18 Years in the Making

1. Your network matters. Get in front of people early on, even if you dislike those early morning breakfast events, because who you know in business matters.

2. Say yes before you feel ready and figure it out. You’re already more ready than you think, and that fear is normal. Action quiets fear.

3. Invest in you. Get into the room with the people you want to do business with. You can shortcut access and speed up results by paying to be places with ideal buyers.

4. Consistency matters in brand building and marketing. Put in the effort. Don’t be a one-hit wonder. Show up daily.

5. Do good work. Help people even if it means working more than you expected or are being paid to do, especially in the beginning when you’re figuring things out.

6. Care about your reputation. Be nice to people, always take the high road and…

7. Pay attention to red flags. Walk away from toxic people gracefully. Don’t stoop to their levels.

8. Don’t barter. Someone always ends up with the short end of the stick.

9. Manage cash flow carefully. You never know when you’ll need money.

10. Don’t develop a sense of entitlement. Be as interested in keeping clients as you are in getting new ones.

11. Read a book a month. You need to invest in your knowledge as much as your network to stay relevant.

12. Plan vacations first, then plan the business around your time off, or you won’t take time off and you’ll burn out.

13. Hire great people and exit those who are not a good fit quickly. If someone isn’t coachable, it’s not your job to fix them. At the same time, go all in on helping those people who are there for you and your clients.

14. Get good at making decisions. Analysis paralysis will slow you down and hold you back.

15. Learn how to do hard things instead of avoiding them. This is the sign of a true professional.

16. Learn how to manage your emotions when things go wrong. Don’t catastrophize one-off situations. Don’t let emotional upsets derail you.

17. Have a sounding board, coach, or group of people to bounce ideas off and discuss hard things with. You’re the CEO, so don’t rely on your team to advise you. Have outside help.

18. Stop doing things you don’t enjoy sooner rather than later. When you spend too much time doing things that drain you, everyone can tell, and you will start to fall out of love with your business every day you keep doing these things.

Which lesson are you going to start applying to push yourself in your business?