my country, based entirely on reputation. One client would always simply lead me to the next. I didn't have to do much to get clients, it just came easily. I played it small and lived comfortably in my little bubble, not having to ever worry about how the world was seeing me as a brand. It was like that for about 9 years. Fast forward to the beginning of 2016, and my reality had completely changed. I had moved to the US and had to find my voice in the middle of all this noise that is the online world. 

I'm not going to lie, it was tough journey that took a lot of difficult moments to overcome. A lot of unexpected challenges and surprising wins that completely changed my life. One of the biggest lessons and takeaways from building a 6-figure business has been in mindset. So here I share with you the most important things that you need to know if you are an entrepreneur. 

Also, I created this really cool mindset guide which will help you so much in terms of getting the clarity you need to thrive in business and life. Make sure to download it here: 

I know this is something that we all do, how we always want to be someplace else. That notion of "I will be happy when." I remember when I was a kid, I wanted to be in College. And once I was in College, I couldn't wait to be married. Or when I launched my business, it was always about that next goal. Hitting 4 figures and then 5. The truth is, it's this never ending thing that can drive us crazy sometimes. Always wanting to be at that next level. And hey, it's human nature, right? I mean, we are ambitious beings. However, the problem comes from not realizing that that goal is never going to be reached. Not because you won't ever nail it, but because by the time you do, you will already want something else. 

But, here's the thing...what if "happy" is right now? What if we're here always wanting to be in that next level, without realizing that we are exactly where we need to be. Because there's no way we could ever get to that next level without going through the basic steps first. Right? It's like wanting to climb Mount Everest, but being pissed that you have to start at the bottom. Well, guess what? There's no way you will ever get to the top if you don't start where you are right now. 

What if we start being grateful for where we are, because we know it will lead us to somewhere great? Yes, that means being grateful for the challenges and the hard moments as well. Because, here's the thing, today is when life happens. Now in the past when you weren't sure about what to do in your business. Not in the future when you have a million dollars in your bank account. It's right now. 

And I'm not going to go into the cliché of saying "Life is today, we don't know if we're going to die tomorrow," because #truth? We likely won't. But, what I do want you to do is think back to when you had a goal in your life, what happened when you made it happen?  You likely had a new goal in mind, right? 

For me this showed up so much in the past year. I would feel like I always wanted to be in this next phase, but then once I made it there, it felt like it was never truly enough. Can you relate? That's when I realized that...

This ties back to the first point, but what I mean with it is, that it always is just about the road you have to travel. Again, there's no way you can get to the next level in your business without going through what you are going through right now. So, what if instead of placing so much pressure on the outcome, we just sit down and enjoy the process? I realize that this is one of those things that is 100% easier said than done, right? Because when we are in the middle of a huge challenge, it's hard to see the silver lining. I can tell you from my experience that it has been hard. I have personally had to deal with a lot of mindset blows, but what I realize now is that all it took was a moment to appreciate where we are. Also, realizing that we likely put ourselves into this position on our own. 

Now, maybe you are launching your business out of necessity (kind of what happened to me), and you have the pressure to make a certain amount of money. That pressure is hard to deal with, for sure. However, even through those tough moments when you think you aren't going to make it, you have to try to step back and look at the bigger picture. My friend Maru always says "this is just another chapter in my book or material for my conference in the future." I love that perspective.

How can you flip around your version of how life is playing out for you? How can you find a way to enjoy your journey, no matter how difficult it might be?

The next lesson that I learned is that you simply have to trust yourself. Trust that your gut, or God (whatever you believe in!) knows what it's doing. Now, sometimes, some people are crystal clear about exactly what it is that they want. Like my husband, he knows that he wants to sing at the Madison Square Garden with back-to-back sold-out shows of people singing his songs (and I have no doubt in my mind he will make it happen). Me, on the other hand, here's where I am. I have fought so hard in the past year and a half to get to where I am. I had worked hard for the success I have at this moment, and could probably spend the rest of my life doing exactly what I'm doing right now and I would be totally and completely happy too! But..something inside my heart tells me that there's something else, that there's something more that I have to do. And I have no clue exactly what that looks like just yet. 

I don't know if it's going on a journey to discover that I'm right where I need to be all along. Or discover that there's something else I should be doing in my career. I don't know if I'm going to end up on a stage, or write a book, or stay having the most incredible clients in the world. 

But, here's the thing. Even if you don't know where that road is going to lead you, you have to take it anyways. There's no other choice. 

Even if it's scary. Heck- specially if it's scary. Because fear is just proof that you are stepping out of your comfort zone, and it's precisely outside of your comfort zone that magic happens. So, simply start walking, start taking baby steps and trust that they are going to end up leading you to the right direction. Even if at times it doesn't exactly feel that way.

I can tell you from my experience that taking action has been absolutely crucial to my growth as an entrepreneur in the past year. Without a shadow of a doubt, taking action has been the difference between success and failure for me. I talk about what else you can do in terms of taking action for your business right here.

Also, remember to download the incredible mindset guide I created that will leave you with your mouth open!

This is probably one of the most important lessons that I have learned from being in business. You simply can't do it all alone, without it taking it's toll on you. And I say this with absolute and total first hand experience. Why? Because for the past year and a half I have been my own virtual assistant, sending invoices, answering sales calls, doing my own marketing, writing these blog posts, designing every single logo, coding, programming, developing every website, all while being a mom to a toddler. Ouch.

And, sure, I have built a 6-figure business, but I did it while sacrificing probably the most important thing of all: my peace. You see, I used to think that in order to have peace all I would need to reach a certain goal (see point 1 above). In truth, that's not how it works. I can't achieve peace while sacrificing my own. All along, I was sabotaging my own peace by not delegating and letting go (more on that later). You have to understand that there's no way of doing it all without burning yourself out. For me, achieving this success took a toll on me emotionally. My mindset was completely off, and while I was making 5-figure months, I was also doubting myself every step of the way.

And sure, doubting yourself is a normal part of business (impostor syndrome anyone?), but there are limits to how much your head and your heart can take. 

And I understand that if you are starting out with no budget it's hard to delegate certain aspects, but at least find support in a friend. For me, I understood that making investments for my business has been the biggest blessing in my life. There's nothing better than having that external perspective from someone that isn't emotionally tied to your business to let you diagnose and guide you along the way.

This is the reason why my clients are so successful. Because having me on board means having someone that discovers what makes the unique and helps them turn that experience into a business. It means having someone take care of you and take control while you trust. And that trust? It means freedom. It means peace.

My big conclusion to my lessons in building a 6-figure business is that you simply have to let go. Let go of so. much. control. Thinking that you can control every little aspect of your life and business will only hurt you more than you can imagine. 

You think you can control where you are right now? Or that you know exactly where every client is going to come from? I have news for you, you can't. Case in point? While I have a lot of marketing strategies for my own business going on, this past month has been the biggest month in my business. Guess what? None of the new clients came from expected sources, they all came from out of the blue. It just proves that there's no way we can control anything really!

You need to let go of your vision to how things are supposed to happen. Let go of your vision of what you can do and nobody else can. Delegate where you have to. Hire the right people that will get you closer to your goals. I finally hired a copywriter that helps me turn these blog posts into incredible emails and Facebook posts. I hired a developer that helps me setup the basics of websites for clients (slowly letting go of that). I hired not one, but two coaches to help me with mindset and business. And guess what? You think these things are going to make me less money? They aren't. They will likely end up 10X my business. 

So, start to let go. Stop putting so much pressure on your mind, and start connecting to your heart. Start trusting that this moment, despite its imperfections, is absolutely perfect just how it is. Let go of trying to control every single aspect of your life, because it's right there, when you let go, that life, peace, and joy come alive.