9 Things I Learned in 9 Months of Business

Kim Brio
4 min readAug 2, 2023

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Originally written on June 15, 2019

About 9 months ago, I quit my cushy little salaried job. To be fair, it was actually the third or fourth time I’d quit this particular job. It was a smaller, family-owned company and losing a staff member, especially one holding an essential position like mine, was foundation shaking, hence the multiple resignations. I kept quitting, they kept asking me to stay. They saw me, they knew my power, they knew what I could do for their brand, even before I realized it myself.

Despite their heavy courting and professional gift giving, I just couldn’t stay. In retrospect, I truly didn’t understand why. All I knew was that I wasn’t supposed to be there. There was a tugging at my heart and soul to move outside of the safety of that box, and I just had to trust my spirit.

I have to be transparent here for those who don’t know my back story; I’ve always been an entrepreneur. From my first venture at the age of 12 making jazzy beaded ID holders for my mom and her coworkers to my most recent, and most influential, start-up media company, I’ve been about this life. So when I left my salaried job, it wasn’t the biggest deal in the world to me… It was more so a big deal to the rest of the world. Everyone won’t understand entrepreneurship, and everyone isn’t meant to see your vision. And that’s OK!

These last 9 months since I took the leap into full-time entrepreneurship have been interesting, to say the least, but no matter how high my highs or low my lows, I feel a consistent purpose and I’m positive that I’m where I’m supposed to be, doing what I’m supposed to do.

I’ve learned a lot during this fast-paced journey that life has taken me on in this small amount of time. I’d be neglectful not to mention that I definitely make a direct connection between the time it takes to birth a child and the same amount of time that it’s taken me to truly birth this brand of purpose.

During this time frame, I’ve experienced everything from miraculous, unexplainable success to heartbreaking, unexpected betrayal. I soaked up every lesson, and I know there are loads more to come, but my mission is to share them with you all along the way. Some of these are things I knew in theory, but the experience catapulted my understanding.

Here are 9 things that I’ve learned in 9 months of business:

1. There’s a difference between a solopreneur and an entrepreneur

2. No matter how hard you try, you can never control anyone’s perception

3. Everybody can’t go to the top with you, and haters from your past will resurface

4. The people you expected to celebrate you the most won’t, and the people you thought didn’t even pay you any attention will support you in ways unimaginable

5. Without a team, you’re simply spinning your wheels in the mud

6. People buy into you, not your business

7. There really truly is nothing stopping you from following your business dreams, but you

8. Don’t be afraid to walk away from what isn’t right for you

9. Dream big or don’t dream at all

I’ve learned a load during this time, but most importantly, I really started tapping into who I am and how I help people, brands, and businesses.

Do you have an inner tugging? Maybe to start a business, grow your brand or follow your dreams? If so, I encourage you to do 2 things:

  1. ) Go and grab my Brand Identity Checklist, it’s free and will help you ensure that you have everything you need for a solid foundation (And you’ll get some other free goodies too!)
Download at https://www.kimbrio.com/checklist

2.) Talk to me. I’m passionate about helping people build and grow their dreams. Schedule a clarity call with me today, I can’t wait to get to know you and help you develop a strategic and specific game plan ending in your inevitable success.

Book at: https://stan.store/kimbrio/kimbrio_store/page/122563

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