Sweet Pea & Noelle Founder, Morgan Mayer, gives us tips on how to kick-start your own business Starting Sweet Pea & Noelle took a village, a dose of insanity and a heck of a lot of courage. Building your own business is not always pretty. In fact, it's downright dirty at times — but it's worth every second. 1.PLAN When I decided to start this venture, I was excited, nervous and overwhelmed with the thought of the work to be done. The first order of business was to make a plan. I outlined the steps that needed to be taken and the time that needed to be invested (not to mention the dollar dollar bills, y'all). Although daunting, my business plan was and still is, an essential part of planning. With everything circling around in my head all at once, it was better to take it one step at a time. Prioritize. Start small. Lists were my greatest tool and my biggest enemy. 2. PEOPLE I found my village. Seek out those who you will learn from and those that you need most. I cannot express how important this step was for me. You will find special people that share a passion, a drive, and in my case, sometimes even your bloodline. I found myself at a crossroads many, many times. These people were there to motivate me and bring me out of the mud. Even when every cell in my body wanted to save my sanity and give up, I listened to these people, learned from them and will never forget them. 3. PUSH I had a plan and a team — now came the time to utilize everything and put it all to work. When something didn’t go as planned, I was forced to adapt. I pushed through. The urge to give up and the anxiety that comes along with starting a business often overtook my very being. However, I had a plan and a goal. I asked those people to help push me through — even if it meant paying them with the international friendship currency of pizza and wine. Because no great story started with salad.