Lessons Learned

1. Unwavering patience

Businesses take time to build and promote. Writing out one sentence that describes your main mission statement and one sentence describing what you’re going to do every day to promote your business is vital. Then do that every day without missing a beat. Keep a penny jar that you drop a penny into each day you do this and see your work manifest your audience. And remember, keep it simple. Just. One. Sentence. Each.

2. Build a nest egg you’re willing to lose

Some businesses cost $0 to start, but if your business will need an investment of your own, detach from it now. You never want to work from a place of fear, but a place of abundance and joy.

3. Steady on in an ever-changing world

While it is important to be able to live in ambiguity and uncertainty, you want to maintain your brand and all it stands for.

4. Beware of social media

I​ recommend having your personal social media platforms separate from your public social media unless you want to always think twice about what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it. Social media is a great way to cause unnecessary drama for yourself. I remember I saw a scathing commentary about one of our current jobs from a coworker and asked, “How could you post that?” He said, “Oh I unfriended and blocked all those guys a long time ago.” Smart man, I thought. Be timely, however, if that turns out to be what you plan to do — if they notice, it might offend them.

5. Build partnerships

You can do everything alone, but it can much more meaningful with partners. Building partnerships is a great way to share your brand among like-minded professionals. You can swap services, create mutually beneficial events together and have people to talk shop and solve problems with.

6. Dream as big or as small as you want to

Everyone starts out with an idea. This figureless anomaly that kept coming to the front of your mind until you gave in and created a business around it. Ask yourself where you see it going and ask yourself what you want from this business. Does it fit your current business model and mission statement? For some, maintaining a boutique business is all they want. It doesn’t hurt to brainstorm the possibilities and know where you stand on the topic. If you plan to grow, be sure your vision and mission holds up.

7. Stay positive

Stay positive, but keep it real. As a dynamic human being, you have the capacity to feel stress or sadness yet maintain your overall radiance and grace. People can detect when you’re being inauthentic. If you are constantly trying to please everyone you will end up burning out and driving yourself mad. I’d like to reference lesson 1 (write out that one sentence describing your mission statement) and lesson 3.

8. Take time away

I​f all you do is work it will be difficult for you to maintain your sense of perspective. Sometimes the best ideas are the ones we get during times of rest. One of my favorite business books is Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman by Yvon Chouinard, owner and founder of Black Diamond and Patagonia. He started the business because of a hole in the market that he found because of his love of the great outdoors. He would often leave the little at the time tool making company to go exploring for weeks on end letting the workers sort out the problems and details of the day to day business. This travel would refresh him, but keep him in touch with his target market. Although that’s not why he did it. He did it for the sincere love of alpine climbing. They are Conquistadors of the Useless as he likes to say.

9. Hang with people who are smarter than you

W​hen I used to train for triathlons, I used to make it a habit of working out with people that were stronger or faster than I was. I didn’t do this on purpose, but I did learn a lot from it. Actually, I will humbly admit these super athletes were a lot smarter than me too coming from diverse backgrounds in executive positions and ivy covered universities and hospitals and engineering. I never found conversation dull. I never found it stuffy either. There was something we all had in common and that was the desire to push ourselves to our limit and that, it seemed, was respectable enough for being able to hang at the adult table for a bit. What I found was that these same people that would fight so hard to demolish the competition in races could also be the most humble, fun and curious people I might ever meet.

10. The most important lesson they taught me

They taught me not ever to get hung up on the small stuff — instead they demonstrated that you might fall down seven times, but be sure to get up eight.

1. Unwavering Patience

Businesses take time to build and promote. Writing out one sentence that describes your main mission statement and one sentence describing what you’re going to do every day to promote your business is vital. Then do that every day without missing a beat. Keep a penny jar that you drop a penny into each day you do this and see your work manifest your audience. And remember, keep it simple. Just. One. Sentence. Each. Day.

2. Build a Nest Egg You’re Willing to Lose

Some businesses cost $0 to start, but if your business will need an investment of your own, detach from it now. You never want to work from a place of fear, but a place of abundance and joy.

3. Steady On in an Ever-Changing World

While it is important to be able to live in ambiguity and uncertainty, you want to maintain your brand and all it stands for.

4. Beware of Social Media

I​ recommend having your personal social media platforms separate from your public social media unless you want to always think twice about what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it. Social media is a great way to cause unnecessary drama for yourself. I remember I saw a scathing commentary about one of our current jobs from a coworker and asked, “How could you post that?”

He responded, “Oh, I unfriended and blocked all those guys a long time ago.” Smart man, I thought. Be timely, however, if that's what you plan to do—if they notice, it might offend them.

5. Build Partnerships

You can do everything alone, but it can much more meaningful with partners. Building partnerships is a great way to share your brand among like-minded professionals. You can swap services, create mutually beneficial events together and have people to talk shop and solve problems with.

6. Dream as Big or as Small as You Want To

Everyone starts out with an idea. This figureless anomaly that kept coming to the front of your mind until you gave in and created a business around it. Ask yourself where you see it going and ask yourself what you want from this business. Does it fit your current business model and mission statement? For some, maintaining a boutique business is all they want. It doesn’t hurt to brainstorm the possibilities and know where you stand on the topic. If you plan to grow, be sure your vision and mission holds up.

7. Stay Positive

Stay positive, but keep it real. As a dynamic human being, you have the capacity to feel stress or sadness yet maintain your overall radiance and grace. People can detect when you’re being inauthentic. If you are constantly trying to please everyone you will end up burning out and driving yourself mad. I’d like to reference lesson one (write out that one sentence describing your mission statement) and lesson three.

8. Take Time Away

I​f all you do is work it will be difficult for you to maintain your sense of perspective. Sometimes the best ideas are the ones we get during times of rest. One of my favorite business books is Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman by Yvon Chouinard, owner and founder of Black Diamond and Patagonia. He started the business because of a hole in the market which he found because of his love of the great outdoors. He would often leave the small-at-that-time tool making company to go exploring for weeks on end, letting the workers sort out the problems and details of the day to day business. This travel would not only refresh him, but also keep him in touch with his target market—although that’s not why he did it. He did it for the sincere love of alpine climbing. As he likes to say, they are "Conquistadors of the Useless."

9. Hang With People Who are Smarter Than You

W​hen I used to train for triathlons, I used to make it a habit of working out with people that were stronger or faster than I was. I didn’t do this on purpose, but I did learn a lot from it. Actually, I will humbly admit these super athletes were a lot smarter than me as well, coming from diverse backgrounds in executive positions, ivy covered universities, hospitals, and engineering. I never found conversation dull; I never found it stuffy either. There was something we all had in common, and that was the desire to push ourselves to our limit. That, it seemed, was respectable enough that I was able to hang at the adult table for a bit. What I found was that these same people that would fight so hard to demolish the competition in races could also be the most humble, fun and curious people I might ever meet.

10. The Most Important Lesson They Taught Me

They taught me not ever to get hung up on the small stuff—instead they demonstrated that you might fall down seven times, but be sure to get up eight.