Show Up Uncut

Our 5 Essential Tips to Thrive in Business

• Em & Jess

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What if you could shortcut years of trial and error with just five essential lessons? Join us as we unpack the critical insights we wish we knew when starting our business. From the power of market research and creating a client avatar to the undeniable importance of networking, we cover the foundational elements that can propel your venture from day one. Financial management might sound daunting, but understanding profit and loss statements and tools like Xero can be game-changers. We don't sugarcoat the reality—starting a business is tough, but with perseverance and informed planning, it’s a journey worth taking.

Ever wondered how to navigate the shifting tides of social media trends or pay your employees ethically and on time? We dive into the necessity of adaptability in business, especially with platforms like Instagram constantly evolving. Our conversation spans the crucial aspects of maintaining a work-life balance, the art of pivoting in response to challenges like COVID-19, and the hidden struggles of burnout. We share our personal stories, exposing the guilt and reality behind taking time off and emphasizing the need for self-care and mental health maintenance in the entrepreneurial journey.

Balancing full-time work and university studies can feel like walking a tightrope without a net. We explore the intense struggle, the inevitable burnout, and the importance of setting boundaries to maintain sanity. Delegating tasks and knowing when to outsource work like podcast editing can make all the difference in handling multiple responsibilities. We wrap up with humbling lessons from failure, highlighting how setbacks can build resilience and drive improvement. Winning may feel great, but losing teaches invaluable lessons that spur personal and professional growth. Tune in for honest conversations, practical advice, and the resilience needed to thrive in entrepreneurship.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome back to Show Up Uncut with Em and Jess. That was real like. That was a bit like With Em and Jess. Real like feminine, Feminine. We are doing that a lot lately. Oh my God, what's going on?

Speaker 2:

So today we are talking about five things that we wish we knew when we were starting business.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so like, obviously, when we both started, we had no fucking clue what we were doing. We were both young, so yeah, it's like these are just things, that kind of like we hope that could help somebody else. So you know, just like running around with your air, like hands waving in the air like what am I doing?

Speaker 1:

yeah, because, like you know, it took me a while, took me a good few fucking years, to actually figure it all out for myself, so I kind of wish I had this, yeah and it's so easy, like you know.

Speaker 2:

You might hear these things like they're really important but you kind of take it with like a grain of salt until you actually realize you know these little things. As you start to build, you start to see other businesses doing these things and like, oh fuck, maybe I should be doing that yeah, like do your research hey like yeah, for sure.

Speaker 1:

Like like kind of, I think people have this assumption that like I'm gonna start a business, I'm gonna make all this money. Um, no, you're probably not gonna make any money, babes, for like the first couple years. Like it's hard. People make it look so glamorous but and so easy and it's just so. Not because, like you're not gonna fucking show up on social media and be like, oh my god, I'm struggling, are you? No, no, no, you're gonna show up and be like oh, we're killing it.

Speaker 2:

When yeah, you might got five spots left. Books are not even full the amount of times I see that I'm like.

Speaker 1:

Well, the first one I've sort of got is the importance of your market research, so obviously knowing who your client base would be and who you're talking to, who you can market to, so you're not just like doing random fucking discounts or whatever and being like, oh you know, full head of foils, whatever like this is. This is how much it is like you want to know exactly who you're talking to so you can market to that specific group of people.

Speaker 2:

Um yeah, quickly add a client avatar. I don't know if you've ever done one of those, but that's something that I found very powerful when it comes to like talking to your audience. So when em said, like do your research look at like who would you?

Speaker 1:

specifically, are they a twin like? For me it's like, like, uh, like she's a 25 year old woman who has this much disposable income yeah yeah, because, like that's, our highest service is a blonde who, like, you know um whatever and it just gets down to really specific, so you can talk to that specific person yeah get specific as fuck yeah because that's what you're going to build your brand around, and I can know you why really, yeah, why you're doing it so even looking up your competitors.

Speaker 2:

I know a lot of people like we and we have said like, stay in your own lane, don't compare, you know. But it is when you are starting out look at your competitors and look at how they're talking to their audience.

Speaker 2:

So for me, like Paige Hathaway was a big one when I was younger, she was like one of the biggest fitness models before you know the competing and stuff was like you know, they were influencers before the influencer days. Paige, like when I started my business, I like literally I didn't try and copy everything but I was like trying to clone myself to be like her Because you looked up to her.

Speaker 1:

so much yeah, she was yeah, and I was 18.

Speaker 2:

I was like, yeah, she was everything. So yeah, and I feel like that is could be really powerful, because then you, you know you don't reinvent the wheel. Let's just put it as that.

Speaker 1:

You know you've got to be unique. Yeah, no, but when you start out yeah, it's like okay, well, that's what they're doing. How can I make it my own?

Speaker 2:

brand. Yeah, yeah, bring it into my I'm talking about. Like you know, you're really the ones that have made it yeah, not the ones that are some random shit yeah, because they probably haven't established these things either yeah, exactly.

Speaker 1:

Do you want to go into network?

Speaker 2:

yeah, I had networking. So the importance of networking, I feel like that was a pretty big one for me being a coach. A lot of it is like word of mouth, yeah, um, obviously now being online you do have like a bigger reach. But a lot of my clients that come to me are they've either seen me, you know, or they've known someone that's coached me or you know. I feel like the network, building a really strong network from the very start, is one way where you can put yourself in a better position to do collaborations, to work with other businesses, and that might just be like a cafe Say if you're a coach, you could go down to your local cafes and say, hey, I'm going to put a lead box in this gym, I'm going to give one lucky winner eight-week free PT thing.

Speaker 1:

Business growth opportunities, especially when you're starting out.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so yeah the network, Go and talk to people.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it creates business opportunities. That's what I was saying. Yeah, so, yeah, the network Go and talk to people yeah, it creates business opportunities. That's what I was saying. Yeah, partnerships, valuable opportunities, collaborations yeah, massive, massive. It's so undervalued, I feel. Financial management skills, so like fucking know how much money it costs to run your business, how much money.

Speaker 2:

Do a profit and loss statement. Yeah, yeah, p&ls, you want to know. Get zero, just get zero.

Speaker 1:

No, but seriously, because if you're fucking like spending all this money, if you're spending all this money but you're only profiting fucking, if you're profiting fucking peanuts, like something's a fucking miss, like your prices need to go up, you need to fix something. That's going on, because then you're going to be constantly.

Speaker 2:

you're never making money, you're constantly chasing your tail best thing I did was to actually go to an accountant, because I run my business for like three, four years without paying tax, without seeing an accountant. I just did things my my way um just straight in my bank account, spending it all. What?

Speaker 1:

do you mean I have to pay tax on the money that I make?

Speaker 2:

yeah. So I got myself into a lot of debt. It was like fuck, it would have been like 50, 50k, yeah, um. And when I went to an accountant, he basically stripped everything back and started from the very start. Like you know how much I got to put away set up a business account, have, have a business card, get zero, have a good debiting company. So like we could sit here and, you know, tell you all the things that you need to do, but you need an accountant If you're running a business you need. That isn't your strength, the books is like you can do books you can

Speaker 1:

do stuff, admin I think it's just like also like, yeah, just being like knowing how much, like for me, for example, my expenses are fucking all over the shop. I need to have some weeks we need to buy all these groceries, like, and all this stuff. So I need to know, I need to grab everything together my rent, my electricity, the fucking staff wages, the fucking milk that we buy every week, fucking cocktails that we, every single fucking expense that I have. I need to come put together and then I divide it like take every yearly expenses, weekly expenses, monthly expenses, and I fucking call it down to a fucking week, to a day, so I know how much exactly I need to be making a day to be able to afford to run my business. Because if I'm spending more money than what I'm, we're not spending more money than what I'm making. But like, fuck me, I don't want to get to the end of the year and I'm like, how have I only taken home 20 grand and we've like fucking pumped the salon? We're making thousands and thousands of dollars.

Speaker 1:

You know what I mean like you need to be aware of all these things, and one of the best things I ever did was open up multiple bank accounts. So I've got um a staff savings account, my expenses account, my um profit account and um my tax account. So every week I move money around and fucking pay the girls and whatever, and I move money around so that I'm not overspending in my business. I pay myself a wage so that I'm not getting, I'm not fucking being a psychopath and spending all this money. I'm really good with money.

Speaker 1:

Just having money management skills is the best yeah like, yes, you can go to an accountant, but like I know people who have an accountant and they still fucking. They put their money away but they blow, fucking everything. It's like you haven't fucking saved anything. You're literally just blowing all this fucking money. Like, what are you doing?

Speaker 2:

like that comes down to habits though.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, for sure you know for sure, but I think it's just being really aware because, like, we've all done it, like I was the same when I started, I blew every single cent that I made and I was like what the fuck am I doing? You know? Because, like, the more money that you make, the more that you spend. But I think once you start actually making money, you need to be smart about it and not blow it.

Speaker 1:

You still need to be disciplined in, like I'm still disciplined in paying myself a wage and all that sort of stuff. I don't overspend because, like what happens if something happens and I've got no fucking money? Like covid happens again or something, and like I've no money, I've still got all these fucking bills I need to pay.

Speaker 2:

I'm bankrupt. Yeah, you know, yeah, like and it's not like with having money, like being able to manage your money, like, or even financial literacy, like if you're not, if you can't manage that, it's going to be very hard for you to run a successful business yes, 100% because you're, it is always going to be, in debt, yeah, and you know what?

Speaker 1:

there are so many people that just can't be a business owner for that reason. Like I spoke one of my friends, he just quit his job because he's like my boss didn't fucking pay any super, he wasn't paying as correctly, blah, blah, blah. We get here every week. He was like look at my new 700 watch, look at this fucking 800 perfume I bought. It's like, bro, pay me my fucking money.

Speaker 2:

Yeah so find this shit like that's what I mean, like some people just can't, yeah, like you need to be disciplined absolutely, and I feel like that is literally the reason why I went out on my own is because of when I first started in the industry like in um is because of when I first started in the industry like in um working when I was 16. I remember I was working at a fish and chip shop and this old man, he gave me a shirt and he's like, like, go get dressed. And I was like, oh, is there a bathroom? He's like, no, just get dressed there. And it was so like I remember I turned to like facing the wall and I got dressed. Anyway, we're out in the kitchen. He was a fucking creep, but we're out in the kitchen and he would like chuck the fucking scallop in the hot oil and it would splash me. He was just a fucking cunt and then wasn't paying me, like yeah, and.

Speaker 2:

I was only there for I was a couple of weeks and I ended up like leaving and moved down to Tenworth. But I said to dad I worked at a sushi shop after that, but that's when I started to lose weight and I was like I want to go out and do my own thing and be a personal trainer, but I feel like that. It's like it's so common for bosses and business owners to be the fuckwits or unreliable.

Speaker 1:

Unreliable like you can't be. No one wants to fucking work for an asshole yeah like no one wants to work for you if you like. You're literally like slogging your fucking staff through the fucking mud. And then you're like oh, look at the mercedes I'm driving. Like yeah, but even like not being not paying them on time and things like that, it's like waving all this shit around that you've bought yourself and you're literally just like yeah, it just makes them be like like who wants to work for someone like that? Not me?

Speaker 2:

yeah, go on. How could you? Even I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. No, I'm like yeah, yeah, yeah, you'd be like fuck, I didn't pay them.

Speaker 1:

You know what I mean. It's like the first, that is the first thing I do on my admin days is I pay the girls? Yeah, I try to, sometimes I don't. Sometimes it pays a bit late because I'm I get stuck into something else.

Speaker 2:

It's always a day late. I never pay them a day late I always pay them before 12 o'clock yeah, um but yeah what else you got um adapted, sorry, adaptability adaptability adaptability, yeah, and flexibility is key, and never stop learning 100%.

Speaker 1:

You need to be able to easily adaptable because trends change, like the algorithm on Instagram even changes.

Speaker 1:

Like you know, instagram is massive for both of our businesses, so, like that changes. So, yeah, you need to learn how to adapt and like, yeah, follow trends. As fucking tacky as it is, you've got to then follow trends because it's what people like we do. Those fucking stupid, you do it too. Trends as fucking tacky as it is, you've got to then follow trends because it's what people like we do those fucking stupid, you do it too. Those fucking gay videos that you do of, like you and your staff, it's like mimicking, like you know what I mean. Like the, and you're like, oh god, you're doing it and it can be funny. Yeah, you're like five things that can help you in your business yeah, we can.

Speaker 1:

But yeah, like staying on top of trends and stuff like that is super important as well because, yeah, people get on board as tacky as it can be and you can feel like a fuckwit doing it. People love it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, they do Shows personality as well, I feel yeah 100% yeah, for sure. Like our personality is on our yeah yeah, I feel like that's a very important one, yeah and being able to pivot.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, being able to like adapt, like we've obviously spoken about COVID, but like figuring out ways that you can sort of like adapt and, yeah, make your business sort of adaptable.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, and I feel like with being like adapting, anything in life obviously can happen. So if you're like, if something happens in like any adversity, whether it's family, friends within the business, it's like you can still, you don't have to shut your doors, you can still, I guess, work through it like figure it out. Yeah, like because it's so easy to go. That's too fucking hard.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, put it in too hard basket.

Speaker 2:

And yeah, and not actually. Yeah, like move through it and have that like, as you said, with pivoting, like with COVID. That is like the best prime example.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and if you're not going to be able to so many, businesses had to close because, like you know, you even saw cafes that would just start doing deliveries and like whatnot.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

I've mentioned before that I just started fucking delivering people their hair dye in a little bowl and being like here you go, good luck yeah, yeah, yeah yeah you know what I mean. Like you had to sort of yeah, pivot and figure it out, yeah, um and the importance of work-life balance.

Speaker 1:

I had that yeah, I think that's a really important one, because when I first started I was working all the fucking time, no days off, and like it just really really started to take a massive, massive toll on my mental health. Like you really, really need and I'm I'm I get guilt, boss guilt. So like I never take time off and when I do, like I'm going on this six week holiday and I feel fucking terrible because I'm taking time off and I'm going away. I don't give a fuck when the girls have time off, but for me, I feel guilty taking myself away. I don't know why, but I just do like, I just not like, and I work so hard and it's like I do deserve this holiday, but I just get that guilt and it's like, but why though?

Speaker 1:

like yeah, you deserve this break and like I think, yeah, like, um, having that work-, balance, like you just get to the point where it's, like you know, sometimes I still do work on the weekends, but it's because I want to, not because I have to, whereas before I had to do all this stuff in my spare time and I didn't have a lot of it and it was so fucking overwhelming and draining. My brain was never switching off, I never wanted to hang out with friends because I was so fucking exhausted and like that's a massive thing, because I feel like when a lot of people do things, they go hard in yeah hard and fast and they dive in deep and then they're just like that's all they're living and breathing, but like after a while you start to fucking.

Speaker 1:

You know you burn in at both ends of the candle and then you just like, yeah, you're fucked and you crash. You crash and burn, yeah, you get burnout that was, um, literally like last year.

Speaker 2:

Being in my second year of uni, I ended up like, getting to the end of last year and I did burn myself out doing, doing full-time work and full-time uni. You don't have work-life balance. There's no such thing as work-life balance because you're working tonight, got to go home, do uni tomorrow, study because I couldn't do it. You know like, and it is, it's constantly on your mind. But in saying that, it's like for me last year I was like in that mindset where I just wanted to fucking build the business, kill uni didn't give a fuck, and I was just bang, bang, like just that was all that was on my mind.

Speaker 1:

When I woke up gym straight home, like even geordie, my old housemate, she would say, like you need to fucking, like you need to have your time doing other things, because I think it also gets to the point where, like, you're just so driven and whatnot, but then it gets to the point and you're just like fuck, and you just it just hits you yeah, like a ton of shit and like a ton of bricks.

Speaker 1:

Ton of shit, I'll be bad, I didn't get any right. Ton of shit, but yeah, no, I'm a ton of shit, fuck, but yeah, no. Um, like a ton of bricks, yeah, and like obviously it can lead to like a lot of stress, burnout and, like you know, it can harm your business because you are your business, yeah.

Speaker 1:

So like if you're not taking care of yourself and showing up for yourself fully, you're not showing up to your business, like no like I'm just like I'll try to sit down and do content and my brain I just fucking can't, yeah, I just can't be creative and like it's like, okay, what are the little things I can do to make myself feel better? Because sometimes you will have times, like you know, I'm trying to get ready to go on this holiday and there's fucking so much shit I gotta do and it's very overwhelming and I'm like, oh, my god, like I feel like I'm literally just gonna be like in. I won't realize I'm on this holiday until I'm in London. I'm like, oh, fuck, I'm on the other side of the world.

Speaker 2:

You know what I mean.

Speaker 1:

Like sometimes it gets to that point, but don't let it become a constant. Like sometimes you'll have weeks where you fucking smash but like find that time to be able to give back to yourself.

Speaker 2:

Yes, yeah.

Speaker 1:

Because yeah, like, and don't make it a constant thing.

Speaker 2:

Don't fucking make those push yourself to the weeks be a fucking month. Yeah, because that's what I I fucked up with last year. So I just pushed and pushed, and pushed, yeah, and it wasn't until around like when I was in tamworth for a while waiting to move back here, and then I moved back here and I was like six weeks out and I just fucking like I did start to crash mentally. I was just like that, hey, how you going wasn't there.

Speaker 1:

It's like and like personally, for me too, like a massive one for me, like when I worked for myself, by myself, I would always schedule things in, so like if I had to go get the groceries or something, or if I had to do admin, I just schedule it into my normal day, whereas now I'm at work with the girls all the time. I don't just leave when I want yeah you know what I mean.

Speaker 1:

So it's now. It's like okay, having staff is actually giving me more of a workload. So then for me, like a really important one is like, obviously, setting boundaries. I do that, that's huge. Setting boundaries with clients who are friends because like they would text me on a fucking sunday and be like, can you make me an appointment?

Speaker 1:

it's like can't fuck off, like love, love y'all, but like I'm not at work, like stop messaging me like like and you know, sometimes like it sounds like it's one person, but like I might have three friends message me and I'm out for lunch with my family like and what you want me to stop like and reply, and if I just opened it and left them on red then I'm the shit guy. So I just always get people to contact my business page on my business phone and like I might get back to you on a sunday but when I'm ready to yeah, like it gives it all separate and plus it gives it to the girls.

Speaker 1:

If I fuck up, the girls can see it like can see it yeah, I can't see it yeah they're like what do you mean?

Speaker 1:

like just keep it all separate and then delegating um jobs to other people? Amy helps me out a lot so like she does a lot of like I do mostly the admin and the business side of things but she does like all the management, management stuff. So she does like the stock take and like all that sort of shit that I don't have to do so figuring out the things that to take the workload off you that you can delegate to other people that's a massive one for the work-life balance, because I'm not just, I'm not doing that.

Speaker 1:

That's things I don't have to do in my spare time.

Speaker 2:

So like as a subcontractor, like somebody that, like myself, that doesn't have staff, yeah, being a bit more aware of like what you're good at. So like with these podcasts. I was editing the last two and I just got to the point where I was like this is too hard and I said to Emma I was like we've got to get Jacob to to edit them, because the time the, the space, like you know, of putting all the stuff on the computer like that, even though I can do it and I've done it, you know you can be putting that time into other important.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and I said to em.

Speaker 2:

I was like we, I could literally like in that two hours, three hours that I'm spending on the podcast, like last Sunday it took me from 11 to 5 pm. I was like I literally could have, we could be doing like I could be doing content planning, you know, organizing for the show up, uncut page, and these are the things that we haven't been able to get to yet because we've been so busy. But, you know, looking at things in a grand, like the grand scheme of things, and like what is my time going to be, more valuable on.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I think that's probably the smartest thing you can do as a business owner, because even when I hired a p back when I was working on the gym floor, I was booked out. Well, I was booked out, I couldn't do consults and continue to make money, so my only choice was to bring on a PT. But then I started doing all the consults. I was calling, I was fucking pumping, you know, people through the door and then selling them on to him. That was, like you know, the best decision as an on-floor trainer. So, like, really looking at things, how can you get the most value out of that?

Speaker 1:

time I totally agree.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, for sure and then don't be afraid to fail. I think failing makes you a lot wiser and I'm a big one it humbles the fuck out of you. I know when I was 18 and I actually put on my stories this morning um, when I was 18 and I was quite young, competing like I used to think I was the fucking shit, like one. You know a couple of couple of shows and I did like I was like competing back then was completely different, um, to what it is now a lot smaller and physiques were like nowhere near as good as they are now, and I feel like, yeah, because I had done well, it was getting to my head.

Speaker 2:

I did feel you know Superior.

Speaker 1:

Superior, she felt superior.

Speaker 2:

An 18-year-old, bloody, yeah, winning shows. It was like it was a good feeling, you know, first show. But then, as soon as I did the Arnold's and I didn't even get looked at on stage, that was when I was like it was it. Yeah, it definitely humbled me and it made me realize that you know these setbacks and the like you failing, or you know, in in your eyes it's failing because you didn't win um you're not winning, you're losing.

Speaker 1:

You're a last, we're joking but it does.

Speaker 2:

It pushes you to be more resilient and it pushes you to to be better. Yeah, so I feel like I totally agree. Failing is a good fucking thing, because if you're always winning and you let it get to your head when you do lose, you'll never go back. No, you'll be a sore loser.

Speaker 1:

And no one likes a sore loser. Trust me, yeah. Well that was a vibe.