11 things this entrepreneur wishes he'd known before launching

My colleague Hillary Crawford wrote this edition of Starting Small. Hillary is our team’s business software expert. She also helped her husband open a brewery in 2025 — which is what this newsletter is all about!

Let me know if you have questions you’d like us to answer in upcoming editions! You can always reach me, Rosalie, at [email protected].

It’s been almost a year since my husband, Justin Rivard, opened up Nocturnal Bloom Brewing in northern Michigan. I’d say I can’t believe how time has flown, but that’s not entirely true. At times, the past year has felt very long. 

Last week, Justin and I sat on our couch and chatted about the lessons he’s learned about starting a business. The through-line, more than anything, was the struggle of establishing work-life balance. 

Here are some tips Justin says would’ve helped him in the startup stages.

1. You’re going to go without pay for longer than you thought

Starting a small business is a slow burn. Most of the time, you don’t make money right away. 

“If you don’t have a significant other or someone else’s income, it’s really unlikely (without the business taking on more debt) that you're going to be able to pay yourself,” Justin says. 

He suggests saving more than you think you’ll need ahead of time. 

Read more: How entrepreneurs actually finance their first few months

2. Don’t put off digging into the numbers

One of Justin’s biggest regrets was not drilling into the numbers sooner. A big part of this involves running profit and loss statements monthly. It’s also useful to review profit margins and keep track of certain ratios. For example, how much of your total income is going toward rent? How much is going toward employee wages? 

If you don’t establish a baseline, it’s hard to tell whether your ratios are improving as time goes on.  

Read more: How to read your profit and loss statement

“Instead of being so boots-on-the-ground, push harder to understand your numbers,” he says. 

A lot of this had to do with bookkeeping challenges early on. We were both confused over how to categorize certain expenses. Justin eventually outsourced bookkeeping to our CPA. But he wishes he would’ve done that much sooner. 

3. Getting a loan is incredibly difficult 

On paper, your startup might look like a great candidate for financing. But approval isn’t guaranteed, especially for an SBA loan or term loan from a bank.

“Even if you’re a high performer, be prepared to not get a loan,” Justin says. “Especially if you’re not willing to collateralize everything you own.”

Alternatives include startup grants and, after a few months, business lines of credit. In Justin’s case, he needed to rely on individual investors more than he expected.

Read more: Your business loan options after six months of operation

4. Be meticulous with your lease agreement

If you rent your business’s space, don’t rush through the lease agreement. Justin suggests asking multiple people you trust to vet it. That could include other business owners and friends in your industry and attorneys. 

He adds that it’s important to include clear directions for amending the agreement down the road too.  

For example, the brewery shares a front-of-house space with two other businesses. This complicates the division of expenses, like utilities, cleaning and maintenance fees.

The owners of these three businesses have regular conversations and try to work as a team. But that might not be the case for you. And that’s where having the lease agreement dialed in from day one can be helpful — it prompts you to have tough but important conversations with your landlord sooner.

5. Delegating tasks is difficult but necessary

It’s hard to give up control. But you’ll burn out if you don’t learn how to do it. 

“The sooner that you can train and empower your employees to do things, the sooner you can protect your own sanity,” Justin says. 

Read more: Avoiding burnout as a business owner

You probably spent hours combing through applications, interviewing applicants and onboarding new employees. They’re capable — that’s why you hired them. And if something goes really wrong, they typically have their phones on them. They’ll let you know. 

You also shouldn’t be afraid to hire certain tasks out (or plan to hire them out when you have the funds). 

“You can’t be the analysis person and the implementer and the coordinator,” Justin says. “Pick one or two of those things.” 

6. The work is always going to be there 

The plan is to walk out of the brewery at 5 p.m. All of a sudden 7 p.m. rolls around. I can tell you this happens to Justin a lot. 

It’s easy to get carried away when you launch into a new task. As difficult as it is to peel yourself away, that task isn’t going anywhere. And you probably don’t need to finish it this second. Plus, starting the next day is easier when you’re not absolutely drained from the day before.

Justin says it’s about “moving the needle forward in meaningful ways, but respecting your own energy level too.” 

Also, he notes, not everything is an emergency. Prioritize tasks appropriately.

“Just being even-keeled and consistent is better than reacting too heavily or making a decision on the spot,” Justin says. 

7. You can’t do everything at once

Justin says he’s had to make a conscious effort to wear one hat at a time. He wishes he would have done a better job of “not letting roles bleed together.”

For him, that means being intentional about how he structures his day. He might spend two hours working on social media, the next two brewing beer, another hour running payroll and another behind the bar talking with staff and customers. 

It doesn’t always work perfectly. Sometimes, he gets interrupted and has to pivot. But blocking out his time like this helps ensure he’s checking off the boxes he needs to. 

8. You’re allowed to occasionally be unavailable 

Justin and I used to backpack each year for two weeks at a time. That meant little to no cell service for days on end. He’s going to need to wait a year or two to do that again. 

But he can still take days off here and there. Sure, disappearing into the wilderness isn’t an option. But there’s a middle ground. 

Chances are your business will survive without you for a couple of days. And as long as you have cell service, you can keep tabs on what’s happening. 

9. Not all opinions are actionable 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion — no one is here to argue that. Some people really love to volunteer that opinion though. And if they don’t have experience in your industry, it isn’t always relevant. That goes for everything from decor to how you run your business. 

Justin says he had to learn not to take “goofy, off-the-cuff suggestions” too seriously. Most people are just trying to be helpful, he adds. 

10. Your original business plan isn’t the end-all-be-all 

Ultimately, Justin wishes he would’ve obsessed a little less over the business plan. It’s certainly important. But as Rosalie said in our last newsletter, you need to treat it as version one. Your business is a living, breathing thing. It doesn’t stay the same, and it won’t follow the plan perfectly. 

For example, Justin’s business plan assumed the brewery would be busier in the evening. However, the businesses that share the building (a kitchen and a coffee shop) are busier during the morning and afternoon. Maybe Nocturnal Bloom needs to be more of an afternoon destination. 

11. Get comfortable taking calculated risks 

Thinking about the worst-case scenario isn’t fun. But starting a business is a risk no matter what. You have to come up with solutions to potential issues ahead of time. 

Starting the brewery forced Justin to consider everything that could go wrong and how he’d respond. What if he got sick for a long period of time? What if there’s another COVID? 

“You have to have a plan A, plan B and plan C,” he says. When you’re prepared, you feel more confident diving in head first. 

NerdWallet’s Karrin Sehmbi finds and shares these grant opportunities.

Good things come in small packages. The Business Freedom Grant from Darcy’s Business may be modest compared with some of the other grants we cover here, but it has few constraints. This microgrant is open to any entrepreneur, in any industry, with a clear vision and business plan. You can use the funds to cover a variety of costs, including business formation, marketing, software and accounting.

Act fast, though, as June 30 is the final application deadline. The online application is free and requires several short-form responses in addition to a handful of quick-fill questions.

Click here to see the application.

Applications are evaluated using a point system, with points allotted for things like how clear and feasible the business idea is, how impactful the grant money will be for the business and the applicant’s passion. You can earn a couple of bonus points by registering for GrantHouse, a free online community for small-business owners. The official rules also note that preference is given to applicants who subscribe to Darcy’s Business, a YouTube channel dedicated to coaching business owners on starting up and getting funded.

We have a library of small-business grants content designed to meet a variety of needs. Our team regularly updates these pages with new grant opportunities and current deadlines. Check them out:

Building a business from scratch is hard. Finding guidance you can actually trust? Even harder.

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