There have been many lessons I have learned this year; some the easy way and some the hard way.

The past six months have been exhausting. It has tested me in ways that I never imagined possible and at the same time, made me realize a few things about myself that will help shape the person I am moving forward.

I have learned:

In every businesses life, there comes a time when you decide whether the business has 'legs' to grow further.

Marketing Eye has hit this point many times and each time we have done a situation analysis and made business decisions on where to go. Right now, we are in expansion mode with the US market firmly in our sights.

If you are in this position, think about what your Big Hairy Audacious Goal is and work out how realistic it is given your current resources and capabilities. Things to consider include;

Expand into new markets

It's a lesson that I learned far too late in the game, but nevertheless, I have learnt it and am reaping the rewards.

When clients are rolling in the door, most entrepreneurs are counting the dollars and working out ways in which to service them.

In the past, I have said 'yes' to far too many dodgy characters - people who I knew would never pay their bills, liars and people who just don't fit in with our brand and culture. Every single time, it ended in disaster.

Just when small business thought they were getting back on track, the Reserve Bank issues another rate rise.

How do they do it? It’s a question that all entrepreneurs ask themselves at one stage or another. We see companies all the time that are in our space and they have grown phenonomenally over a short period of time. Sometimes they then fall flat and other times, they keep going. The latter is harder to achieve.