Highlights of the Lessons I Learned From My First Business at 22
The difference between people who merely start a business and those who actually succeed enough to be profitable is perseverance.
Even though I am an engineer by education, I had always had a keen interest in starting a business of my own. I should first talk about what my business is in order for the specifics I provide to have some context. I started a tutoring business, in which I have several contractors working under me. My main source of revenue is brokerage.
Things I learned:
- Delegation
It might be useful to delegate technical tasks to contractors via sites like fiverr. It is not very costly; your time can be better spent doing something that requires your expertise.
2. Patience
It takes time before getting to a point where profits become equivalent to the work put in to make them.
3. Remember It’s a business
When you decide to turn your hobby into a business, it is important to remember that it requires business skills. Many times, business owners become lax in getting enough value for the services they provide because they feel being able to do something they love for money is rewarding enough.
4. Perseverance is key.
It is important to remember that everyone, at one point or another in their life, has thought about starting a business. The difference between people who merely start a business and those who actually succeed enough to be profitable is perseverance. It is important to not feel defeated by setbacks. Consistently setting attainable goals and following through those goals will pave your way to a successful business.
5. Be authentic.
Being authentic means to avoid pretenses. Being authentic as a business owner is being truthful regarding your ability, only making promises that you can fulfill, and staying aligned with the core values with which you started the business. Although not everyone might be able to identify how you are being inauthentic, they can recognize when something is off. This leads to people not trusting you. People don’t want to do business with someone they can not trust.
6. Show Passion
It is important to show the customer how important they are to you and how passionate you are about the services you are providing. People generally don’t like to do business with the business owner whose primary goal seems to be earning money. When I am with a student or parent discussing academics, money is never mentioned. For example, money for all my tutoring sessions is paid upfront before the sessions start, thus there is no need for me to bring up money. My contractors are strictly instructed to never bring up the topic of payments in front of the client. It is important to make the clients feel that you genuinely care about them and the quality of service you are providing. All my client base is built on personal recommendations; I wouldn’t be able to achieve this if I didn’t show passion for the services I provide.
Overall, starting a successful business and maintaining it long term requires perseverance, passion, and authenticity.
