When I started my business in 2008, I really had no idea where it would be in 15 years. As a 21-year-old at the time, my long-term view was usually from one day to the next. At that age you didn’t plan much past the next day. Every night was still like a weekend. You were worried about where your friends were going to be after work or school. Where were we all going to meet up? What game or concert was going on?
It took time to focus in on starting and running a business at such a young age. There were many missteps and screw-ups I made along the way. Like any failures in life you learn and improve from them. For me, it was how I figured things out.
Over this time I’ve learned a lot. Not everyday goes as you’d hope and not every day turns out to be a great day. There are bumps in the road but the road keeps going. If it were an easy road, everyone would be on it.
It’s been a wonderful journey filled with both failures and successes. Here are 15 things that I’ve learned over the past 15 years.
You’ll never know it all. Even though there are days you may think you know it all, you don’t. You never will. Everyday you will learn something new. Keep reading and keep learning. Be a student of your industry.
Everything you do should focus on the customer first and foremost. They are who truly matter. The customer experience is what builds loyalty and ultimately your business.
You’re the steering wheel but your employees are the engine. Surround yourself with a great team. Make it people you want to be around and work with. They’re like your family so you better like being around them. Develop and conquer goals as a team.
Thank everyone. Say thank you to your clients, employees, suppliers, producers etc. They all play a part in the ecosystem of a business. Always remember to treat others how you’d like to be treated.
It’s all built on trust and relationships. It’s the foundation for every business. People do business with people and businesses they know and trust. This leads to relationships and referrals. You never know what, when or where may result in a new client.
Not everything is about price. Offer solutions to the need, not the product you want to sell. Listen to your client. You develop a plan and offer solutions to achieve that plan. It’s true in any business. Educate and inform. Don’t sell your product, solve their problem.
It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Pace yourself. Business happens over years and years. Each month and every year you’ll restart at zero. Everyone restarts at zero. That will never change.
Don’t compare and compete with others. Chasing what others are doing doesn’t improve your business. Focus your time and energy on what you’re building. By having laser like focus on your business’s goals so will your team.
Learn from the past. Take the mistakes and missteps to become better in the future. Sometimes you need to pause and think back to time when you were trying or thinking of doing something similar. We’re always learning. It never stops.
You’re always selling. Selling to your team, prospects, clients, investors etc. It never stops. Everything is sales. Get comfortable with it and find others who are comfortable with it. Growth is the result of selling.
Worry about what you can control. Complaining and wasting time making excuses is not productive. If you do it, your team will also do it. Focus time and energy on what you can control and not on what you can’t.
Always call your clients before they call you. Be upfront and honest. Don’t give your clients a reason to shop you and your services. Listen to them. They can tell you what’s working and not working. Value their feedback.
Be different. There is nothing wrong with standing alone because what you’re doing is different. Avoid groupthink and following the herd. Differentiate from your competitors. Tell your story, not the story others are telling.
Smile at fear. Some ideas will fail. Constantly innovating and continued improvement is the key. That brings progress. When thinking about taking a risk, always ask yourself, what’s the worst that can happen? Take smart calculated risks.
Nothing worth doing comes easy. Hard work outweighs any talents or fancy degrees.
The Coffee Table ☕
Owen Stoneking wrote a piece called Would You Trade Places with Warren Buffett? He spoke about the relationship between time, money and health, what will we regret, getting off autopilot and solving for net fulfillment, rather than net worth. This was a very thought provoking.
Josh Brown wrote a post called The Joke about how they built the financial advisory firm Ritholtz Wealth using nontraditional ways. Some good insights about building a business different from how others have.
Jason Calacanis shared a video of Steve Jobs speaking about his focus on the customer and why you start with the customer experience first. I’ve watched this video numerous times in my life. Such a timeless video.
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