10 Years, 10 Lessons — Key Insights From a Decade of Entrepreneurship

On nan heels of my business's 10-year anniversary, I've been reflecting connected nan travel and nan galore lessons I've learned successful my decade arsenic CEO. Below, I'll stock nan 10 astir profound takeaways — nan ones I wish I'd known successful nan early days of entrepreneurship. Apply them to your travel if you're connected a akin path!

1. Have clear expectations and accordant accountability

In my mind, these 2 factors are nan instauration of successful leadership. Without clear expectations, your squad members mightiness not understand what you really want from them, and their meaning of occurrence whitethorn not align pinch yours. Without accordant accountability, they won't meet those expectations and will person a harder clip learning really to improve.

Establishing clear, accordant connection ensures everyone is connected nan aforesaid page and moving towards nan aforesaid goals.

Related: I Wish I Knew These Four Things Before Starting My Own Business

2. Understand improvement vs. gyration for activity hires

When it comes to hiring for activity roles, make judge you understand nan roles you really need. My champion proposal is this: Hire a head erstwhile you request improvement and an executive erstwhile you request revolution.

I've learned (the difficult way!) that each activity hires are not created equal. A increasing statement will yet request both, but knowing whether you're looking for improvement aliases gyration will thief you make much strategical hiring decisions.

3. Know that institution civilization runs deeper than "fun"

Fun is an constituent of company culture, and I do judge you should put successful it — whether that's done squad breakfasts, squad outings aliases different activities beyond conscionable work. But existent civilization is astir creating an situation wherever everyone feels weighted and supported, and that goes beyond conscionable having a bully clip together.

If you want to foster a institution civilization that doesn't trust connected throwing parties aliases catering lunches, beryllium mindful of nan small things, too: really your activity squad answers difficult questions, really you balance transparency pinch protecting your squad from difficult truths and really you dainty group day-to-day. Your labor will announcement each of these details, and they really adhd up.

4. Expect everything to costs doubly arsenic overmuch and return doubly arsenic long

Over nan years, I've travel to expect everything — from caller projects to hiring decisions to caller products — to return longer and costs much than I expect. And moreover erstwhile I effort to use this instruction up of time, I'm still apt to underestimate.

Planning pinch this rule successful mind tin thief negociate expectations and trim vexation erstwhile things don't spell precisely arsenic planned. A buffer is simply a bully thing!

5. Hire a coach

My 2 co-founders and I started moving pinch an executive coach astir 8 years into moving nan business, and I wish we'd done it sooner.

Coaches thief you find your activity unsighted spots, connection an impartial sounding committee erstwhile you look challenges and thief different members of your squad level up alongside you. It whitethorn return clip to find nan correct personification for your needs, but successful my experience, it was worthy nan effort.

Related: 8 Important Lessons From Leading Entrepreneurs

6. Co-founders are everything

Co-founders are nan group pinch whom you tin stock your truest experiences: your deepest fears, your astir outlandish concerns and your top triumphs. A beardown co-founder relationship is important for enduring nan highs and lows of entrepreneurship.

Find nan correct group to clasp you accountable, equilibrium retired your accomplishment group and make nan acquisition of moving a business a small little grueling.

7. It sucks, but it gets better

In Lemonlight's early years, I was regularly moving 14-hour days, putting retired changeless fires and emotion for illustration my to-do database was never-ending. Today, nan institution runs beautiful smoothly pinch nan structures and group we person successful place, allowing maine to attraction connected big-picture reasoning and uncovering areas wherever my expertise is helpful.

I won't sugarcoat it: Starting a business is hard. But if you conscionable return it 1 time astatine a time, it really does get easier.

8. A small advancement each time is impactful

Speaking of taking it 1 time astatine a time, little progress each time adds up. We've had days wherever nan wins and milestones were particularly noticeable, but astir of nan past 10 years has conscionable been moving nan needle guardant a small spot astatine a time.

Ten years later, someway that amounts to 20,000+ videos, 5,000+ clients and 150+ squad members. The advancement isn't ever noticeable, but it's ever there. Consistency is powerful!

9. Financial acumen is important

Having coagulated finances is simply a awesome constituent of entrepreneurship, and while it's important to find experts you spot to support you, it's besides basal to person immoderate individual knowing of your business's finances.

Being capable to publication and understand your superior financial statements, way your cardinal capacity indicators and move nan needle towards your financial goals is invaluable. Don't conscionable spot personification other to get it right, particularly early connected erstwhile you astir apt can't spend world-class help.

Related: 4 Lessons That Most Successful Entrepreneurs Had to Learn nan Hard Way

10. You don't prevention money if you walk it elsewhere

In nan early years astatine Lemonlight, we were conscious of each dollar we spent, but we had a bad wont of "saving" money successful 1 area only to walk it successful an unproductive measurement elsewhere. We'd pat ourselves connected nan backmost for cutting costs, but that money wasn't really helping our bottommost line.

If you find an opportunity to prevention money, make judge those savings enactment saved — or, astatine nan very least, they're spent connected thing pinch existent value. Don't autumn into nan trap of reasoning you've done a awesome occupation conscionable to discarded that money location else. Real savings should fortify your business, not conscionable get shuffled around.

Entrepreneurship whitethorn beryllium framed arsenic a solo effort, but nan reality is you don't person to fig everything retired connected your own. I dream these lessons from my business tin thief you skip immoderate of nan uncertainty successful yours, making advancement without rather arsenic galore roadblocks.