Introducing: The Trena Little Business Eras Tour
Trying to get your business to make a consistent monthly income is HARD, and it's even harder to hit the 6 figure mark… but I’m here to say that, while it’s hard, it's absolutely possible… and I know because I was able to do it.
That doesn't mean there weren’t any hiccups along the way, though.
I know how the internet makes things seem, but starting a business takes more work than you expect, even if you expect it to be a lot of work when you begin.
There was nothing really special about me to help me do it. I didn’t spend any extra money on Facebook ads; I didn’t get a lucky shout-out from someone. And I had no idea what I was doing.
That first year of my business I was so jealous of all the younger girls I saw growing their businesses at what, from the outside looking in, seemed light-speed (but I know now it was mostly because they didn’t have kids yet and I had a whole family, which definitely adds an extra challenge to the mix). But that first year in my business in 2016, I made $10K…for the entire year! Not fun.
And that’s why I’m kicking off a new series, and I hope you’ll come along for the ride!
The Trena Little Business Eras Tour
This is a five-video series to share more about the journey I went on — the mistakes I made, the mindset shifts I had, and the actions I took — to get me to over $600K in revenue this year. Each video will be themed with a different Taylor Swift era because, why not (I know a lot of us didn’t get tickets anyways)??
But unlike Taylor Swift’s first era — the Our Song Era — I wasn’t an overnight hit. Here’s what that first year was really like.
January 2016
Before I became an entrepreneur, I worked at a job that paid pretty well, but it was not a great environment. I’d even go so far as to call it toxic. So, I left my job on New Year’s Eve in 2015.
I’m fortunate enough to live in an area where the cost of living is low, so my family (at the time me, my husband, and our 10-month-old daughter) could survive on my husband’s salary alone if we needed to.
So…I figured it wouldn’t be that hard to start a business. I had an MBA and got my undergrad in marketing, and already spent several years in the workforce. How bad could it be? Surely I would get on the fast track to making passive income and sipping mai tais on the beach, right?
Looking back at it now….2016 Trena was waaaaay off.
February 2016
February was when I started digging into his whole entrepreneurship thing. I attended webinars, started making connections with a few people doing JV webinars, and even got on Twitter to make contacts (if that tells you anything about the times!).
Then…I launched my first course. Called it the Brand Boosting Video, and I thought I was the next best thing since sliced bread.
I was constantly up at night mapping it out, putting it together, and throwing together my launch plan for it. I even went live on Facebook every day for a whole week to promote it (which at the time, wasn’t something people did)
And then I only got three sales. And one of them was a friend who felt bad for me. Yep — it was a pity buy.
May 2016
Looking back through the calendar I had in 2016, I can’t believe how I survived that first half of the year with a barely one-year-old and being newly pregnant. But that flop of a launch really defeated me.
So we went on vacation to lighten the mood. And while I was supposed to be out of the office, I was instead pitching myself to people. And I felt pretty crummy about it.
But it ended up working well because one of those people happened to be Jessica Rasdall, who is still a client of mine. In fact, I’d credit her for being the reason I’m still here in the online business space.
She gave me a huge opportunity — I became her YouTube video editor and strategist (for any newbies out there, all it takes is one person to give you a chance, don’t forget that). She introduced me to the entire creative entrepreneur space, and while I’d love to say the rest is history, there were still several bumps in the road to get where I am today.
The rest of 2016
I spent the rest of the year networking my butt off! I was super ambitious, but trying way too hard to constantly recreate the wheel (without knowing I was doing so, of course) and doing everything because I was just trying to get something accomplished.
I was making notes about printables and Pinterest, even Snapchat trying to stay consistent, and I ended up being all over the place because I had no idea what I was doing.
And I was exhausted. By the end of 2016, all I wanted was a nap.
Lessons learned from Our Song Era Trena
When I left my corporate job, I had no idea what I was doing or what this journey would look like. I had a few simple goals in mind, and I thought it would be easy to get there — make $60K, retain 3 clients, hire an employee, speak at 2 conferences, make my bed every day (still not doing that one, though). I had no idea what I was in for!
But looking at it now, something I can learn from this time in my business is one day you do wake up and think, “how did I end up here??” But in a good way. I think 2016 would be shocking to learn what numbers we’re bringing in now, how many employees we have, and everything else that’s happened along the way.
All in all, it’s reminding me to be grateful for the hustle era.
Up next…The haunted Era
Taylor may have been fearless, but 2017 Trena definitely was not. Though some things changed in my business, I had a MAJOR mountain to overcome, one I didn’t see coming.
If you want to hear the setlist…I mean story…from my Haunted Era, stay tuned over on my YouTube channel, where I’ll be dropping the rest of the Trena Business Eras Tour videos (and don’t worry — I won’t be running out of tickets).
If you want to hear the setlist…I mean story…from my Haunted Era, check out this video below!
