08/09/2026
Good morning! I hope everyone has enjoyed their weekend so far, and have a blessed Sunday!
This post is much different from anything I’ve ever posted here for the business. I know that this is long, and I’m sure most people won’t read through it all- which is okay. If you do make it through the whole post, leave a comment of some sort to let me know! I couldn’t help but go to my notes app and type out the thoughts that were racing through my head late Saturday night.
After working on some office work for a few hours, tidying up the books for the previous month, making sure my schedule was all lined up for the upcoming week, and planning my work day for Sunday, I had some time to sit in my very first home- alone, and reflect on some things over this last year- since this upcoming Tuesday, August 11th will be the official one-year anniversary of starting my business!
As a young business owner, I look back at how uncertain things were when I made both the hard and easy decision to quit my full time job working for a feedlot out of college, after graduating with a (B.S.) in Animal Science & Minor in Ag Business. While I don’t, AND won’t ever regret my decision of putting in my two weeks’ notice and moving back home to start my own business, I have learned quite a bit through this long, but short journey over the last year -since it feels like I just started yesterday..
I’ve come to realize that being a young entrepreneur in your early 20’s and starting a business is one of the most difficult things one could possibly do in their lifetime. There’s a reason many of you probably hear that being a business owner isn’t for everyone. I will tell you first hand that this is absolutely a true statement, and it definitely isn’t for everyone.
With that being said, there has been a lot of things over this last year that I never expected when I decided to take this exciting, yet very stressful and overwhelming leap.
I never expected how much time would go into the “little” things I didn’t think about that have absolutely nothing to do with the actual work I started the business to do. The bookkeeping. The scheduling. The estimates. The invoices. The constant phone calls. The emails. The planning. The advertising. The equipment. The expenses. The dreaded tax season. The constant decision making. The list seems to never end…
I also never expected how much being a business owner would challenge me personally, physically, and mentally. There have been days where I have questioned whether I made the right decision or not. There have been days where I’ve been exhausted, frustrated, overwhelmed, stressed, and wondered how I was going to keep up with everything. There’s been days when I had to ask for help to get the work done because I knew I was already losing money on the job. There’s been many weekends when I was working while everyone else was enjoying theirs. There have been times where I felt guilty for having to work as much as I do, but at the same time feeling anxious like I wasn’t doing enough if I took time away. There’s been days where I felt sick and didn’t want to work, but still had to because I have no one to cover for me- but everyone to rely on me. Cancelling plans because work came up. Having to say no to friends and family because I had to stay back to work. Working on holidays and missing out on time with family or friends. There’s been times where the people I thought would support me the most, really didn’t. There have been evenings where I was still answering messages, sending emails, working on invoices, or working on other things long after I probably should have been done for the day.
And there have been times where I’ve looked at everything on my plate and thought to myself, “What did I get myself into?”
But then there are the moments that make it all worth it. The first time someone trusted me enough to hire me. The first referral. The first repeat customer. The first neighbor to walk down the street and hire me because of my quality of work I take pride in. The first time I realized that people were actually recommending my business to their friends and family. The jobs that I was especially proud of. The customers who took the time to tell me they appreciated my work, and gave me extra drinks, tips, etc. Those moments mean more to me than I can probably put into words.
One of the biggest things I’ve learned over this past year is that owning a business is not just about making money. It’s about building a brand- a reputation, something that you can be proud of. It’s about putting your name behind your work and knowing that every interaction, every job, and every decision reflects and comes back on you. It’s about putting in every single bit of effort and energy you have, even though you know you might not get anything back out of it. It has taught me responsibility in a way I don't think any other job ever could. It has taught me patience. It has taught me how to deal with failure. It has taught me how to have difficult conversations with clients, friends, and family. It has taught me that learning how to say no is one of the hardest, yet most important things I could learn to do. It has taught me that at some point, people will call me “lucky” when they didn’t see the long and exhausting hours, sleepless nights, no free time for hobbies or having fun, constant weekends full of work, constant months of no paychecks, and stressful decisions, months, and years of the business that led me to where I hope to be in the future. And it has taught me that sometimes you have to take a step back, take a deep breath, figure things out, and keep moving forward even when you don't have all the answers.
And maybe most importantly, it has taught me that I don't need to have everything figured out. I'm only one year into this.
I'm still young. I'm still learning. I started from ground zero with nothing- no handouts, hand me downs, or anything given to me to start with. I'm still making mistakes. I'm still figuring out what works and what doesn't. I don't know exactly where this business will take me over the next 5, 10, or 20 years. But I do know that I'm proud of how far it has come in just one year.
When I think back to where I was a year ago, there was a lot more uncertainty than certainty. I had an idea- a vision, a lot of ambition, and honestly, probably more confidence than I deserved. But I was willing to work. I was willing to put in long exhausting hours. I was willing to put anything and everything I had back into the business. It has been over 14 months now since I received my last paycheck from my previous full-time job. And since then, believe it or not, I have only wrote myself one measly paycheck, and that’s it. I have the courage to tell you that this is one of the hardest things to get used to when started and running a business. And even when the business is booming, and you have a team to work with, and employees, it’s still not guaranteed that you will be able to pay yourself. As an owner, you’re always the last one on the list because everyone else has to come first. While I’m not to that point yet, I hope to be there soon. It isn’t anything like a full time job with a paycheck coming every 2 weeks, knowing that you have stable income to rely on.
And looking back now, I think that willingness to work, sacrificing all of my time to work on the business, to keep showing up even if I didn’t have the energy to, learning, adapting, accepting the losses, and continuing to push forward has been one of the biggest reasons I've made it this far.
I also know that I couldn’t have made it through this first year without the people around me. To my customers, family, friends, and everyone who has truly supported me, encouraged me, referred me, hired me, shared a post, recommended my business, left a review, or simply told someone about what I do- THANK YOU! You may not realize it, but every single one of those things has meant something to me, and each of those things matter A LOT as I’m trying to get my business off the ground.
When you're a small business, especially when you're young and just getting started, every customer matters. Every job matters. Every referral matters. And I don't ever want to lose sight of that.
So, as I approach my one-year anniversary of being in business, I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I've got it all figured out. I don't by any means-not even close! But I’m incredibly thankful for the opportunity to try. To wake up every morning and give it my all! I'm thankful that I had the courage to take the biggest risk one could take. I'm thankful for every lesson, even the ones I didn't want to learn. I'm thankful for the good days, the difficult days, the unexpected opportunities, and even the setbacks. And most of all, I'm excited to see what the next year brings.
Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this journey so far. I truly mean it when I say I couldn't do this without you.
Here’s to coming up on the finish to my first full year of business, and the many more years to come in the future!!
