Yesterday in the park, my 4yo was riding her bike.
It was the first time she really started doing it on her own.
She was excited. Nervous. Wobbly.
And of course, she wanted to go fast.
Because her sister was flying ahead.
But I kept telling her:
“First you have to learn to ride. Then you can go fast.”
I thought about how that’s true of so many things in life.
And of growing an online business.
Because it’s not just about trying to go too fast too soon and crashing, though that happens.
It’s also about the expectations we set for ourselves.
We look at people sprinting ahead and hitting $10k months, or $20k months or who’ve got their simple business running smoothly, and think, “I should be doing that too.”
So when we don’t instantly speed off (and when we inevitably crash) it feels worse than it has to.
Because we’ve told ourselves a story about how fast it’s supposed to happen.
That’s not how learning works.
And it’s not how building a business works either.
When you’re getting started, the best thing you can do is get around someone who remembers what that feels like.
Someone who’s just a few steps ahead of you.
Not a Tour de France champion who forgot how they learned to ride in the first place.
The person who can help you most is usually the one who’s been where you are and still remembers what it’s like to wobble.
That’s the space I try to hold.
If you’re learning to grow your business with email and you want someone in your corner—someone who’s managed 55k+ lists but still gets what it’s like to be in the early stages—hit reply.
Let me know what you’re working on and where you’re stuck.
I’ll share a few ideas to help you move forward.