100 Things I Have Learned Since Launching My Company

(work in progress)

In no particular order

1. Patience with Process!

2. Do not allow anyone else to set your course or your pace.

3. Believe in Yourself!

4. People really do want to see you succeed and will work with you to help you succeed.

5. Protect your reputation.

6. Do not be so pushy.

7. Money matters

8. Money is not the most important thing you need to start and grow a business.

9. Burn Bridges! Especially when you should not cross them again.

10. Never compare yourself to others.

11. The world is the way it is, not the way I want it to be.

12. Allow other people to do their job. Make sure they know what it is.

13. People will lie to you.

14. People will either try to steal your ideas or take credit for your work.

15. People will impose their own desires on you expecting you to do the things that they are too afraid to try.

16. If a team member can not tell you what they want for themselves, let them go until they can  figure it out for themselves. You can not provide the answers for anyone else.

17. Choose your clients wisely. Dump the ones that are not working well with you, it's not your fault. Focus on the clients  you can help.

18. The best way to avoid a bad situation is to refuse to play the game. Walk away! Find other options.

19. Do not waste the time of people you respect. Find a way to give them as much value for their time as they are giving you.

20. Most people don't really want to be entrepreneurs, and there is nothing wrong with that.

21. Delegate.

22. Don't take anything personally.

23. In order to lead your clients to new territory you have to start at the point where they currently stand.

24. Sometimes you really should lose a deal and it will be the best thing that ever happened, if you learn from it.

25. Even if you do not agree with someone's idea, you can still support the person who is following their idea.

26. People will try to exploit your weaknesses.

27. People will be more willing to align with you when you are confident.

28. There is a fine line between being transparent and being exposed.

29. There is a fine line between confident and cocky.

30. Sometimes the best thing you can do is get out of your client's way.

31. Coach as opposed to criticize.

32. Inspire rather than insult.

33. Be very clear about what you want.

34. When you have outgrown a project or a role, move on.

35. Make sure everyone knows what is expected of them, from staff, to partners, to clients.

36. Be VERY protective of your time and resources, it is ok to ask "what's in it for me?"

37. Do not waste any energy looking back to see what your competitors are doing.

38. Surround yourself with winners.

39. Find people to appropriately challenge you.

40. Keep communications open with your team about how the company is doing financially.

41. Know your value and do not sell yourself short. When you have to compromise, make sure it is truly a give and take.

42. Never go into ANY meeting expecting it to be a waste of time. That will only lead to a self-fulfilling prophesy.

43. Anytime you are feeling stressed, imagine how Obama must be feeling.

44. Make every struggle an opportunity to be better.

45. When someone wants to give you advice, take a moment to listen, you do not HAVE to follow the advice, but you will never know who has the right words at the right time.