“Never make promises you can’t keep.” 

That’s a phrase that my dad told me every single day the first two weeks of starting my own business. The reason this phrase has stuck with me to this day is because he would never elaborate on what he meant. He would always just say this and assume I knew what he was talking about. 

Who am I making promises to? 

And what is so intense about these promises that I might not be able to keep them? 

After having my own cake pop business for almost four months, I now know what he meant by that, and I have also learned a few other things worth sharing.

First off, I am in no way an expert on having my own business or making cake pops, but along the journey I’ve picked up a couple of things and learned some important life skills that are crucial if wanting to start your own business.

The phrase “never make promises you can’t keep” to me means don’t anticipate something or make assumptions without having enough knowledge or proof to back it up. So, no. It doesn’t mean actually making promises with someone, heck, most of the time it doesn’t even involve other people. It means to base what you know by facts.

Moving on, the first tip that I think is really important for someone to understand is everything will take time. One can’t wake up one morning and become a billionaire. It will take time. Another key factor in being an entrepreneur is marketing. You have to consistently market yourself, your product, your service, whatever your business is to your customers. This brings us to the next point, the customers or audience. 

You have to think about who your target audience is. You can’t just market your business to everyone and everything because not all people’s needs are the same, and everyone has different interests. So, find the group of people you think would be attracted to your product and market to them. 

Lastly, owning your own business isn’t easy at all. If you are having a difficult time with it, just know that very few people actually have the persistence, patience, and determination to own a business. So regardless of how successful your business is in the beginning, you should be proud of yourself and what you accomplish.