The 3 Best Lessons I Have Learned:
I became passionate about pursuing entrepreneurship because it’s one of the only jobs where you have to learn new things every day to improve and move business forward. Some of the things I have learned have been very tactical, like how to manage credit card processing, but some of my takeaways are lessons that can be applied to entrepreneurs in any industry.
The three best things I have learned in the past two years are:
- Make sure you’re giving your customers what they really want. This is a tough one. If you’re someone who created a business that solved a problem in your own life, it’s easy to assume that all of your customers will be exactly like you. When I founded Fedwell, I assumed that all of the attributes of my product that were important to me were important to my customers. Over time, what I found is that my customers and I valued my product attributes differently.
- If someone tells you it can’t be done, don’t believe them. I’ve made this mistake more than once. Most entrepreneurs strive to innovate and make the impossible possible. More than once I have taken someone telling me it’s not possible as FACT only to find out months later (by asking someone else) that what I’m trying to do IS actually possible. If someone tells you it can’t be done, try to ask at least one other person, or get a better understanding of why it can’t be done.
- Say yes to everything. If someone wants you to speak on a panel, have coffee with their niece, or offers to make an introduction to someone, SAY YES. With limited time, it can be hard to give up your most precious resource for something without knowing about the potential payback. It’s important and valuable to say yes for several reasons. First of all, you never know who you are going to meet or what they might open your mind to, or a connection they might give you. Second of all, it’s important to get out of the office once in a while! Third, it’s important to give back to entrepreneurs just as your mentors did for you.