The Truth About Being an Entrepreneur

There’s a common misconception that when you become a business owner, everything will magically be perfect. Don’t fall for it. There is nothing magical about being an entrepreneur. Owning your own business is hard.

But with every lesson I’ve learned, I’ve become stronger. I don’t want you to have to learn all these lessons through trial and error like me. I’m hoping you can learn from my roller-coaster of a journey and skip all the messy stuff on your own journey. So here it is, my truth:

1. You Have to Be Willing to Learn

You won’t know everything that you need to know to run a successful business. This is okay. I started my first lash salon almost seven years ago and I still don’t know everything I need to know. Everyday I’m learning. And again, that’s okay. All you have to do is be aware that you don’t know everything and be willing to learn as much as you can. You can learn from a book, from a mentor or from simply observing.

Don’t stop yourself from reaching a goal because you’re worried that you don’t know everything.

Did you know the beauty industry is the fastest growing industry?! Read more in Cosmetology Career Path: From Colorist to Lash Marketing Pro.

2. Be Prepared to Work 24/7

When you work for someone else you can leave work at work. You come into the salon or office, do your job and go home. When you’re an owner, your whole life is submerged in your business. I get calls and emails even when I’m sitting on the beach in Hawaii. I could ignore them. You know, deal with them when I get back to Arizona. But my lash salons are my babies. Could you ignore a call or email from your baby (you know if babies could call or email)? Beach side or not, babies come first!

The truth is you won’t have more time to do yoga, dance all night or be cozy on the couch with your family because your business will need you to be able survive.

3. You Won’t Be the Boss

I currently own four lash salons along with The Lash Professional and, girl, I’m not a boss. Do you know who my boss is? My clients. Yep, you read that right. I work for them. They tell me if I’m doing well or not, they tell me if I hired correctly or made a mistake, and they tell me if the lash cleanser I’ve been working on for months is the best thing ever or whether it needs more work. I answer to them. You will too. Our clients are our bosses.

4. Sometimes You Have to Be the “Bad Guy”

Being an entrepreneur and owner of lash salons, I am forced to make difficult decisions that people don’t always understand.

You may have to discipline or fire employees, end business relationships that aren’t working for you and your bottom line or make other decisions that people might not like.

You have to be okay with this because you won’t be liked by everyone, especially when you’re running your own business.

5. The Sacrifices are All Worth It

Almost every day I walk into our headquarters so grateful for the business my team and I have created. This business is worth all the difficult lessons I had to learn to get here.

Being an entrepreneur has given me the opportunity to meet amazing women who have become some of my favorite people in this whole entire world. And, what is more important than meaningful relationships?!

So, what do I want you to take away from this? Well, being an entrepreneur is hard. It is very hard! But WOW is it rewarding.

XO, VANESSA MOLICA

Curious about how to get started as a lash entrepreneur? Read our blog post on How to Build a Profitable Lash Extension Business.