10 Lessons I Learned from My First Startup
Oct. 29th 2009
I started working on my first business when I was 18 years old. I have certainly learned some valuable lessons since then through my experiences and I am still learning. There have been many ups and downs but deciding to create my own job and become an entrepreneur is one of the most rewarding decisions I’ve ever made.
If I could go back in time and give some advice to myself when I was starting my first business, these are the 10 things I would say:
- This first attempt at this business is going to fail. But do it anyway because you’re going to learn a lot that will make the next attempt successful.
- Don’t listen to the critics. A lot of people will tell you your idea will never work and to just give up but they didn’t write the business plan and do the research –you did.
- Listen to the constructive criticism your mentors and supporters give you but don’t feel compelled to accommodate all of their feedback.
- Being an entrepreneur is tough. Perseverance is key. Stay focused on your vision and don’t even think about giving up.
- Work on making meaning first. Making money will follow. This may not make sense to you right now but by making meaning, people are going to talk about you and this exposure will bring more opportunities than you would have been able to get without it.
- Build personal relationships with people even if there’s nothing in it for you. Reach out and help others when you can. People notice the little things you do even when you don’t think they do.
- You crawl before you walk. You walk before you run. Things may not always move along as fast as you’d like but businesses are built one step at a time.
- You can’t please everyone. There will always be people that you just can’t please and those people aren’t worth your time.
- Don’t be afraid to take risks and make major changes if something isn’t working. Entrepreneurs must be dynamic.
- Follow your gut. If something doesn’t seem right, it probably isn’t. Intuition is a powerful force that you shouldn’t ignore.
Never miss a post. Subscribe to Garage Entrepreneurs via RSS.
I LOVE this post to bits. I am 21 at the moment and love entrepreneurship. I started a business – and – yes, it didn’t do as well as I thought. It is so comforting to know that entrepreneurs are lone wolves much of the time but building relationships are key.
Excellent tips! I definitely agree and have experienced all of the above, and foremost, number 10. Your gut is there for a reason. Listen to it.
@Luke: Thanks for your comment. I’m glad you liked the post and it’s always great to connect with other passionate entrepreneurs! I think a lot of us entrepreneurs have experiences with failing -especially the first time. In fact, entrepreneurs average 3.2 failures before starting a successful business. But we walk away with some very valuable lessons that we can take with us into future ventures.
@MF: Thanks for the comment. I’ve definitely learned to listen to my gut more. With my first business I would sometimes second guess myself, especially when dealing with more experienced people, because I thought they just knew better than me because of all their experience -but that wasn’t always the case. Now I’ve learned to listen to the opinions and thoughts of others but trust myself.
Thanks for the reply! You have some very wise words. I am just starting another business and am so passionate about it. Hopefully it doesn’t count as one of my 3.2 failures!
Cheers, making a profile now. I look forward to making some of my own posts.