What Two Years in Business Has Taught Me

Five reflections from building Boost Your
Business Network 

If you joined us at BOOST in July thank you for being part of what was a very special morning. 

For those who could not make it I wanted to share the five biggest lessons I've taken from the last two years of building Boost Your Business Network. 

Preparing for the talk made me do something I probably do not do often enough. It made me stop. 

When you are running a business you're always looking ahead. The next client, the next event the next opportunity or the next challenge. Rarely do you stop and appreciate just how much you have learned along the way. 

As I reflected, I realised something. 

The biggest lessons have not only come from the wins. They have also come from the setbacks the uncertainty the difficult conversations and the moments that tested me the most. 

These are the five reflections that have stayed with me on the journey so far.

Nothing Is Wasted 

One of the biggest surprises over the last two years has been realising just how valuable my past has become. 

There have been jobs I could not wait to leave. Difficult situations I hoped never to repeat and moments where I genuinely thought 'Thank goodness that's over.' 

Yet I have found myself drawing on those very experiences time and time again. 

Skills I learned years ago. Leadership lessons from banking. Mistakes that taught me resilience. Experiences that once felt frustrating have become some of the strongest foundations, I've built my business on. 

I have become convinced that nothing is wasted. 

The difficult seasons are often preparing us for something we simply cannot see yet. I think it is important to revisit these and pick up something from that past, that can now be used for good. 

Just Start 

Entrepreneurship has challenged one part of my personality more than anything else. 

My perfectionism. I have always liked things to be planned polished and ready. 

The problem is that business rarely allows that. 

Launching the BYB Academy taught me a valuable lesson. It was not perfect and looking back I'd change plenty of things. 

But none of those improvements would have happened if I had waited. One phrase has stayed with me ever since. 

Get yourself around 70% ready and jump. You'll build the rest on the way down!

Progress creates momentum. Perfection creates procrastination. 

Your Vision Should Scare You 

I have realised there's a big difference between goals and vision. 

Goals measure progress, yet vision provides purpose. 

A vision should excite you because of what you are building. It should also scare you because of what's required to get there. 

Building Boost was never going to happen overnight. It has taken time of consistently showing up building relationships and continuing to improve. 

Every business owner experiences days where confidence disappears. That's when your vision becomes your True North. It reminds you why you started long before the results arrive. 

People Are Everything 

If the last two years have reinforced one belief, it's this. 

Business is about people. Yes, strategy matters. Yes, systems matter. Yes, marketing matters. But people matter more. 

Every opportunity I have been fortunate enough to receive has started with a relationship. 

People remember how you make them feel. They remember whether you listened, whether you cared and whether you invested your time in helping them. 

I've always believed that profit follows purpose. 

Look after people. Build trust. Add value. 

The commercial success often follows. 

The Two Train Tracks 

Perhaps the biggest lesson of all came from something I've started calling The Two Train Tracks.

Social media has a habit of making business look effortless right? The reality is so often very different. 

Over the last two years success and challenge have almost always travelled together. 

While Boost has grown there have been setbacks. 

While opportunities have appeared there have been uncertainty and self-doubt. 

I've realised these are not two separate journeys. They are two train tracks running side by side. The goal is not to remove one of them, It's to learn how to navigate both at the same time. 

Celebrate your successes and learn from your challenges because both are shaping the leader you're becoming. 

Standing on stage in July reminded me that building Boost has never just been about building a business. 

It has been about becoming the person capable of leading it. 

To everyone who has supported Boost Your Business Network over the last two years thank you. Whether you've attended an event become a client partnered with us, shared an introduction or simply offered encouragement you've all played a part in this journey. 

I'm incredibly grateful for everything these last two years have taught me and genuinely excited for everything that's still to come.