In case you don’t know my story, I was once upon a time in school for fashion design. I thought my life was going to be going in a completely different direction than it has. While in school, I worked at a shoe store full time where I learned the ins and outs of that business. But what I also learned was how to build a culture within a business. The environment there was always fun and exciting and the owner let me be creative with some things. He taught us to really build a community through business and that every customer that walked through the door felt that inclusivity and attention as well.
I eventually ended up leaving fashion design school and my job that supported it and went into corporate America. I worked my way up to director of marketing at a company and let me tell you, I’ve seen the good, the bad, the ugly, and the way ugly of that world. Some years later, I left that job to open my own business, a retail store, with a friend of mine. While that was thriving, I started up my second business which was my own marketing business. For some personal reasons, the retail store ended up closing, but I still had my marketing venture which has morphed into what I do now.
All of the things I’ve done and the places I’ve been and things I’ve seen, these experiences make me who I am today. But the thing that stuck with me the most when recently going back over my past was my time working at the shoe store. I started to really think about how my boss there, George, ran his business. He payed attention to detail, listened to the needs and wants of his customers, and did just about anything to make sure they were satisfied when leaving his establishment. He stayed very focused on what he wanted to do and how to move his vision forward and ultimately wanted to help people. Looking back now, he was a better business model than anyone I’ve come across in the corporate world.
Though my bad experiences have taught me just as much as my good ones. They’ve taught me what not to do or how to do them better. They’ve also made me realize the things I do and don’t want in life. These things are important. Who knows where I’d be without them? But I am forever grateful to have worked for someone who knew what it meant to run a business. That it’s not all about numbers and logistics, but about the actual, physical people in front of you that either work for you or patronize your business and how they feel when they leave. That is what set him apart from the rest: he wasn’t afraid to be unique. He didn’t want to do things the way everyone else did. He did his thing and owned it and that is what set him above the rest.
Wherever you are in your business journey, I encourage you to reflect a little on your past and all of the things that have shaped you into who you are today. All of the experiences you’ve been through, good or bad, can leave a big impact on your life. You may not have realized it in the moment, but when you take the time to think about where you’ve been, a lot of times it helps you find out where you need to go.
I did a blog post based on all of these reflections that I went through with the things that I’ve done in my life. I surveyed a lot of people that I work with and entrepreneurs that I know to figure out The Top 5 Lessons Learned Being an Entrepreneur. Make sure to go and read it because the information is just amazing and super helpful no matter where you are in your journey.
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Episode 75 – Slowing Down | Lessons Learned in Hard Times
