Guys!!

I'm alive. 😂

I'm here. I'm OK.

It's 7:35 a.m., and I'm finally sitting down to write after accidentally deleting my last blog post, "What Consistency Actually Looks Like."

Yep...

Days of writing.

Gone. 😭

I was SO frustrated because I had spent days working on it, but... MISTAKES happen.

Instead of staying upset, I decided to open a blank page and write again.

Honestly... maybe that's exactly what consistency looks like.

Lately I've been learning so much, and I wanted to share it with you.

Building a business from scratch is HARD WORK.

Not just because of the long hours.

Not because of the money.

Not because of the responsibility.

It's hard because it changes YOU.

I truly believe that before your business grows...

YOU have to grow first.

If you want to build an amazing company, you first have to become an amazing leader.

And becoming a great leader starts with becoming the best version of yourself.

For those of you who are new here...

Hi! 👋

I'm Stella.

I stream League of Legends, and my goal is to reach Diamond one day.

At the same time, I'm building my cleaning company here in North Carolina from scratch.

I've been on this journey for about 1 year and 3 months, and every week teaches me something new.

Some lessons are exciting.

Some are painful.

Most of them are both. 😂

This has probably been one of the hardest lessons for me.

When you're building something, nobody can tell you exactly what will happen.

Some days you feel unstoppable.

Other days you question everything.

I've learned that entrepreneurs don't move forward because they have all the answers.

They move forward because they keep going even when they don't.

I think that's one of the biggest differences between entrepreneurs and everyone else.

We're willing to keep walking, even when we can't see the whole path yet.

This one is HARD for me. 😂

I already know what I want my company to look like in 5... 10... even 20 years.

I have pages full of ideas.

Systems.

Dreams.

Goals.

Sometimes I spend so much time thinking about the future that I forget the only thing I can actually control...

Today.

Today's work.

Today's decisions.

Today's progress.

Little by little, those small days become big dreams.

One mistake I see a lot of people make is waiting until everything is perfect before they start.

I didn't.

I started with about $150.

I cleaned houses after work.

I worked weekends.

Every dollar I made went right back into my business.

Would it have been easier to start with more money?

Absolutely.

But waiting for the "perfect moment" would've kept me from starting at all.

People care much more about doing an amazing job than having the fanciest equipment.

Start with what you have.

Improve as you grow.

One thing I've noticed is that a lot of businesses don't really take care of their employees.

Some don't pay fairly.

Some don't have clear systems.

Some don't take the time to understand their clients.

I don't want to build that kind of company.

I want people to feel respected.

I want clients to feel heard.

I want employees to know they matter.

Sometimes I even stay a little longer talking with an elderly client.

Not because I have to.

Because I genuinely want to.

Today one of my clients told me that Thursday will be 15 years since her mom passed away.

Cleaning wasn't the most important thing in that moment.

Listening was.

Moments like that remind me why I started this business.

This blog post is actually proof of that. 😂

I accidentally deleted my previous article.

A few months ago, I probably would've been so upset that I stopped writing for a while.

This time...

I just opened another page and started again.

Progress doesn't come from being perfect.

It comes from refusing to quit.

One of my favorite quotes says:

That has stayed with me ever since I heard it.

I've made SO many mistakes already.

Pricing mistakes.

Leadership mistakes.

Communication mistakes.

Organization mistakes.

And I'm sure I'll make plenty more.

But every mistake teaches me something I couldn't have learned any other way.

Experience is something no one can take away from you.

Every mistake is an investment in becoming better.

The biggest thing I've learned isn't how to clean better.

It isn't how to run a business.

It isn't even how to stream better.

It's realizing that this journey is changing me.

Little by little.

Day by day.

It's teaching me patience.

Leadership.

Discipline.

Kindness.

Courage.

And maybe that's what this whole journey has been about all along.

Not just building a business...

But becoming the kind of person who can lead one.

If you're reading this and you're starting something new...

A business.

A new career.

School.

Content creation.

Or maybe you're just trying to become a better version of yourself...

I hope you remember this.

It's OK to make mistakes.

It's OK to feel uncertain.

It's OK to start small.

Just don't stop.

Keep showing up.

Keep learning.

Keep becoming.

Because one day you'll look back and realize...

You weren't just building your dream.

Your dream was building you. ❤️

No stress. Just progress. 🌸

See you in the next one.