My top 16 lessons on starting a business

My first blog saved my life. I started blogging by accident. It’s my first real attempt at blogging. My second attempt at starting a business online.

My journey into blogging started in 2015. I stumbled on the name Bamidele Onibalusi on a public forum. I googled him, read his story, and all his blog entries on his Writers in Charge website. After that, I was inspired to set up my own blog, the right way.

I started Ideas Plus Business as an experiment. My first self hosted blog using WordPress. My first real presence online. I needed to act on the things I’ve learnt in just three months of consuming the contents on Bamidele’s blog, Writers-in-Charge.

Directly or indirectly, not sure of which now, Bamidele added to the already burning fire in me. You need to check his blog to understand what I am saying.

Taking action

I wanted to just take action. I didn’t think about my lack of technical skills. I didn’t think about the lack of resources. All I had on my mind was to take take massive action. I was willing to learn on the job even if it means spending time and money to learn.

Talking about money. I had none. I was broke. But I so much believe in my abilities to execute the plans before me. I overlooked the challenges before me and started moving. I just wanted to do something and I did.

All I could see was my goal: to be more successful than Bamidele. If he can achieve whatever he achieved despite the challenges, I can do more.

Something about Bamidele’s story that caught my attention is that we both seem to face similar challenges.

Because of that singular action I took that day, I changed my life. I changed those around me. And I have grown my business and brand online beyond what I ever imagined it to be.

Today, Ideas Plus Business has grown beyond the original goal I had for it. The goal of is to make it a portfolio site. A place to showcase my writing skills and get clients. Overtime, it developed into a business and marketing blog for entrepreneurs.

Over the years, I’ve had several writers who have contributed and are still contributing articles on the blog. And I’ve partnered with companies and individuals who I’d not rather mention because of the terms of our agreement.

Growth and transition

Today, I’ve worked and still working on several blog projects like Ideas Plus Business, Listsboard, My Income Ideas, Hergists, and other projects I won’t be mentioning for privacy reasons. I have designed several websites for clients all around the world.

My articles can be found in publications like the Huffington Post, Good Men Project, Evan Carmichael, Tweak Your Biz, Addicted2Success, Prsuit, Thrive Global and several others.

I’ve met different people who has helped me in my journey either directly or indirectly. And I’m growing everyday.

In just three years, I have grown from relatively an unknown person to building a brand for myself online. I’ll admit that I went through the hard part of self learning.

When I started blogging, I was broke and confused. I couldn’t afford to pay for all those expensive courses on building a brand online where the instructors are only determined to milk the students off. Maybe not all of them. But most of these online course instructors don’t even have a personal brand themselves.

I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to achieve then but I knew I just had to get started immediately.

I wanted to build a brand online. And blogging seems to be the first step to achieving that for me. I was determined to learn and enjoy the process as much as I can.

Prior to my encounter with Bamidele’s story and blog, I had the wrong impression about what blogging is.

Then, I always believed that anyone that writes a blog is either unserious or an impostor who is only trying to do what others are doing.

This mindset can be attributed to the environment I grew up in where plagiarism seems to be the order of the day.

Today, when I look back at how much I’ve grown in just three years, I laugh at myself. Even at that, there’s still much room for improvement. I learn, unlearn, and re-learn every day.

My top 16 lessons on starting a business

The new goal of Ideas Plus Business blog is to transition fully into a full blown magazine for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Example of blogs currently doing this are Entrepreneur, Business Insider and Success Magazine.

We’re not there yet. I’ve learnt a lot on the journey. I’ve acquired skills I never knew I could master. My articles have appeared on publications such as the Huffington Post, Thrive Global, Evan Carmichael, The Good Men Project and other publications.

I’ve learnt some very important lessons and made several mistakes but I’ll never give up. In no particular order, here are some of the things I learnt while trying to build a business online.

1. Avoid distractions
2. Never give up on your goals
3. Don’t jump ship too often
4. Have a strong believe in yourself
5. Be determined
6. Have a growth mindset
7. Surround yourself with the right people
8. Be ready to learn, unlearn, and relearn.
9. Money is not the ultimate
10. Suppress your ego
11. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes
12. Never stop trying.
13. Don’t ever stop learning.
14. Always take action.
15. Avoid toxic people
16. Don’t apologize for your success.

There you have it. I learnt these lessons by doing. By taking steps. By working on my goals every day. These lessons apply to every business whether it’s online or offline.

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Adeyemi Adetilewa

Adeyemi Adetilewa is a online business strategist, digital marketing consultant, cryptocurrency enthusiast and writer. Some of his articles can be found on the Huffington Post, Thrive Global, Evan Carmichael, Addicted2Success, TweakYourBiz, Prsuit, LinkedIn, Quora and other publications. He writes about business, marketing, and technology.