50 Lessons Learned From Starting a Business

6 years ago this fall, I had the opportunity to start a business with several of my undergraduate classmates as part of our curriculum. Yes—our university actually gave us credit to ideate, iterate, secure funding, and launch our own business. The catch: it all had to be done in *one* rapid, sink-or-swim semester.

This week I was flooded with memories of many long days, sacrifices, and difficult decisions as I came across the journal I’d kept during this unique, fast-paced experience. However, in addition to these more difficult memories, its pages also brought back reminders of many important lessons. A quick re-read has helped me realize that these lessons continue to shape me as a business processional even to this present day.

Because a rising tide lifts all boats and in the spirit of community, here are the top 50 lessons I learned from starting a business:

1)   A truly successful business professional must speak finance… no matter what aspect of a company they work in

2)   Starting a business from square one means accomplishing many unforeseen tasks and, therefore, requires determination

3)   Empathizing with the customer is a must

4)   Expect to make changes to your first prototype. Don’t take it personally.

5)   We must ask, “What does the customer want/need?”

6)   Execution is at least as important as concept

7)   A good business plan takes time to test and validate… expect many revisions

8)   All entrepreneurs fail, world-class entrepreneurs find meaning in failure and can, therefore, avoid the same mistake twice

9)   No one cares what I want… unless I know what they consumer wants… and I can’t know without data

10)  Make Data driven decisions

11)  Make products people want and will buy. Period. No one cares if your uncle in Argentina loves your product. Listen to the market and your sales numbers. They’re trying to tell you a message that can save your life.

12)  Just because a business is profitable doesn’t mean it will have cash to pay the bills. Profit is always an estimate… and you can’t spend estimates

13)  Kindness is priceless

14)  Prevention is easier than treatment

15)  When looking for an investment, numbers speak louder than ideas

16)  Strive to create an environment where everyone feels safe to contribute their talents

17)  There is great power in dividing up responsibilities based on strengths and desires

18)  When in doubt, ask your customers

19)  Having good leaders matters

20)  Roadblocks are simply opportunities to elevate yourself while on the journey to your destination

21)  Two minds are better than one. Two minds in unity are better than one hundred.

22)  Ask often, “What’s one thing you see me doing (or failing to do) that holds me back? This will tease out specific concrete information on how to become better

23)  Know your tendencies

24)  Soliciting constructive criticism communicates humility, respect, passion for excellence, and confidence all at once

25)  Standard procedures are vital

26)  Leading doesn’t always have a big “L”. Some of the best leaders lead with a small “l”.

27)  Customer first

28)  Stocking out hurts

29)  Successful inventory management is crucial to the success of a business; both too much and not enough are very costly

30)  Life is happy when customers are happy

31)  Rating others based on performance is neither fun nor easy, but it is a fundamental part of a self-aware org  

32)  Honest feedback is a must

33)  A vision of what needs to be done is crucial

34)  All meetings should have an agenda

35)  Established and agreed upon processes are vital in operating (and scaling) a business successfully

36)  Networking is not asking someone for a job

37)  The first step to influencing is listening

38)  A good salesperson can sell ice to an Eskimo

39)  Customers flow through A.I.D.A: Awareness, Interest, Decision, Action. In order to get them to buy, we need to take them through that process

40)  Collaborate

41)  Dashboards save time and increase performance

42)  Openness and honesty always win

43)  A good business strives to pinpoint and eliminate waste

44)  Doubling sales requires twice as much effort

45)  Opening for more hours does not always mean more sales

46)  A good business focuses its efforts on things that will benefit the customer

47)  Manage people not problems

48)  Increased sales do not always mean increased profits

49)  Without customers there’s no operations, marketing, finance, or supply chain. Indeed, without customers there is no business.

50)  Accountability changes everything