Five Big Mistakes & Challenges I’ve Overcome in My Business
For those of you who know me, you know I lay it all out there. I’m not perfect and I’ve definitely made my fair share of business mistakes in the past.
I’ve had many successes over the last decade, but I’ve also had some shit show moments that I want to share with you…because you know I hold nothing back. 😉
Here are some of those mistakes, losses, and challenges that I’ve had over the past decade. I could share a lot more, but that post would go on forever!
Here are my 5 Big Mistakes & Challenges that I’ve Overcome in My Business:
#1. Investing in an MLM that didn’t pay off
I want to preface this by saying…by no means am I judging Multi-Level Marketing – how you make your money is up to you. I actually love and buy Arbonne protein powder from my assistant Rachel, so I do support them if they work for you and your business.
Back to the story…
When I was 24 and just starting out my health coaching business, my residency director’s friend approach me to create a website and start selling supplements through an MLM. I honestly forget the name of it now, but I remember selling some of the products, going to the ‘rah-rah, you-can-do-it’ meetings, and ultimately closing shop. Granted, I probably didn’t stick with it or promote enough, but I was out almost $1,000 with nothing to show for it.
I did sell Young Living essential oils for a while back in 2013-15, which I enjoyed and found some profit in. However, I wound up leaving that company after a while because it didn’t align with where I was in my business. I still love those oils and highly recommend them.
#2. Moving through a broken engagement and hitting rock bottom
Yep, I was engaged from March 2016 through November 2017. I won’t get into the details, but I left everything – my job back in Brooklyn, my family, friends, and apartment to be with my fiancé in Pennsylvania.
I don’t consider this a mistake, but rather a soul lesson I had to learn – a karmic relationship. It was really a gift that I learned SO much from. I did invest money, time, and energy into the business my fiancé had, putting a ton of work into building it up.
When I left him in 2017, I was ‘cut off’ from being able to coach through that business and had to start over. I had to move out of his apartment, find a place to live, and start from scratch. In January 2018, I started Enlightened Wellness Solutions, had a brand new website built, and wrote my 3rd book, Lighten Up.
I am grateful for the experience of it all because it lead me to Pittsburgh and the life I’ve created with my husband Eric and my dog Penny, who I got with my ex. I also saw how resilient and strong I am and that I can get through anything!
#3. Hiring a public relations rep to get me on t.v. (and getting ripped off)
This happened back in May of 2021. I got a referral from someone who said I should connect with this man to get on t.v. to promote my 4th book, Embracing Your Light as an Empath.
I signed a month-long contract where the man promised to get me on t.v. locally in Pittsburgh and placed in popular magazines and print within that month. In the contract, it said that he would refund me 100% of my money if he didn’t deliver.
During the month period, I had to keep following up with him while he kept reassuring me that he had some great leads.
After a month, I had not been placed on t.v. and after trying to get a refund, he refused to honor the agreement. He then blocked me from all social media platforms and said I had to contact his lawyer moving forward. Luckily I had paid him through PayPal and was able to get a full refund from him.
Now I don’t care about being on t.v. anymore because I know that the right people will hear my message. Plus I promote my work across YouTube, my podcast, social media, etc.
#4. Getting fired from my pharmacy job and denied my unemployment
Up until 2019, I was still working as a pharmacist. When I moved to PA, I got hired at an independent pharmacy to work part-time. I was helping my fiancé build his health coaching business and working under his company license.
There was a young student pharmacist who was going to graduate the next year, but I was reassured that I would keep my job part-time there.
After the Match results came out and the student pharmacist knew she was staying in Pittsburgh for her residency, I got fired. My boss knew that she could pay her way less than she was paying me, but she fired me stating I was ‘rude to customers.’ She then denied my unemployment and I had to go to a legal hearing to contest it. Talk about awkward – I had to sit across from my ex boss who bad-mouthed me for 2 hours.
#5. Refusing to hire a business coach until 7 years into my business
This is more of an indirect cost, as I wish now that I would have hired a coach within the first few years of starting my business.
I realize now that I had no clue what I was doing and was spending time on things that didn’t really move the needle to transition to full-time entrepreneur. I was too proud and ‘independent’ to ask for help because I figured I could do it all by myself. Boy, was I wrong!
When I quit my pharmacy job and hired my first business coach back in 2019, I invested $18,000 and went all in on my dream. I knew I was meant to make a big impact through helping women heal and transform. But I had no idea ‘how’ to bring that idea to fruition.
I made some big sales within that first month, recouping my investment within 90 days. But then I hit a plateau and every lead I got on the phone with said ‘No’ for whatever reason.
I knew that something deeper was creating this vicious cycle and so I hired a transformation coach, investing close to $30k on an in-person retreat, coaching, and a VIP day. I didn’t realize that I had so much unworthiness programming, control patterns, people pleasing, and fear of rejection that was keeping me small.
Once I moved through that, I replaced my pharmacy income within 8 months. Now I’ve created my own rapid transformation system through my Lit Up Lightworker 1:1 program – to help pharmacists move through the inner shifts and outer strategy to create profitable heart-centered businesses.
Trust me, I’ve made me fair share of mistakes and had way more challenges than I’ve shared here. But those were all integral for my growth and evolution as I’ve grown my 7-figure coaching business over the last decade.
The same is true for you and your business. Maybe you’ve had similar challenges, betrayals, or past hurts around money, clients, past jobs, etc. Releasing those hurts is just as important as the lessons themselves. Without moving through the healing process to forgive and release those memories, you may repeat them again or unconsciously dim your light, costing you the income and impact you’re wanting. This is why the inner work is so important (in addition to the strategy) as you grow your business.
So there you have it – some of my mistakes, challenges, and oops moments. 😉
If you’re looking to go from burnt out pharmacist to lit up full-time entrepreneur through your path of least resistance, let’s chat. Email me at [email protected] or DM me on Instagram @thepharmacistcoach to learn more about the programs and offerings I have to help.
xx,
Christina