It’s easy to get into a trap with your business. You know the one. The I-Must-Do-Everything-Right-And-Google-All-Day-Long trap.
The pressure to follow all of the rules can be overwhelming.
I have fallen for the trap and in doing so have made the following mistakes.
Not Being Organized
Organization is key. I remember (not fondly) having to do taxes in the spring. What I should have done was set aside a few minutes a week/month to input everything into excel spreadsheets and file away my papers appropriately. Instead I spent 3(!!) full days at the library going through a huge stack of gas receipts and piles of paper. I would have saved myself time and money (daycare costs) if I would have just done it right from the get go.
Saying Yes
Of course there will be times when opportunities come along and you will want to say yes to them but you do not (and shouldn’t fell like you have to) say yes to everything and everyone. Sometimes things are not a great fit and that is okay.
Not Having Policies In Place
I never realize how important policies are before I am faced with a weird situation and have to make a decision on the fly. It is MUCH easier to policies in place in case some one wants to write a sponsored post, negotiate shipping costs, return a used item or wants you to include a free unicorn with purchase. You can always break your own policies or make exceptions if the need arises.
Not Taking Breaks
When we started TOTS I worked on the blog all the time. Most nights I was up until 1am tweaking, installing and writing. The blog benefited greatly from the time spent, my marriage did not. It is easy to get sucked in with all the little things there are to do when you have a business or blog but you cannot have work/life balance if you just work all the time. Make sure you schedule time off and take it. If that means you sit outside without your smart phone and read a book for 15 minutes or take your kids to the park for an hour so be it.
Not Asking For Help
Running a business and/or blog is hard. There are lots to know and so much to do. We try to make it a bit easier for you by providing the (free) resources you need to be successful. Even with all the awesome information we provide (shameless plug) it is still hard to do all on your own. I am very grateful to have Cat as my blog partner. Everything I am not so stellar at she is awesome at and vice versa. If you run your business or blog without a partner you can still collaborate with other like-minded people by joining forums, groups etc.
We have a facebook groups for Canadian Mommy Bloggers and WAHM/Small Business Moms if you would like to join.
What are the biggest mistakes you have made and learned from?
Not having enough posts consistently.
My biggest mistake in blogging was not joining like minded niche groups sooner. I was timid because I was still learning so much, I didn’t want to sound foolish asking silly questions. I wasted so much time thinking I had to figure it out for myself. Silly me! I thrive in group settings and learn from others. I should have done it sooner.
I did too much too soon and got myself burned out a bit, which killed my creativity completely. However, a couple of days of rest sorted it out. So my biggest mistake is not taking time for myself and just bad organization in general.
My biggest mistake – blogging too often and hitting burnout. I learned I need to pace myself with posts less often.
My biggest mistake has been finding that perfect balance with how much time I spend writing. In the past I didn’t value my time enough and accepted a lot of low cost, sometimes lower quality product reviews. I am getting much more selective now though!
I can’t think of any mistakes I’ve made that really made a difference in the long run. I can remember posting things at the wrong time or accidentally leaving something out, but those things are fixable…I guess I should say I learned to proofread! 🙂
Stopping by from the blogelina commentathon!
~ Dara
I about killed myself with my blog the first few months! Having a new baby forced me to stop – but I still think I’d be making a whole lot more if I only could give up sleeping…
Hmmm… not sure what mistakes I’ve made in the long run. There’s the technically stuff, like not jumping on pinterest sooner, not using no-follow links, etc. That’s all stuff I wish I had known before I was a few years in…now it’s a pain to go back to all those old posts and edit them.
I think the biggest mistake I’ve made in the past is not networking or building up connections with other bloggers. Not only trying to do it all myself but also trying to figure it out all myself. It is so much better to ask someone who is a bit further down the road what has worked for them and what they’ve learned! I’m working on correcting that these days.
I had to learn the hard way that saying yes was not in my best interest! Especially with advertising deals!
Thanks for the fabulous blogging tips!
Since I have began my Blogging about 4 months ago, I have made every mistake in the book, pretty sure I have invented a couple new ones. My biggest problems seem to be with knowing what all the terminology is, and how to make it work. My Daughter in law (Brittany@The Pistachio Project (see above comment) Has walked me through EVERYthing, by message and email and spent countless hours writing me up tutatorials and such, I would have given up before even starting, if it werent for her! I WILL not give up! 🙂
I can’t think of any off-hand but to be fair I was a blog reader for a long time before I started blogging so I already knew what would work and what wouldn’t. The only thing I can think of really is not starting on WordPress, although that is debatable because I might have ended up hating the whole thing and wasted money on hosting.
I am probably “guilty” of not taking a lot of breaks. i feel like I have to work harder because I am still a solopreneur. So I sometimes sacrifice breaks for the sake of getting work done.
i gotta work on organization – that’s my mistake… 😀
Organization and taking breaks are so essential!
I struggle BIG time with the “Not saying no.” In fact, this morning I had to talk myself out of accepting an offer for something that wouldn’t even go in line with my blog.
And since my husband has been gone for a deployment and is coming home soon, I know I will have to change how I handle my blog business. As of right now, I’m on it whenever I can and up late at night to play catch up. Probably a bad habit I developed. Time to make some changes!
Thanks for the tips! It’s an eye opener <3
Having tons of ideas for posts and then not writing them down.
Spelling errors are a problem for me
Wow, love advice from the veteran mommy bloggers out there. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us newbies.
By the way…my name is Katrina too. I decided to use a nickname on the blog. I get tired of all the hurricane jokes…especially with the last name of Hurt…”Katrina hurt New Orleans” and other not so original puns. :/
At first I was timid at posting, now I try to fit it is as time allows. My biggest problem is posting on a regular basis and when I do sit down to write, feeling like writing about something. I have so many drafts that aren’t finished because of photos, incomplete ideas etc. I do love blogging though, you meet so many wonderful people!
My biggest issue is by far not being able to say “no”. I want to do it all but clearly cannot.
I struggle with all of these! Great suggestions!
These are great things to think about. I’d have to say mine has been getting putting the correct value on my time and working within a resonable time so the time I spend doesn’t devalue what I get in return. That and hanging out in social media under the disguise of “working”.
I’m guilty of not being organized. And probably spending too much time on this blog. I try not to but it happens sometimes. Of course I’m also an insomniac, so I’d be up reading if I wasn’t working on my blog.
Biggest mistake I have learned from (including the ones above) is knowing what my time is worth and being able to tell people that up front!
awesome post! Thanks for the reminders. I’ve been trying to balance it all too. Since I started this blog I took the first couple years slow, then in the last year have been trying to do it all. Most nights I try to go to bed with my husband.. that makes a big difference! Stopping by from the comment-a-thon…. Emily
I do make these mistakes. Recent mistakes are taking on too many reviews. I am behind. Organization is something I must work on.
My biggest mistake was having the “build it and they will come” mentality. That and not recognizing the time commitment to build a quality blog and not a journal! Great advice here lady! Happy that you shared.
I totally agree with these. My most difficult one was learning to say no to certain offers. I wanted to accept everything at first because I felt like I’d be a failure if I said no and would stop getting opps. However, I learned that I needed to stay true to myself and my brand, and not everything is a good fit for both of those. Something that’s helped me is learning to help the rep if I do say no. I offer to pass the opp along to other bloggers who might be a better fit than myself. That way, I don’t feel as if I’m totally helpless and I’m doing them a favor as well.
I definitely need to work on my organization. I just don’t seem to have the time to sit and organize all of my papers, posts, laundry… And the piles keep building!
Yes to saying yes, although not so much anymore. I used to say yes to every single opp, even stuff I really didn’t want to do. I stopped doing that and feel much better. Also, I don’t take breaks often enough! I do reach a burn-out point where I have to stop, but that only lasts for a few hours. I did force myself to take off at least one weekend day!
This is an excellent post. I’ve pinned it so I can remember these tips.
I don’t currently have my blog as a business because of the balance factor you mentioned. I choose to prioritize my marriage and my kids so it means that there are longer times between posts. Having a partner is an interesting idea, though….stopping by from Blogelina
Time time time. Too much time on my blog and not my other goals and family. It has taken me a bit to narrow down my niche a bit, but I’m okay with that. It’s been a good learning experience for me. Looking at too much advice and being totally overwhelmed.
Not monetizing my blog. I am still making this mistake. I need to do something to try to start earning money on my blog, but have no idea where to start.
Great great tips. This is something that has been on my mind for a while. I’ve loved reading everyone’s comments too!
I definitely need to get back to my prior discipline about how often I post!