I’m Akila Palaniswami, a beginner entrepreneur since 2022 after working for companies in India, Germany, France and the USA. I failed in my franchise ownership. Also, was hesitant to write that here .But, the experience taught me the lessons, people and most importantly not to give up no matter what. Entrepreneurship is glorified in all levels. I share updates about my journey, failures (those are super real) and all size wins.
Now why my journey matters?
Many told me that I am resilient, hard core business persona, bla bla bla. But when Neel said that while operating one of the franchises, it matters to me and you. Now, feel free to know more about him here.
If you would like to watch the exit interview with Neel, click below.
I used to have 2 businesses and paid the price for it. You guessed it right. I shut it down and sticking to the first business I started. More on that subject later. For now, check my first business here. (After all it funded my personal website and blog)
As a member of Night Owl Nation, I am reassured that am at the right place in my entrepreneurship journey.
One of my cousins sent me a voice note after seeing this Instagram post. She emphasized my hard work. But only I know my level of effort in Pattupleats in 2024.
Real Entrepreneurship
People enjoy entrepreneurship and hustle culture, no matter where they are in their journey. We celebrate wins of all sizes—small, micro, and big. But we should also track our losses: micro losses, mini losses, and major losses. It’s key to understand our mistakes, how we make them, and how we can fix them in the business. If we don’t learn from our mistakes, we start to hate our business. Then, we may feel like misfits in entrepreneurship. No one is born an entrepreneur. Everyone becomes one through a process, and that journey is just as important. I’m in the making process. If you feel the same, join in and share your thoughts on your journey in entrepreneurship. I’m glad if your journey is easy. If it’s tough, remember you are not alone. As a baby in this journey, I started documenting my mistakes and insights to help you. If you are in the wedding industry, you will relate to most of what you read here. In this blog, I tell you what baby-level entrepreneurship is for real after three years in this.
A dull, slow weight
Despite few wins to keep me going in this pursuit, I have a dull pain in my shoulders to meet the sales target every month. My mornings start with looking at numbers. It is hard to unplug completely from the business. When half of the month is gone, it does create a knot in the stomach when your sales target is not met. The wedding industry is lucrative, and it generates $64.93 billion per year. But where is your share of the pie? I search the internet daily for industry insights and sales lessons. I aim to improve my path each day. What helps in this phase?
- Learning sales
- Making more sales calls
- Responding to inquiries
- Practicing my sales scripts in front of the mirror.
Unbeatable positivity
Mindset is a game changer in the entrepreneurial journey. When numbers are low, it does help to look at the long-term haul. When a client doesn’t book, my insecurities creep in. I run to read the mindset book once a week not to stay positive but to trust the process. It hurts when someone asks if this business model will thrive. People often question you and doubt your skills on this entrepreneurial path. What helps here?
- Reading the Mindset book every week
- Knowing that you are trying something and are open to success and failure.
Le resilience
I may have biased thoughts here. Women are resilient in general as we always have judgments from society, and we roll up our sleeves to fix it. May be this is why there are 14 million female entrepreneurs in the USA. Being resilient is my love language. I cannot give up. Many described me as extremely stubborn in life. It didn’t always help me, but it pays back in important life decisions such as having a baby. More than ever, women have fertility issues, and I am no exception. It is my resilience that helped us with a child. Being resilient helps with sales and marketing. It also has a beneficial impact on your brand.
Loneliness
I have coaching calls and online support, but I still feel lonely on this journey. It is not because Pattupleats doesn’t have a team to shoulder responsibilities. I do not have any friends or family in the same boat. Everyone around me has a 9-5 job. So, my schedule and challenges are hard to communicate. I would rather use that time to reply to some emails that I have flagged as red since last week. What helps your loneliness as a business owner? Reading feeds your business. No one teaches your business like you know your baby better than others. So, read and absorb from the world. It empowers you to beat the loneliness.
Personal life
Say no to birthday parties, late-night movies, and more. The idea is to avoid wasting energy on things that don’t help you be productive. After starting my business, I learned it the hard way. Time is everything you have in your control to build your business. From 2024, I do not attend 90% of the family parties I used to. I make time to visit my inner circle every quarter. I enjoy having meaningful conversations with them. Also, you will see me sending all insights for anyone who is in business because I know how the journey is and how it is not. My dad would say, “Akila, it’s okay to miss a wedding. But be there when someone needs you.”
What helps here?
Do not feel guilty about not socializing. Deep inside, I enjoy not going to parties and celebrating birthdays. Tbh, we didn’t throw a party when our son turned 1 year old.
Numbers game
ROI is my favorite word of the jour since 2024. Before investing in any marketing or software, think of the ROI for sales or visibility. I don’t follow the usual “time is money” idea. I’m fine spending extra time with my clients or learning. I make sure it pays off in the long run. I performed poorly in math, and it is not a subject I enjoy. But I understand the profit and loss in my business. What helps in the numbers game? Being honest with yourself and knowing when to pull the plug on some business expenses. For example, I always invest in my website but not always in marketing ads. Because I am not an expert in advertisements, but the website is my business asset with 100% ownership.
Networking
With a baby, my networking took a back seat since 2024. But, I’m learning to have meaningful conversations with industry professionals. This Austin photographer Bhuvana Dhinesh offers unlimited support on SEO. If you are a wedding professional, go check her SEO insights. People do ghost you. You will get used to it as an entrepreneur. If you serve Gen Z clients, their engagement differs from that of other generations. They prefer texting over talking and are quick to make purchases this way.
Final Thoughts
Always take my advice with a grain of salt, because I am still a baby in this entrepreneurship journey. The baby wants to talk now. You might wonder why. This baby made more mistakes than the business can afford. Also, the baby doesn’t want another baby to make those same mistakes. There aren’t many online resources about entrepreneurs in the early stages. They do rarely share their mistakes and how they fixed them. But some errors are hard to correct. For instance, if you mis position your brand, it can be tough to change that first impression. You need a strong marketing team to help you fix it.
If you need to know anything about early stages of entrepreneurship in the wedding industry, please write to me.
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