Best Things I’ve Learned from My Business

From Laura Benjamin

Long ago and not so far away, this single Mom with 3 kids to feed quit her corporate job. There were many dark and stormy nights ahead, but looking back I learned a great many lessons from running this business. I’ll share a few here and ask if you’d like to comment and submit your own list of ”lessons learned”!

Lesson #1: Better to build a community than to “network”

Networking is touted as the best way to build a business or career, but networking has gotten a bad reputation. Why? Because not everyone knows how to network effectively. You’ll watch them swap business cards, spend less than 2 minutes listening to the other person, then move on to the next one. Follow up is rare, sincerity even rarer.

Indeed, “speed networking” is promoted as the ultimate in efficiency. That’s where you spend less than 2 minutes with a person, then when the whistle blows, you move to the next one. It’s a takeoff on “speed dating”. To me that seems like gulping down a glass of rare wine in order to get to the bottom of the bottle!

A better use of time is to take the time to build a community. A Community is a high-trust, familiar group of folks who you’ve built relationships with. You may not see them very often, but you keep up with them from a distance. You respect one another. You appreciate the work they do, their level of commitment and their contributions. You know the struggles they’ve overcome and you never worry about putting your reputation at risk when you refer folks their way.

Lesson #2: There’s a big difference between gross and profit

I learned this one the hard way the last time I wanted to buy a new home. High gross income is one thing, but after all those deductions to keep your tax rate low, it’s good to show a profit. Looking back, I should have hired a CPA and bookkeeper much sooner rather than the “clueless” accounting method I used through my first five years in business. They could have helped me see which deductions to focus on, how to set up a system where I’d learn from year to year the most profitable use of my time and resources. Thank goodness I now have experts to help me see the light!

Lesson #3: Break out of inbred benchmarking circles

Most of us start out hanging with the people who do the same things we do. Perhaps it’s an industry association or professional group of like-minded people. Nothing wrong with “birds of a feather flock together” up to a point. But there’s value in breaking out to see what the rest of the world is up to. You can learn a lot from people in industries and occupations that don’t use the same acronyms. Yet too many of us remain stuck in worlds and social circles that are safe and familiar. Innovation comes by crawling out from behind the four walls and applying concepts from other fields to your particular product or service.

Lesson #4: Leverage the top 5% and create a “Blue Ocean”

There are certain traits, talents and skills you possess that, if leveraged properly, are going to take you further - faster. Sure, you can do the other 95% in a competent manner but those accomplishments will keep you stuck in mediocrity. Better to hone in on the one or two things you do with such style, grace, ease and excellence that you blow the competition away. In fact, you make the competition irrelevant! (Read the book, Blue Ocean Strategy for more on this concept).

You may wonder, “But how do I figure out what my top 5% talents and skills really are?”

Well, you do the work. You make lists, take assessments, ask people who know you well. Dig deep into the personal and professional experiences you’ve had along the way that made you feel accomplished, energized and certain that you made a difference in some small way. Focus in on the top 3-5 things that are the “best of the best” and you’ll be on your way. Then build your work, a business, a career around those 3-5 things. Promote them, find ways to fit them into your daily activities whether you get paid for it or not. Pretty soon you’ll find that just like putting the right kind of “seed” in the birdfeeder, the right kind of “birds” are coming your way!

Lesson #5: Avoid the Expert Myth and Build Self Confidence

The Expert Myth is thinking you have to be an Expert with a Capital “E” in order to pursue a new career, go for that promotion, launch a business, etc. Ask any professor or instructor who is given a new class to teach - you just need to be one chapter ahead of your class. You don’t have to know everything, you just have to know enough to help someone else. The more you put yourself out there, the more you learn, and the more you’re able to help others with something new. To paraphrase Pablo Picasso, “I try to do the things I cannot do so I may learn how to do them.”

As usual, I could go on and on. It seems like I learn something beneficial each day from running this small business. And you know the funny thing? I’m learning more about myself and other people than I am about business and that once again reinforces my favorite saying, “It’s never just business - it’s always personal!”

Now, let the day begin!

Laura Benjamin, writing from 6711 ft. above sea level in warm and sunny Colorado