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5 lessons that crushed my CONFIDENCE before I hit 8-figures
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Do you ever just want to quit this whole entrepreneur thing?
Yeah, me too.
I remember those dark days when everything went wrong.
I lost money on stupid ideas, got zero traction, and basically felt like a total fraud.
My confidence…?
Ah, it’s better to NOT talk about it.
But you know what?
Looking back now, failing over and over was a gift.
It forced me to drop the ego, be humble, build a team, and never stop learning.
I used to think overnight success was possible.
Haha, nope.
But persistence is possible.
And these 5 brutal lessons that crushed me will pump you up to stick it out.
So keep hustling, my friend.
Your time is coming.
1. "You're not the expert."
When I first started my business, I had a vision and an idea, but I was definitely not the expert.
I was a total beginner.
It was hard to swallow my pride and be more humble.
I had to accept that I had a lot left to learn.
Just because I lacked expertise was no reason to quit though.
It just meant I needed to keep educating myself.
I read books, talked to mentors who had done this before, and kept learning every single day.
Bit by bit, I built up my knowledge.
Even now, years later, I'm still learning new things!
2. "You can't do it alone."
In the beginning, I wrongly believed solo entrepreneurs were the ideal.
I thought I could and should try to do everything myself.
What a joke!
Eventually I realized I needed support from others.
When I started working with a small team and being more open to mentors, my business improved hugely.
You simply can't do it all alone, all the time.
Partnerships, outsourcing work, getting advice...these are all normal parts of building something great.
3. "You will fail often."
Oh boy, did I fail a lot at first!
I lost money on failed ideas and wasted loads of time and energy.
But with every mistake, I learned something.
Winners aren't people who never fail.
Winners are people who keep learning from their failures and don't give up.
The real key is perseverance.
When you fail, take a minute to reflect, then keep marching on.
It's a setback, not the end of the world.
Dust yourself off and try again.
My ego took punch after punch before I hit the big time.
4. "No one cares about your idea."
When I first had my million-dollar idea, I just assumed everyone would be as excited about it as I was.
I thought people would be knocking down my door to get involved.
But the hard truth was, no one cared.
Not yet, anyway.
My job was to make them care - to clearly communicate the value and get the right product in front of the right people.
It stung to realize I had to actually prove my idea was worth something.
But once I accepted that, my mindset shifted.
I became obsessed with testing concepts quickly and building demand.
5. "Things take longer than you expect."
In the beginning, I consistently underestimated how long things would take.
If I thought something would take 2 months, it really took 6.
If I estimated 6 months, it took 18.
Part of this was simply being overly optimistic.
But part was also lack of experience.
I didn't account for delays, hiccups, and challenges.
Now, I know that you have to be patient and persistent.
Break big goals down into smaller milestones.
Focus on steady progress rather than expecting overnight success.
Final thoughts
The path to success is paved with failures.
Stay humble and hungry to learn.
Embrace partnerships and don't try doing it all alone.
The journey to 8-figures taught me patience, perseverance, and humility.
But armed with the right mindset and support network, anyone can make it.
Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:
Raise crowdfunding: We can help you turn your product prototype into an investible asset. If you’ve got a working prototype, and need funding to scale, send me a direct message on Linkedin (click here) saying “funding” for more details on how we can help.
Validate your physical product concept: Got a concept (napkin sketch or full concept design) for a killer product? We want to see it. Click here to submit it for review.
Free Guide - Crowdfunding 101: How to prepare your physical product for a crowdfunding campaign. Click here to learn more.
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