“Experience is the best teacher, and the worst experiences teach the best lessons.”
- Jordan Peterson
In a challenging world of entrepreneurship, you can learn a thing or two from experience, may it be from your own experience or from the experience of others. When you retrace the steps you’ve taken and look into your past actions, you can see what you could have done earlier, what you shouldn’t have done at all and what you should have done better. Even in driving, you have to glance at your rearview mirror once in a while to ensure you move forward safely. It helps to look back to the journey taken or observe what others have done and bring the lessons learned to help you go forward in achieving your goals.
Although you cannot undo what has already happened as they already belong to the past, retrospection enables you to analyse the things that can help you in your future actions and share these learnings with others who are just starting out in the entrepreneurial path.
What are the things you have learned from your journey? What are the things you want to learn from other people’s journeys? Here are a few tips as well as some advice that entrepreneurs would give to their 20-year-old selves. Check out if there’s something that you can apply here to your entrepreneurial journey as well.
Explore and get that experience you need
Sometimes, you won’t be able to find answers or discover new things unless you go out of your comfort zone and explore various opportunities. Whether you get on the entrepreneurial path at a young age or somewhere along the way, try to do many things and get the experience you need that will help you achieve your dreams.
You can pick some insights from the entrepreneurial journey of Anthony Holdstock, Director and Owner of Sharp & Carter. “I didn’t become a business owner until I was 30. I still don’t know what I waited for that long. But that being said, I think my experience in Accounting and my experience working for a global listed organisation taught me a lot about what I wanted to be and didn’t want to be.”
Identify what you enjoy the most
At a young age, there are those who may have not yet narrowed down what they really wanted to do in their lives. This is an opportunity to identify them. When you explore and try different experiences, you can uncover what you really enjoy doing, which can lead you to the kind of entrepreneurial journey you’d like to take. As Anthony shared, his experience working in corporate have helped him realise what he wanted to be.
Mark Calabro, Co-Founder of HungryHungry, would advise his younger self to “take a year off and understand what you love doing and your path in life. It’s not a rush, it’s really your first year out in the world with many, many to come.”
Find people who can guide you
You may be able to identify what you really want to do with your life with some help from people who can support and challenge you. Mark added to what he’ll say to his 20-year-old self, “find people who are going to challenge you and your thinking to discover yourself.”
Self-discovery may come at any age in life but the earlier you get into it, the earlier you can chart the path you want to take. Since you still have to experience a lot of things to find out some answers to your questions, it is advantageous to get inputs from people who have experienced a lot more than you and who have been on the journey for quite some time. You can use their experiences and intuitions as your guide as you get on the path of entrepreneurship.
Join a group that can support your journey
For John Anderton, Founder and CEO of Butterfly, he would tell his younger self, “join EO earlier.” EO is a unique, experience-based network that supports the needs of the 360° entrepreneur through business, family, community & personal experiences, which is a good support group for many entrepreneurs.
Early on, surround yourself with like-minded people who can help you in your continuous growth as a person and as a professional. Motivational speaker and self-help guru Jim Rohn once said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with, including yourself.” Although you have your mind to decide on things, people around you can influence, inspire, motivate and help shape your character, values and future. Find a group that can support your development as an entrepreneur.
Enjoy the ride and keep learning
The entrepreneurial journey may be a tough one, but John wants to advise his younger self, “I would say enjoy the ride, the ups and downs.” Embrace the wins and the failures, the opportunities and the challenges. Keep learning and don’t be afraid to keep trying. Savour the whole experience and don’t forget to have fun.
It is often helpful to look back and reflect on the lessons that we can take with us in the future. What greatest lesson have you learned? What can you advise your 20-year-old self? Share them with us in the comments section below.