Life Lessons From Being an Entrepreneur

For me, I think it's the journey to becoming an entrepreneur--not just the end results--that has had a profound impact on my life.

I grew up in a hard-working blue-collar family. My dad taught me a great work ethic, but I never could see myself only working for someone else for the majority of my adult life. Personal freedom appealed to me, and unfortunately that's a hard thing to have when you're stuck in a paycheck-to-paycheck cycle.

One of the first lessons I learned about entrepreneurship actually happened by accident when I was a child. One day a friend of mine at school noticed a key chain I had gotten out of a 25 cent machine at a grocery store. She really liked it and asked if she could buy it off of me for a dollar. I agreed-making a 300% profit and still having a happy first customer! I reinvested the dollar into 4 more toys and repeated the process with several other kids. Before long I had a booming business-only thing was I didn't realize some kids were spending their lunch money. One trip to the principal's office later, and my first business had to close its doors.

I didn't let it discourage me, but it made me realize the importance of a win-win situation. You don't want to harm your customers for your benefit, especially when it comes so situations where the customer may not be well-informed. With children, this is obvious, but there can be some similar situations with adults as well. Never put yourself into a business situation where you may have to "turn a blind eye" to some aspect of your product or service. Not only is it an ethical issue, but it will hinder your ability to find true success.

Into my teen years, I honestly took the path of nearly everyone around me-worked hard at school, got good grades, and earned enough scholarship money to attend college. During my junior year, I met the man who later became my husband. We both attended a lot of the same broadcasting classes and managed a small movie theater together. It was my friendship with him that brought back thoughts of being an entrepreneur again. His dad was self-employed, so he grew up with the mindset of a business owner's son. I remember it was the first time in my life that I really got to know someone who thought a lot like me-even the things I thought about business that I rarely shared with people because they seemed to go against everything I was being taught in college.

Something I learned during my college years is that entrepreneurial people think differently from the majority on a lot of principles. I can't really say that all entrepreneurs are just born with that desire in them, but it is interesting to me that environment alone doesn't explain the thought process I've had my whole life--I didn't get it from my parents or school. I remember several points where I had "what in the world is wrong with me?" moments--especially when everyone around me seemed excited to be sending out their resumes to companies while I was somewhat dreading it.

The need to fit in can sometimes be conflicting with what you know in your heart is right for your life, and getting over that anxiety of being different--even the fear of being very successful--is something I've found other entrepreneurs have had to deal with as well.

At age 19, I started going to church on a regular basis after being invited by a friend. Some people may be surprised by this and others may not, but I was amazed at how relevent the Bible is to business matters-not just in history but things that are going on right now. Proverbs is a very practical business text, and people have made fortunes based on the advice the book contains.

I also learned not to live my life in compartments. Americans tend to sometimes separate their work, school, family, friends, religion, and hobbies into compartments and not let them mix together. This leads to a lot of inner conflict and division. Over time I've learned that I'm much more than just the sum of my roles in life, and that who I am needs to be the same no matter what I'm currently doing at any given time. That's been a very important lesson.

The best advice I can offer other young entrepreneurs is to read as many books as you can on the topic and get around other people who have a similar thought process. It's much easier to have more successful people pull you to do better than to set mediocre goals for yourself just because they're above those of much less ambitious people around you. Along your journey, help other people who are less fortunate. This keeps your heart right. Lastly, realize that every challenge and struggle you go through along the way will help you--it's in overcoming obstacles that you discover what you're really made of and what will help you succeed long-term.