10 things entrepreneurs [should] know

I’ve learned some tough lessons during my transition into the business world. I’m sharing a few of them here and believe they can be applied to more than entrepreneurial endeavors.

I hope they are as valuable for you as they have been for me:

  1. You’re never finished. There’s always more to be done. Bigger plans, more emails, another phone call, scheduled meetings, surprise encounters…
  2. You have to set boundaries. For yourself, your relationships, your time, your values, your abilities, your email checking. Prioritize, identify what is important to you, and rank your daily to-do list.
  3. Everyone has an opinion. That doesn’t mean you have to take their advice. Listen, and take what works for you.
  4. You’ll be scared and nervous and anxious as hell. Starting is scary. It doesn’t go away, but it gets better.
  5. You will fail. And you’ll fail hard. You’ll really f— something up, but you’ll learn from it and you’ll change it for next time.
  6. Not every idea is a slam dunk. That’s OK.
  7. Celebrate the wins. Even the really small ones. If you don’t recognize where you’re going and how far you’ve come, you won’t want to keep moving forward.
  8. It’s OK to ask for help. It’s impossible to know all there is to know about everything that is involved with running a business. Find people who can help and don’t be afraid to admit ignorance.
  9. It’s a process. You learn to ride the tide. Sometimes it’s in your favor, other times you’re swimming in the ocean for what seems like forever. There will be another wave, you’ll get to the shore, and then you can swim back out and do it all over again.
  10. It’s OK. It’s going to be OK. You’re OK. What you don’t know is OK. What people think of you is OK. Be OK with yourself.