6 Things I Wish I’d Known When I Started My Business (and 3 Things I’m Glad I Didn’t)
Jan 18, 2009 at 05:33PM Marcia Hoeck recently asked me to name the most important thing I had learned since starting my business 14 years ago. I did not have a ready answer. I have learned so much. After I struggled to give the question justice for a few minutes, Marcia kindly offered to allow me to respond later. This article is my attempt at a helpful and transparent response.
While I like to think that I’m a pretty smart guy, I have to admit that I often feel I am a slow learner. I started my business 14 years ago, for example, and I’ve only recently begun to feel that I’m getting good at running it. If I could go back 14 years to talk with my former self about what I’ve learned, these are the top 6 things I think I’d share:
- Get lots and lots of help. Starting and running a business isn’t easy, but you don’t have to figure it out all by yourself. There are millions of people that have started successful businesses, and many of them are all too happy to offer a helping hand. Attend trade shows and networking events, take people out to lunch, and join or start a peer advisory group. Ask questions. The ideas and information that you get from others, often for free, is priceless.
- The way you expect your business to be run won’t be obvious to anyone but you until you communicate it, clearly and often. It took years and a unique set of thousands of circumstances to create the collection of thoughts and ideas that guide my daily actions and expectations. Unfortunately, it also took me years to learn that I must regularly share my values, ideas, and expectations with my team, in a simple and positive way, to get the results I want.
- You cannot expect employees to always be as committed to the business as you are. It seems obvious now, but it didn’t initially occur to me that my business wouldn’t automatically become the top priority for every new employee. As the business owner, it’s up to me to create a culture and environment where employees want to help the business succeed. Believe me, that’s a lot easier to say than it is to do. However, I have found that if you are clear about your expectations from day one, and you show genuine interest and concern for each member of your team, most will leap over tall buildings to help you succeed.
- Borrowing money is giving up control. Even if the debt is unsecured, borrowers will be slaves to the payments, interest, and obligation until it’s paid back in full. I wish I had figured this out before borrowing money to fund my business, but now that I have, I am working hard to pay it all back. I wish I could convince my former self to figure out how to pay cash and avoid the endless worries over debt. I wouldn’t say “don’t borrow money,” necessarily, but I would try to force myself to think long and hard about the alternatives.
- People lie during interviews. I’m not talking little tiny white lies, here. I’m talking about big, honking, wow-I-can’t-believe-you-said-that lies. Like the guy that said that his former employer loved him and didn’t want him to leave the company, only to accidentally reveal months after being hired that his former boss was his own mother. Wow. Really? Trust, but verify.
- If it feels like something might be wrong, it probably is. So many times I’ve picked up a strange little vibe about a prospective new employee, customer, or vendor, only to forge ahead and find out later that I was right. Trust that funny feeling. Your gut reaction is probably correct.
Of course, there are some things that I’m glad I didn’t have a clue about when I started my business. If I had known these things, I might not have had the courage to start at all. If given the chance, however, I would absolutely encourage my former self to forge ahead. I am fully aware of all these things, after all, and I would still do it all over again (only better, I hope).
- Having a job is much, much less stressful than having a business. There’s no way around it – starting, building and running a business is hard. Very hard. Business owners think and worry about their businesses constantly. The business becomes so tightly woven into our personal lives that it becomes nearly impossible to separate the two. However, if you dream of owning a business and have deep passion for what you do, you might just find that it’s all worthwhile.
- Neither my business nor my leadership will ever be perfect. I’m only half-kidding here. As a recovering perfectionist, I can honestly say that I used to think I could build a business without problems and that I could somehow become a leader that everyone would love and follow. I couldn’t have been more wrong, of course. But I have learned that there is great satisfaction in building a business that works through problems and in becoming a thoughtful leader that is well-loved by some and endured by others.
- It might take many years to become an “overnight success”. When I started my business, I envisioned quick success. A few years of hard work and I’d be home free, I thought. More than a decade later, however, I was beginning to have my doubts. It was only recently that I realized that my idea of “success” had been a moving target, like the end of a rainbow. No wonder I hadn’t arrived! I now understand that, in some ways, my business was an “overnight success” years ago. In other ways, it’s an ongoing success, sustaining and fulfilling me and providing value for many others on a daily basis. And in still others, success is as elusive and far away as it’s always been.
What Would You Add?
What are the most important things you’ve learned since starting your own business? I’d love to hear about your advice for someone just starting out in comments below (or write a blog post about it and leave a link to it in comments below).
Reader Comments (8)
Regarding #1 of the 3 things you wish you didn't know, I agree most with that statement. Owning and running my own business is the hardest thing I've ever done. Had I known how hard it would be, I might not have started it, but it has certainly been worthwhile.
Hey, Matt, terrific thoughtful answer. Love the other side, too -- the 3 things you're glad you DIDN'T know. Owning your own business is a difficult journey, but one that many of us are driven to undertake. After 25 years, I can't think of doing it another way, and relate strongly to your comment about being "pretty much unemployable" at this point.
The most important thing I learned as a business owner is a subtlety -- that there is no point at which you will "arrive" unless you make it happen for yourself. You can't wait for your industry, your peers, or your competitors to grant you "expert" status, to let you know you're now "good enough." They'll never give it to you -- you have to claim it yourself. You have to decide what you're really good at and make your own splash. I see lots of brilliant people languish in mediocre status because they won't step forward and claim their spots and many mediocre people rise to brilliant status because they SAY they're the best. This took me many many years to learn and I still can't say I've got it down pat, and it's maddening -- but it's true. And it can be the difference between your business growing quickly and confidently or hanging around at the same level for years. Be good at something, be confident about it, and let people know how good you are. Don't wait for others to "discover" or "anoint" you.
Then, I'd have to go with your #1 after that. Don't try to do it on your own. Get lots of help!
I am struggling with the "get lots and lots of help" angle. I always feel that I'm being pushy or greedy when I do this and I'm learning to overcome it. I'm glad that there are lots of people like you who blog about your experiences to help people like me. And there are lots of people out there who point us in the right direction -- I got here from a Twitter recommendation (I can never remember who though -- I think it was @problogger but it might not have been -- apologies if I'm wrong).
Shalom
LoneWolf
You've distilled some great thoughts. If I had something to add, it would be to keep learning. As the world keeps changing around you, it's essential that you keep improving your knowledge and abilities.
Great article, Matt. There's a lot in here I can relate to. But most of all is, I'm right there with you about being glad I didn't know how much work it would be. I truly think that if you took the sheer amount of energy that goes in starting a business, consolidated it, and put it into a giant ZipLock bag, put it on display and showed it to everyone that wanted to start their own business, 90% of them would drop out of the game.
Then, too, it's about the experiences you make along the way. Afterall, there's no more benefit to life than the experiences you make living it. I just think it's a good thing most people don't know what it takes to start a business. It's that blissful ignorance that drives them forward. Because, if they did, there'd be a lot less innovation in this world.
Matt,
Your comments are certainly well thought out and I can relate to many of the same points you have made. It has been exciting to me, as a friend and peer, to watch the growth of your company your success. Clearly, your own personal drive and tuned leadership skills have positioned you and RocketIT for many more years of success.
So very true! good post Matt!
Wise wisdom from an experienced source! :)
Curious, where does work/life balance fit for you? I continue to recognize BALANCE, as I pass it. :)
Thanks for sharing your insight.
-Dara