As an entrepreneur, when you are building your personal or professional brand you realize it’s one of the toughest things to do. Veterans and newbies alike have all faced a few problems when starting out, but here are a few things to remember, that you will be happy you don’t have to pay for two or three times over later. 

1. You will always care more than others. No one will ever care more about your business than you. Sometimes the hardest part of your job will be to stay on top of those who work for or with you. To them, it’s just a job, but this is your dream. Always be specific with deadlines and checkpoints, so that while you are out building your brand and trying to scale your business, the mice aren’t at home playing and stagnating your growth. 

2. Focus on your niche and stay there. It’s always best to stay focused on your specialty and provide the immaculate service or product that you can to keep all of your clients long term. I know it can be tempting to take on a project with a high profit that may be a little out of your realm, but don’t do it. Stay in your lane. 

3. Going paperless makes it a lot easier to protect confidential data and client information. Use technology as much as possible. Having remote access to most or all of your business data will make your life ten times easier.

4. Certify everything you mail. The IRS is old school, as are most local and state governments, so snail mail prevents them from “losing” documents. Being able to prove submission through certified receipts and fax confirmations is key when dealing with government entities that can easily create unexpected expenses. So save yourself the headache ahead of time, and send certified mail. 

5. Hiring independent contractors and freelancers for professional services like social media management, accounting, and web developers are always best. Just as you are motivated to fulfill your dream, they are even more motivated to provide great service because their brand is at risk as well! 

Remember,

-give your brand the good life-