What they don’t teach you at Harvard
Out on my morning walk last week a book in my neighbourhood’s Little Free Library caught my eye.
What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School: Notes from a Street-Smart Executive.
I pulled the book out and briefly thumbed through the pages of generic advice about sales and returning phone calls in a timely manner (it was published in 1984 afterall) and surrounding yourself with people who can make you look good.
The book was returned to the library and I continued on my walk, thinking about everything I know about running a business that they definitely don’t teach you at business school…
Or in business books written by old guys that look like the villain CEO in a movie about a big box chain taking over an independent book store.
So today, I’m sharing my version, which I would definitely call:
What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School: Notes From a Sensitive, Solo, Creative Small Business Owner with Undiagnosed ADHD and/or Perimenopause.
✴️ There isn’t just one right way to build or run a business
You get to decide what works for you and your business - when you invoice clients, what marketing channels to use (or don’t use), how your offers are structured, what time of day you get to your desk…
No really, doing it your way is the whole point.
Best practices can be a great place to start, but at the end of the day, the best best practices are the ones that align with your vision, values and preferences.
✴️ It’s never just marketing
When you’re doing your own thing marketing is so much more than just marketing. It’s also the vulnerability of visibility, the fear of rejection, the fear of failure.
It’s showing up on platforms alongside a livestream of the horrors that continue to persist.
It’s the voice in the back of your head; the voice of Amy your former colleague who made you feel dumb; the mean anonymous comment on a post.
Every time you market your business, all of that and more comes too.
Naming all the tender parts underneath your marketing might not make them go away, but it does make it easier to give yourself some grace the next time you feel like you’re spinning your wheels.
✴️ Marketing feels hard because it is hard
And on top of all of that – attention is scarce and difficult to get, even harder to keep. We are all exposed to so much information, every hour of every day.
That’s why giant companies like PepsiCo have a marketing team with 2,500+ employees and spend $3 billion a year… to be the world’s second best selling cola for the past 40 years.
So if marketing your own creative small business feels hard… it’s because it is. Not because you’re doing anything wrong.
✴️ You are not your business
When I was growing Heavy Flow, my whole identity and self-worth was enmeshed with the business.
And how could it not when it felt like my soul's work, the whole reason for my existence on earth?
Learning that my worth as a person was complete and separate from the business changed everything.
It helped me loosen my grip on outcomes, embrace a spirit of experimentation and show up more fully in my business which in turn made it easier to be seen.
✴️ When the algorithm clocks that you’re building a business it’s not proof that you’re doing it wrong
In the early days of building Slow & Steady I was constantly getting served ads for secret-magic formulas and frameworks GUARANTEED! to make me fast money.
Even though I know how marketing sausage is made, I’d fall for these false promises because they play into the shame and fear that I’m not good enough (SEE ABOVE!).
So the next time you’re tempted to assume that a predatory ad was sent to proove that you’re doing it wrong or you’re behind… take a deep breath, it’s not.
It's just some pretty good segmentation.
✴️ "Just be consistent" is bs advice but also if you’re going to get anywhere you have to be consistent
Any business (or life) advice that starts with “just” can go straight to the bin but the worst offender is “just be consistent.” Because consistency without a clear strategy is going to make you busy without bringing in results.
It isn’t going to help when you’ve gaps in your strategy or marketing that leads to nowhere or you’re putting all your eggs into one layer of your funnel and ignoring the rest.
And yet… once you’ve got a strategy, the thing that’s going to make it work is… well, consistency babe.
What do you know about running a business that they’re definitely not teaching you at Harvard?
The business myth of “best practice” you’ve encountered that made you want to scream into a pillow?
I’d love to hear..
