You didn’t ask for it, but yet, here we are lol.

Actually, I’m just playing. Y’all really did ask me for this on Twitter and after some serious thought I came up with 4 strategies to help you survive your first year of full time entrepreneurship. But first, let me just reiterate how much of a blessing it is to be this far along into full time entrepreneurship because I have had bad, good, and downright horrible moments. I’ve learned a lot, especially on what NOT to do as an entrepreneur when managing money. So let’s just jump right into it!

Here’s 4 strategies to help you survive your first year full time of entrepreneurship

1. Cutting out unnecessary spending

• I love to eat out, especially during peak times and I feel like I’m too busy to cook and clean. Majority of my unnecessary spending goes towards food, at one point I spent 300 to 400 a week on going out to eat, which equates to $1,200 - $1,600 a month on going out to eat and that doesn’t even include when I do cook at home. When I started looking at my bank statements, I started becoming a lot more motivated to cut back and get serious about cooking at home. Once I learned how to meal prep when cooking dinner , I started saving hundreds a month. It wasn’t easy, but I will say after my second month of entrepreneurship where I almost couldn’t pay my rent and magically made the money needed in 12 hours, I vowed to change my spending habits. As a result, I’ve learned how to save money for trips, bills, savings and more. By reallocating that $1200 a month, I’ve also been able to better reinvest in my business.

So, what exactly changed about my spending habits? I’m glad you asked!

I stopped saying “I’ll make it back” as a reason to spend money because what if i really don’t make it back: 

• What happens when I really don’t have all of my bill and rent money? Who knows? Not me, because I’ve been on time every month and I want to keep it that way! Having one of those months after I had just moved out of my moms house was all I needed to set myself straight. I don’t live my life like “I don’t want to go back”, but truthfully I don’t. I just don’t want to be broke and struggling again & It is certainly understandable to want to make a living wage and not struggle. We should all equally have access to this, but that’s another post for another day.

• I chose to do something that’s easy to follow and keep up with whether I have slow months or make a lot of money. Within this budget I also detail HOW I’m going to make my money and ensure I pay my bills. What really helps me the most is that I have 4 bank accounts – 1 for business, 1 for bills, 1 for savings, & 1 for personal spending. Doing that has saved me from financial ruin and helps with accounting on the back end of everything!
• Aside from doing this I sat down and calculated the bare minimum I need to survive without struggling, which for me in Texas is $3,500. If I make this much every month, I can stay afloat. If I need to just pay bills I can survive on $2,300 a month, which is still $500 a month more than what I made at my last job and I’m okay with that. As long as I continue to make more than what I would make at a job my resume apparently qualifies for, I’m okay with that. While I usually average significantly more than this every month, I keep track of my bare minimum income requirements incase I have a slow month – which I do every now and then

Side note: Take our 1 minute resume quiz and get a $15 discount instantly!

• One of the worst things you can do is think the for one second you have infinite stability and financial security. One of the worst feelings is to gain and lose everything in one year, especially as a business owner. As an entrepreneur, we usually pride ourselves on our ability to be self sustainable in a society where it is not as common as working a 9 to 5. However, if you want help yourself out then save 6 months+ rent before quitting your job.

Bills, Bills, Bills 

Being able to pay my bills on time was the most important goal I had and still have as an entrepreneur. My goal is to always have my rent paid up 2-3 months in advance. I’ve done this by doing quite a few things over the course of two years with saving & working different jobs before going into full time entrepreneurship. I knew that the hardest part of becoming an entrepreneur was becoming self sustaining, even when business was slow.

 So here’s how I’ve done it so far:

1. When I quit my job, I had over 6 months of rent money saved.

• While this was a safety net, I did it wrong. I should’ve saved 6 months of bill money for all of my expenses. In my defense, I was new to this and I had absolutely no guidance. I’ve been swinging a bat in the dark and while I’ve hit some walls along the way, it’s continued to work itself out. If I could do it over again, I’d save enough for one years worth of expenses and bills. Because with what I did, I ran out of savings in 3 months, luckily, business had overcome a dry spell by then and I was gaining steady clientele and orders.
• To make extra money I started offering more services and learning new skills. In the beginning, the only thing I offered was was writing, editing, and resume services. I quickly saw that I needed to do more, a lot more. So, I expanded and started offering digital services, website development, logo design, and digital media development. Additionally, I also started offering mentorship and business and life coaching. It was at this point that I realized I was running myself raggedy and experiencing severe burnout, which I cover more in my post “Entrepreneurial Depression 101”

• I started offering digital services I didn’t have to actively build:

      This includes entrepreneur planners and journals, vendor lists, and online courses. While I am still working out the kinks for my online course, I am very excited to teach you how I designed and printed my first journal 100% from my iPad. Be sure to follow me on twitter for more updates and snippets

• I started my fourth company, a vending machine service:

      I am in the very beginning stages. However, I do have all of my paperwork done and all that’s left to do is find machines and locations. I plan on doing this within the next 3 months & documenting the journey here as well!

• I started a limited series podcast:

     While this requires some work up front, it’ll pay off over time. Over time I can collect royalty checks and checks per views on multiple platforms. I always opt for quarterly payment options to let this add up over time. The podcast will be live in the beginning of 2020, follow Realancer By Ty on twitter for mode information.

• I started selling merchandise:

      Again, I needed a way to make money that didn’t require me to do anything once it’s set up. I have an automatic fulfillment center that prints and ships everything. So it’s a seamless process.

• Filming and producing short films and documentaries:

     While I am doing this for fun, I also understand that with the right set up – it can be very lucrative. I can’t wait to share my first two short films currently being filmed about entrepreneur mental health and college student depression.

If you don’t want to do the things I do, here’s some other things you can try while on hard times financially:

• Donating plasma, donating blood, bone marrow.
• Selling eggs or becoming a surrogate
• Pawning items; especially jewelry, technology, or expensive high quality items
• Having a garage or yard sale
• Setting up an only fans account (not for everyone, but still a viable option)
• Participating in medical studies
• Setting up local courses to teach the elderly how to use technology

4. Invest in a good support system

The truth is, I believe that the hardest part of running a business of finding the right team. Not only do you need to find the right team, but you also need to invest in a support system. If we invested as much into our non romantic relationships as we do our romantic ones, we’d have the support system we’ve always desired. No support system is perfect, but you’ll come to find that having a genuine support system that loves you and wants the best for you, is significantly more valuable than ANY perfect system you may or may not idolize.

For me, I needed a support system of women running businesses, hustling, and trying to do more than live paycheck to paycheck and struggle. These women are so amazing that I’m gonna give them a quick shout out.

So go ahead and go check out Crowned Boutique by Joli Love twitter and Insta.

Check out Ashley Kyles on twitter & Insta. 

Next, checkout Peace be the creative on Insta and Twitter who’s about amazing artist, poet, & blogger.

If you need events planned , especially weddings in the Houston area, check out My good friend Jacqueline twitter.

Last, but not least, check out Jay Simone Apparel by my good friend Jaliah from Texas. These women are all talented in their own way and deserve much more than just my support and I sincerely believe you all should at least peep their content and see if you like anything!

Whatever you do, don’t come into this w/ negative thoughts, but understand that you won’t be a millionaire overnight. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as an overnight success story. If there were, wed see proof of them, which we don’t. What that really means is that you bust your ass for 5 years and THEN people start to notice you, your brand and everything you’re doing. The best thing I can tell you is to stay positive, consistent and expect to make mistakes because just like me, you’re a flawed human determined to make change in a world you don’t understand. & THAT, is something we should all embrace!