7 Lessons Learned in My Entrepreneurial Journey

Over the past few months, I’ve been sharing my 30 Lessons Learned in 30 Years of business.  I owe a lot in this next set to Verne Harnish – and the school of “Hard Knocks”.

Check them out. I’ll bet some of them will surprise you. 

Who’s been a key mentor for you in your journey?

 

💡 Lesson 14: Recessions are fertile ground for innovation—if you’re prepared.

A recession can be a fabulous launching point for a new product or service. I loved “The Recession-Proof Business” by Victor Cheng who I saw speak in 2009. became certified in Scaling Up in 2008 and the tools and resources proved to be perfect for companies who were reeling from the downturn. We had a ready audience of entrepreneurs and small businesses who were willing to get and pay for assistance. And were able to offer group sessions (with the help of channel partners – see Lesson #15) to keep our fees down.

💡 Lesson 15: Growth doesn’t have to be a solo journey.

Never underestimate the power of a solid and reliable channel partner. Identify and use channel partners who see value in your services to facilitate entry into the right clients as well as make your sales process more efficient. I had three of them: a local chamber of commerce, a manufacturing association and a bank who fed our pipeline for almost 5 years. Each one had a “white knight” who ran point for us and helped to recruit prospects.  And each relationship enabled us to reach companies that we never would have stood a chance of getting into on our own.

💡 Lesson 16: Not all channel partners are created equal.

That said, understand that channel partners have a different pinpoint and make sure you understand that when working with them and who your white knight is who will be your cheerleader and door opener. There were several failures later on with another chamber and another bank that didn’t work in part because their clients weren’t in enough pain and there wasn’t a point person who could make things happen from the inside out.

💡  Lesson 17: Choose Your Second-in-Command Wisely

A leaf out of Verne Harnish’s Scaling Up Playbook: Your most important decision as a CEO is who will be your number two. If you’re not fortunate enough to find the right partner having a strong, competent number two who compliments you and balances out your weaknesses is critical to your long-term success.  It took me a few years of “searching” and several missteps but when I started working with one of my “alum” clients, Eileen Wainwright, who shared my Core Values, had practical experience implementing Scaling Up and is a MASTER at putting organization and structure around simply everything, my business thrived!

💡Lesson 18: Have a Robust Hiring Process and Use It!

Use a robust checklist (including your Core Values) to pick your employees and your collaborators and your 1099s.  Your checklist should be just as specific as a checklist that you would use to find a new client. (You have one of those don’t you? 😊) Even better? Assign and number value to each item on your list so that you have a “score” and can make the decision more objectively.

💡 Lesson 19: A Good Partner is a Gift. The Wrong One is Expensive.

The right partner OR collaborator is a true gift.  Hooking up with the wrong one can be devastating. Make sure you do a deep dive with potential partners on Values, Vision, Personal Goals and Work Style. Here’s a few of the questions that I recommend that our clients use. Consider using them even if you do have a Partner.  The right conversation BEFORE you run into a crisis or conflict will help you navigate from a place of strength.

💡Lesson 20: Talk to Your Customers!

Another Verne’ism – When you have a problem, reach out to your Customers.  I can’t tell you how many times I did just that over the course of my business journey, from when I was struggling with a decision to let a client go TO determining if a service offering wasn’t working anymore TO re-branding under the CEO Think Tank® name…clients are AMAZING at providing insights and perspective, especially if they are also smart and savvy business people. (The only ones I work with BTW 😊.)

Tags: Business advice for the mid-market, Executive Education for Small Business, Leadership Development for Small Business, Leadership Development in New Jersey, Leadership Development in Philadelphia, Overcoming small business challenges