Let’s all admit something: Starting a business is hard. Guest blogger Julie Nelson gets it.

We all become entrepreneurs because we have a spark of an idea or are passionate about serving others with our gifts and talents. That excitement fuels us in the beginning, propelling us forward, giving us the motivation to put in long hours and work hard in order to build our dream.

But what’s the secret to success?

It isn’t enough to have a presence on social media, crossing your fingers and hoping that your followers will stumble upon your website. By writing a blog and updating it regularly, you are driving people to your website with the goal of converting them to clients. 

But you may be saying “I don’t know where to begin!” I get it, you may feel intimidated at first. But by following these surprisingly simple tips, you’ll have a blog set up in no time.

I need to be more organized.

I need to go to bed earlier.

I need to be better at following up with clients.

Sound familiar?

Identifying the bad habits we need to change is easy for most people. Give them a pen, paper, and a minute or so, and they’ll give you a list of 5-10 things that they wish they could change. And many of us try our best to make improvements on our own -- whether it’s starting every January with a fresh batch of resolutions or simply making another “diet starts Monday” epiphany. 

If you’re looking for a book that will give you a step-by-step plan for eliminating those bad habits and instilling good habits into your life, “The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg isn’t the book for you.

Let’s be frank: They say that 50% of the life we live in this world doesn’t fall on the positive side of the spectrum. That means for every fun evening at a restaurant with friends, there’s a TV dinner alone at home. For every three days vacation, there’s three spent with a cold or the flu. For every positive experience or action in our life, there is an equal and opposite negative one. Now, that can simply be an hour spent bored on your phone or a meal burned on the stove — it doesn’t have to be something terrible. But it isn’t something positive.

Today I’m excited to share the courageous story of one of my best friends and entrepreneurs. If there’s one thing that all of us entrepreneurs share, it’s the feeling of fear when we come across a new challenge or risk.

That’s why I’m so excited to share Nichole Starkman of Americana Cakes and Sweets and her journey to entrepreneurship. Not only is she an inspiration in terms of being brave enough to bet on herself in an uncomfortable location, but she also shows that sometimes the journey to entrepreneurship isn’t immediate, or linear, or intuitive. It’s about betting on yourself and jumping even in the face of fear.

When I meet with clients, I try to give them all the information I possibly can. I tell them all the tactics I’ve tried, the tips and tricks I’ve learned, and the tools I use to run my business.

So why not share with all of you?

I try to be as open and honest with the behind-the-scenes of my business as I can with all of you. So here’s a list of my must-have business tools (and why they’re the ones I turn to time and time again).

When I first started coaching, I never anticipated the amount of people who would compare what I did to a friend they have, or a relationship they’ve cultivated. And I often hear the question: “Is it like that?”

So let’s clear things up once and for all.

What is the number one thing most entrepreneurs want?

More business.

More clients/customers/products out the door/money in their pockets. More, more, more.

So we market ourselves. We create blog posts and podcasts, we advertise our services and post our products on social media. We use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube to reach our audience. We optimize our websites for search engines and we attend networking events like it’s nobody’s business. We send off cold call emails and we ask for referrals, go live on social media, sponsor events, and host giveaways. And we send newsletters.