Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Sarah Duncan, Founder of Sarah Marie Blog, located in Taylor, MI, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I am a blogger and a YouTuber who creates content designed to help women follow their passions and take back the life they love, whether that means starting a side hustle and making money while working your dream job or leaving your 9-5 to pursue a business of your own.

I want to help passion-driven people figure out their true passions so they can live life to the fullest.

Tell us about yourself

I am a 25-year-old who started my blog in 2018. I've started and stopped many blogs and YouTube channels over the years and learned what it takes to create content online.

Working online and running my own business has been a dream of mine since High School. The thought of making money for yourself online is interesting to me. I always knew I would do something creative when I finally found the job I wanted to do, but I never imagined this would be it.

My motivation to create content daily comes in two forms, my audience, and my passion. I have always been passionate about teaching people, even very young. I love learning new things and passing that knowledge on to others, so they won't have to make the same mistakes I did. And also my audience. I love interacting with people online who get something out of my content. Whether it's entertainment, I unlock something for them they didn't understand before or inspire them to keep going when they want to quit.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

It's hard to say that I am still new to this business. Even though I have been doing this for quite a few years, I still feel I have a lot more I could have accomplished in this time. So for me, my biggest accomplishment would be getting over the fear of starting a business or the consistency I've been able to keep up over the years.

One of my main focuses now has been YouTube over my blog. The biggest thing that keeps people from starting YouTube is the fear of other people's opinions. Worrying about what people will think or how they will look and sound on camera, to worrying about the hate comments they might get. I had a massive fear of getting on camera when I first started, so overcoming that is huge.

I also struggle with being able to keep an interest in something long-term without getting bored. So, being able to work on something consistently for years is huge for me too. I think what helps is the love for the job and its creativity. If I get bored of something, I am allowed to switch it up and make it fresh and new again to hold my interest!

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

That's a tricky question because there are a lot of challenges. Still, I'd say the biggest one is trying not to compare yourself to others. With social media making it so easy to access what others are doing in their life, it can be super easy to compare yourself. And what we tend to forget is social media is essentially the highlight reel of someone's life. We'll never really know 100% of what people do in their day-to-day lives, only the moments they show us. More often than not, people will only ever display the good moments.

And when starting a business, no one is on the same playing field. Everyone comes in at a different skill level and with other circumstances. And those factors generally are not readily available for us to see online.

Maybe someone has a degree in whatever they are teaching, or they have the money to hire out help and the time to put into videos that make them able to be ahead of the game. If you have kids, a family, school, or work, vs. someone who does this whole time and has a team working behind them, they will grow faster than you. And I think a lot of people forget that.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Start now. One of the biggest regrets I hear business owners and content creators have is they wish they had started sooner. People spend so much time thinking and talking about starting a YouTube channel, a blog, or a business. Still, they never actually do it because of some excuse. And then, once people get started, myself included, we usually realize we could have been so much further along if we'd started sooner.
  2. Take advice from and study those above you. You'll need to do a lot of research when starting a business because it's not an easy thing to do. There will be a lot of curveballs and new information that you'll need to take in. But luckily, there are a lot of people before you who have already done what you're trying to do. They've made mistakes, tested, and learned a lot of valuable information. So take advantage of that. But also, don't forget to execute what you've learned. If you spend so much time teaching and never any time doing it, you aren't getting very far.
  3. Don't quit—just pivot. Leaving may not be the answer if you find yourself stuck, not growing, or not enjoying your job. You might need to pivot what you're doing. Don't be afraid to do that. I've shifted many times since starting, and I may be looking at doing that again sometime soon. If and when you need to do that, don't look at it as a failure or a loss of work either, because that's not what it is. It's just a re-direction. You learned a lot from this experience, and now, you can take that to grow the next thing bigger and quicker. Running and growing a business takes a lot of hard work and is a huge learning curve. So it may take a few tries to find your passion.
  4. I wanted to include my YouTube link as well since this is the place I post the most content now.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.sarahmarie.blog/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarah_marie_blog/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SarahMarieBlog

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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