“I wish I knew that sooner!”—A phrase we’re all too familiar with. Although some lessons truly take living to uncover, I often find myself trying to educate my staff on business lessons I wish I had known at their young ages.
I’ve done my best to identify the top five business lessons I wish I knew earlier and have listed them for you below.
It’s not about being the most educated, it’s about being the most prepared.
This is a lesson I learned fairly early on in my career, but something that I find young people don’t always understand. In my opinion, a degree is a display of discipline, hard-work, etc. but just because you don’t have one, doesn’t mean that you lack those same qualities. Do your homework and show up to work prepared each day.
There are no refunds for the time you waste.
As a young woman, I spent every hour of my day immersing myself into growing businesses to learn as much as I could. These hours have proven to be priceless as I run my own company today. You only get to live today, once. Make it count.
Make a small improvement every day.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the huge goals set you set for yourself. Don’t get discouraged by minor set-backs. Show up to work each day and strive to improve one aspect of your work. These steps, (although they may appear minuscule) will lend to serious accomplishments at the end of the year.
Make people your priority, not profit.
Relationships are the foundation of a successful business and of a successful life. Show up to work with a genuine desire to serve your customers and help your colleagues. A real desire to serve others is so rare in today’s business landscape, and it’s so valuable! Work with your customers’ best interests at heart and profit will follow. (I can speak from experience).
Take your word seriously.
Nobody trusts the person who says they can do something but never makes it happen. Trust is solidified in business when two parties agree to work together and both deliver on their promises. Build your reputation as the person who actively and consistently delivers on their word.
