Top 10 Things I Learned in 10 Years
Well, it’s true! I survived my 50th birthday. Here is a
tidbit of trivia for you. Did you know that 3L Publishing turned 10-years old
at the same time I turned 50? Yes, I’ve now been in business 10 years. I’ve
learned a lot about entrepreneurship in those years. I’ve enjoyed some great
successes, some abysmal failures, and some important lessons. So in honor of
what I’ve learned and to impart this “amazing” wisdom LOL, here is the “Top 10
Things I Learned in 10 Years”.
1. Whether in business or your personal
life, always trust your gut. It never
fails you. Now if you ignore your gut then you have to take responsibility for
it, too. I’ve ignored my gut a couple of times and regretted it later.
2. Try and keep your cash flow in real-time. Once you get in the arrears on your
cash flow it’s very, very difficult to bring it back current. So as money comes
in try and keep your bills and payments current.
3. Try
not to sweat the daily realities. Yes,
this one is easier said than done, but I have found that business can literally
with one phone call or one “yes” change overnight. One day your pipeline is
empty and the next day it can be full.
4. Be
firm, be clear and stand your ground.
Clear policies and holding the line actually make doing business easier. Much
like children need consistency and structure, so do clients and customers. Once
the boundaries are established most people tend to respect those areas.
5. Always
require a deposit and make sure no work is done until that money has been sent. The worst lesson in this regard is
investing time and work into something and then not being paid appropriately.
6. On
the reverse, always require final payment before providing the final work. This policy prevents clients from
walking away and leaving you empty-handed while they’ve got your work anyway.
7. Always
pay yourself first. I used to make sure everybody else was paid
while I suffered and wasn’t paid appropriately. Well, reality is that
without me no one has business, because I am the rainmaker. So pay yourself
first and then pay the others.
8. Persist
and don’t give up. Many
times I’ve wanted to walk away and return to corporate and the security of a
steady paycheck. But I always remind myself that I wasn’t happy working for
someone else. So, to stay in business 10 years meant I had to persist and
market and sell and never give up.
9. Always
focus on the positive and let someone else think about the negative. Don’t get caught up in the negative
thinking. Law of Attraction: you attract what you think the most about. So do
your very best to keep a positive mindset.
10. Even
on your worst day, get up, and get on with it. Don’t get sucked into frustration. Just “keep on keeping
on” and soon it will smooth out.
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