It might be that I’ve made every possible mistake while building a business and trying to grow on social media. At least, that’s what it feels like.
But I also think I’ve learned some important lessons from all of it. And I want to share them with you so you don’t waste as much money, time, and energy as I did.
I’ve spent a lot of money that I still haven’t earned back.
“Investing in yourself” or “investing in your business” is not always necessary. And sometimes I was simply naive and believed good salespeople when they told me what I supposedly needed.
I’m a little embarrassed to admit all of this, even though at the time I genuinely didn’t know better. And quite often, frustration and impatience played a big role too.
Let’s start with the smaller mistakes and work our way up.
Tools that you don’t need yet
Last year, I spent quite a lot of money on tools that automate messages, emails, posts, etc. For nothing.
I paid for ManyChat for months, even though only one or two people commented and actually triggered the automation.
I could have answered those comments manually in less time than it took me to set up the tool.
I saw tools like ManyChat and Hypefury being used by big creators and thought I needed them too so I could be “prepared” for all the people who would eventually come. They didn’t come.
Looking back, setting up those tools was basically procrastination. I was working on systems instead of creating products or selling them.
👉 Cancel everything you don’t actually need yet.
It cost me: €50–100/month
Not asking for help or getting answers
I registered my business very quickly because I wanted to make sure I was doing everything legally.
I didn’t really understand how everything worked or that as a “Neue Selbstständige” in Austria, I wouldn’t necessarily have needed to register a business in the first place.
I wanted to figure everything out on my own.
I thought I understood enough because I went to a business high school, and then almost missed important deadlines, like registering with the tax office or social insurance.
I was so scared of doing something illegal that I actually did too much.
The bureaucracy alone can feel overwhelming when you’re just starting your business. Add the incredibly complicated website of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, and it’s very easy to get lost.
You have so many questions. Or sometimes you don’t even know what questions you should be asking.
And a lot of information is explained to you that isn’t even relevant yet when you’re running a small one-person business, which just makes everything more overwhelming.
Looking back, I know I needed more information about running a side business and should have simply booked an appointment with the Chamber of Commerce.
But I didn’t want to ask stupid questions.
So instead, I asked nothing.
That attitude has probably cost me a lot of money and time in my life.
👉 Book consultation appointments. Call people. Ask your questions.
It cost me: €100+ and a lot of time and nerves.
Pay attention to licences
The most expensive mistake, or rather the most expensive thing I didn’t know enough about, happened this year.
I received a very unpleasant letter from a music company because of a video I had posted in 2023 using their music.
Back then, it was a public but still personal account. The post had a very basic message, but I had written: “Follow me @karina_ahrer”
That 5–7 second video ended up costing me €2,200.
Because I later turned the account into a business account, and they interpreted that sentence as advertising.
From my time as a blogger, I already knew that you have to pay attention to licences and copyright with pictures.
But somehow I ignored it when it came to music.
And it’s very easy to get pulled into using things you’re technically not allowed to use because the rules in the US are different. So you see huge accounts using copyrighted music, video clips, and images all the time, while the same thing can be much more complicated here in Europe.
My tips:
Music: only use royalty-free or commercially cleared music provided by the social media platform
Videos: don’t use clips from movies or TV shows, and be careful with reposting other people’s videos. Even reaction videos can become legally complicated
Images: use stock photos (like Unsplash), your own photos, or licensed images through tools like Canva Pro
At the end, it will make sense some way: either that company needed the money more than I did, or this saved me from paying a much bigger amount in a few years because I would have continued ignoring the issue.
👉 Delete or archive old videos that contain music you don’t have the rights to use. And get business liability and legal protection insurance.
It cost me: €2,200 and a lot of nerves.
Coaching programs that were wrong for me
Big, well-known coaches know how to sell high-ticket offers to a lot of people.
They provoke, bring you into free webinars, get your phone number, (annoy you), call you. They put professional salespeople on you who promise you the world.
I was impressed by the size of one coach’s business and assumed that a bigger agency would automatically be able to help me more than a smaller coach who actually works with me personally.
I was naive.
I still don’t regret anything, because I learned something from every experience and also met some wonderful friends along the way.
But I now know how I don’t want to scale my business, and I know much more clearly what doesn’t work for introverted entrepreneurs.
If you want to know which coach I’m talking about, send me a DM. (It’s a well-known German one.)
👉 Make the decision based on your intuition and on who you actually feel comfortable with. Not because you’re impressed by a provocative, extroverted coach who won’t even be the person coaching you in the end because their team does it instead.
It cost me: €10,000+
What has actually been worth investing in for me
Of course, there are positive sides too.
We tend to remember negative experiences more easily, but I’ve also made investments that were absolutely worth it.
Getting help: the right coach, consultation appointments, asking people who know more than you
Don’t try to figure out everything alone. The right help can make things much easier and faster.Knowledge: courses, group programs, books, experts
Invest in what you genuinely need right now to get to the next step.
And then invest the time to actually implement what you learn.Trial and error: negative experiences shouldn’t stop you from taking risks and trying new things.
Try different types of posts, bios, videos, or writing.
Test different products and pay attention to what your customers actually respond to.Automation: once doing everything manually really becomes too much for you.
I think this is probably the biggest lesson behind all of these mistakes:
You don’t need everything just because successful people use it.
You don’t need every tool, every course, every automation, or every “next level” investment.
A lot of the time, you only need the thing that solves the problem you actually have right now.
What were your worst and best investments?
ℹ️ This is part of an ongoing conversation I have every week with quiet, ambitious women. If you would also like to receive it, join the 230+ other awesome people.
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— Karina
P.S. Questions? Let’s talk about them in the comments.