The Pitfalls of a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Mindset...
And How This Entrepreneur Asked for Help to Get Started
Hello, friends! 👋🏿👋🏽👋 The beginning of the second half of the year is a good time to do an assessment of your year and your goals. Toward that end, In Part One of my profile of Fabiola Mistelske of Fabiola Mistelske Beauty, we learned about the value of time. Today, in Part Two, the mom, wife and entrepreneur shares the value of asking for help to achieve your goals.
In this article, you’ll find out the following:
🌴How relying on just yourself can be counter-productive
🌴How much certain things cost when you’re starting your business
🌴 What you need to know about grants
🌴 Now, get some details on how Fabiola Mistelske took her idea from dream into action…
DIY IS NOT ALWAYS THE BEST WAY TO GO
Fabiola Mistelske is one of those people who always preferred to depend on herself, not others, to get things done.
“I do not like to ask for help. I don’t. I mean, if I have to grab my three-year old in my hands and have a bag in my [other hand], I’m not going to ask you to pass me the bottled water that is next to you. I’m going to do it.”
But she admits, “That is wrong.”
She has since learned that a DIY kind of mindset can definitely work against you when you’re starting a business.
DO YOU HAVE AN INCOME SOURCE?
When she wanted to start Fabiola Mistelske Beauty, her hair and makeup business that specializes in bridal beauty services, she tried to get a small business loan.
There was just one big problem.
Mistelske couldn’t show potential lenders any income because she was a stay-at-home mom at the time. Before, she’d had a career working as a bone marrow coordinator to help cancer patients who needed transplants.
But, once she decided she wanted to open her business, she was taking care of her kids at home.
And, unfortunately, that just won’t help on a bank loan application.
JUST DO IT… ASK FOR HELP
But she didn’t want to ask her husband for help.
So Mistelske applied for loans.
Lots of them.
And she kept getting denied. Over and over again.
More than 50 times.
Something had to give.
She broke down and accepted her husband’s offer to co-sign for a loan.
DON’T MAKE IT HARDER THAN IT HAS TO BE
“The moment I decided that I needed help, and I opened myself to help, the $10,000 came to my door in less than a week. And I was like, that’s it?”
Yep. That’s all it took. Done.
BUSINESS COACH – OR NO BUSINESS COACH?
She says she used about $5,000 to hire a business coach.
Mistelske says her business coach put around 30 items on her to-do list.
“I learned so much with her.”
The coach also gave her the critical framework for setting up her business.
After all, Mistelske says there are so many things that people don’t talk about, like not only registering your business in the state but being aware that you need to register your business in your county, as well.
Then, you need to register your business with the IRS.
THE WAIT CAN BE HARD
Once you get through those tasks, you move to what she calls a “hurry up and wait situation.”
You get all the information. You do what they ask. You pay the fees.
And, then, you wait.
“How long is it going to take? Nobody knows.”
Mistelske also recommends you set aside between $1,000 to $2,000 to get your LLC (limited liability company) established.
ABOUT GRANTS…
For those of you hoping to get grants, which you do not have to pay back, she has a word of caution.
“You can find grants in your state, but they are usually approved for businesses that have been in existence for at least the bare minimum – six months.”
It wasn’t an option for her. She didn’t qualify.
In the end, a credit union is the one that gave her the small business loan.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO MAKE CHANGES, IF SOMETHING JUST DOESN’T FEEL RIGHT
She also ended up going against some of the advice of her business coach.
“Last year, I closed my year with almost six figures… which is amazing. And I had 12 artists working for me…”
But she says something just didn’t feel right.
So she decided to make adjustments that led her to focus on a niche.
“I reduced my team from twelve to five. And I am concentrating right now in targeting more luxury customers…”
She’s learned that “… you really have to be able to tailor your systems and processes for your own business in order for it to work…”
And that, she says, is based on intuition and asking yourself the question, “Is this really going to help my business?”
Still, Mistelske recommends getting a business coach, especially for people who are new to the business world.
ASK FOR MORE MONEY; YOU’LL PROBABLY NEED IT
What she would change is that she would’ve tried to get a $15,000 business loan instead of the $10,000 she asked for in her initial business loan application.
YES, YOU CAN FIND THE TIME AND THE WAY TO MAKE IT HAPPEN
Most of all, she wants to encourage other moms to find the time to apply for loans to start their small business dream.
“I was taking care of my girls. Cooking, cleaning, picking them up from school, dropping them off in gymnastics and, in between my own chaos in my own home, I was able to do that. I’m telling you, if you commit to whatever you want, you will make it. The only thing you have to do is move forward.”
INSPIRATION FOR THIS ISSUE:
Asking for help doesn’t seem like something that would be too difficult.
But it is for lots of people.
There are so many reasons why you may prefer to just “figure it out” yourself:
· You don’t want to bother someone about it
· You don’t want to feel stupid for asking
· You don’t want to lower your public standing as the “expert” on the topic
· You’re embarrassed about what you’re asking about
· You don’t know who to turn to for help
I’m sure you can add to the list. But you get the idea.
Putting ourselves in a vulnerable position is hard. We’re, basically, asking ourselves to swallow our pride. And that’s never easy.
But it’s like asking for a raise or being the first to raise your hand to answer a question in a roomful of people.
The more you do it, the easier it gets.
It builds on itself. Your confidence grows.
People are not mind-readers. They don’t know what you need, if you don’t speak up. They just need to know you need the help.
And guess what?
Most people like the feeling of being relied on for help. It makes them feel good. And it solves your problem and gets you closer to your goals.
This came to mind when Fabiola told me about how she struggled to find a lender to get her small business going.
Submitting 50+ applications is a lot!
Who knew that the person who could get her over her biggest hurdle (a guarantor, since she didn’t have any current income to show) would be her husband?
We all want to take ownership of an idea or project.
But, it doesn’t minimize our achievement if we use the resources around us.
On the contrary, it makes us look smart.
Really smart.
So go ahead. Ask for help.
You’ll likely find yourself that much closer to getting what you want. #theskyisNOTthelimit
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