© eunice brownlee 2011

This year has been truly great to me and my business. I have embarked on adventures I merely caught a glimpse of on the horizon. I spent a lot more time working my business this year than in years past, and I can definitely say that it’s the first time that I think I’ll turn a decent profit, although it’s still not near enough for me to quit the other four (yes, I just said four) part-time jobs I have to make ends meet.

I have a couple of dear friends who are also aspiring photographers that call to pick my brain on all things photography. I’ve had others approach me to mentor someone who wants to “get into photography.” Heck, I was even asked to be a panel member at last month’s CRAVE Denver chat and impart some level of business wisdom on fellow business owners.

But I have to be honest – I’m not all that.

In fact, it cracks me up when people want advice from me. I’m tempted to show them my balance sheets and ask them if they’re still interested in hearing what I have to say.

This year, I have taken some of the biggest risks with my business, as well as made some of the biggest decisions. They’ve paid off with strong rewards. But on more than one occasion this year, I’ve wanted to say, “eff it,” and walk away. It seemed like the smart thing to do. It didn’t make sense to me to keep on fighting to keep a barely profitable business afloat. I asked myself, “is this a sign from God that I’m chasing the wrong dream?” Rather than give up the fight, I fought harder. Guess what? I won.

The thing is, no one tells you that when you run your own business that you spend your time beating your head against the wall in frustration more than anything else. Every day is about making decisions. The challenge with most small business owners is that they are so afraid to make a bad decision that they make no decision at all. That, my friends, is actually the worst decision you can make.

This spring, I decided to run a special with a group-deal site. I wasn’t sure if it was right for my business. I’d read all of the opinions from the “experts” on if this was a good trend for small business or not. I weighed the pros and cons, and at the end, I realized that the only way I would know if it was a good fit for my business was to just do it.

Turns out, it wasn’t a good fit. It was a horribly expensive decision. But I did it, and now I know. I learned a lot of lessons along the way and my business in 2012 will be reflective of those lessons I learned. In the end, there is no magic solution for how to operate your business; there is no magic formula for what will profit and what won’t. What’s right for mine won’t be right for yours. You just have to look at all the options and make a decision on what you think is best and go with it. You can’t be afraid to make a wrong choice. Fact is, you’ll make them. Heck, even Coca-Cola still gets it wrong sometimes.