Sui Guillory
Every entrepreneur is on her path to running a business, and each will learn her own lessons in time. But take it from me, an entrepreneur who has started several successful businesses over the past 20 years: Sometimes it’s helpful to learn from others’ experiences!
And so I offer five deceptively simple lessons I’ve learned as a business owner.
Lessons learned from running a business
1. It’s okay to pivot
When you start a business, there’s often this drive to build the business, make it a success, and then…what? Most entrepreneurs keep running their businesses for years and ignore the fact that they’re burnt out and bored.
There’s no lifelong contract you sign when you start a business. You call the shots, and if you’re being called to do something completely different, give yourself permission to do so. That may mean closing or selling the business you’ve worked hard to build. This is not failure. This is success. You have created a thriving business and now you’re deciding to take on a completely new endeavor. That takes bravery!
Even if you stay in the same business, set your ego aside and constantly look for ways to improve the business, even if that means changing services or products to better align with your audience.
2. It’s okay to work less
Americans have become workaholics, and rather than making us better at work, it’s impeding us, causing health problems and stress. Again, there seems to be some unspoken rule that says the more you work, the more virtuous you are (or appear to be).
If you remove cultural expectations and instead focus on working just as much as you need to keep your business chugging along and move it in the direction of your business goals, you might find it’s a whole lot less than 40 hours a week.
Creating systems and processes can cut down on the time you spend on menial tasks, like scheduling social media posts rather than creating them when you’re ready to publish them. And delegating tasks to others (which is why you hired employees, right?) can free you up to focus on the bigger-picture activities you need to perform as the business owner.
3. It’s okay to fire clients
New entrepreneurs may be horrified at the idea of firing a client, but those who have been running their companies for a while will instantly be able to think of a pesky client who they would love to fire. Maybe it’s the one who sends 20 emails a day and calls you on the weekend. Or the one who constantly changes his mind about what he wants for a project. Or the one who pays little but demands much.
You don’t have to put up with bad clients. Yes, you will lose revenue if you let one go, but think of the time you’ll free up. With that time, you can look for new, better clients to replace that revenue. You can also devote more time to the clients you have, which will make them so happy, they’ll refer others to you!
Just be careful in how you “fire” a client. If emotions get in the way, you risk burning bridges. On the other hand, if you can tactfully tell a client that you’re no longer able to provide services for them, you may leave the relationship secure. If you don’t want to be honest about how crazy it makes you to receive dozens of texts about a project from the client, just tell them your workload doesn’t allow you to fully dedicate yourself to their project.
4. Who you are now isn’t who you will be
Even after 20 years of entrepreneurship, I’m still changing and learning. You will, too. As your industry changes, as you’re influenced by books, blogs, documentaries, conferences, and peers, you will get new ideas about how to run your business and the products or services you offer.
In business, there is no stagnation. Or there shouldn’t be. Your role as an entrepreneur is to constantly improve yourself so you can help your business grow. Your ego (there that word is again) may tell you that you’re experienced and that you don’t need to learn anything, but don’t listen to it. There’s always room to grow and learn
5. Listen to others (but know when to shut your ears)
One great way to learn and help your business grow is to turn to others for advice. That might be a business partner, employee, friend, spouse, or mentor. Be open to the advice coming from anywhere, and humble yourself enough to really hear it rather than deciding that you always know best what your business needs.
On the other hand, realize that while people have the best intentions, they don’t always know what your business needs! It’s up to you to discern when you’ve got things covered and when you’re in too deep and need to see your business from an outside perspective. Sometimes you need a combination of advice from others and your own intuition.
If you pay attention, your business is teaching you things every day. But sometimes it requires you to pull your head out of the muck to hear it, and set aside self-pride to heed it.
Forbes
