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As my company celebrates its 10th anniversary, I’m reflecting on my journey as CEO and the many lessons I’ve learned along the way. Here are the 10 most meaningful lessons I wish I’d known when I first started my company, and I hope those on a similar journey can apply them to their own.
1. Have clear expectations and consistent accountability
In my opinion, these two elements are the foundation of successful leadership. Without clear expectations, team members won’t understand what you actually want, and their definition of success may not align with yours. Without consistent accountability, they won’t meet those expectations and will have a harder time learning how to improve.
Having clear and consistent communication keeps everyone on the same page and working towards the same goals.
Related: 4 Things I Wish I’d Known Before Starting My Own Business
2. Understand the evolution and revolution in leadership hiring
When it comes to hiring for leadership roles, make sure you understand what the role actually entails. My best advice is to hire managers when you need an evolution, and executives when you need a revolution.
I’ve learned (through bitter experience!) that not all leadership hires are created equal. A growing organization will eventually need both, but understanding whether you’re looking to evolve or revolutionize will help you make more strategic hiring decisions.
3. Know that company culture is more than just “fun”
I believe fun is an element of company culture and that you should invest in it through team breakfasts, team outings, or activities outside of work, but true culture is about creating an environment where everyone feels valued and supported, and that goes beyond just having fun together.
If you want to foster a company culture that doesn’t rely on parties and catered lunches, pay attention to the little things: how your leadership team answers tough questions, how you balance transparency with shielding your team from harsh truths, how you treat your employees on a day-to-day basis. Employees will notice all these little details, and they will add up to a big impact.
4. Expect everything to cost twice as much and take twice as long.
Over the years, I’ve come to expect everything from new projects to hiring decisions to new products to take longer and cost more than I anticipated, and even when I try to apply this lesson up front, I still tend to underestimate.
Planning with this principle in mind helps you manage expectations and reduce frustration when things don’t go as planned. Buffers are a good thing.
5. Hire a coach
My two co-founders and I started working with an executive coach about eight years into our business, but we wish we had started sooner.
A coach can help you find your leadership blind spots, provide an unbiased ear when you face challenges, and help the rest of your team level up along with you. Finding the right person to fit your needs may take time, but in my experience, it’s been worth the effort.
Related: 8 Important Lessons to Learn from Top Entrepreneurs
6. Co-founders are everything
Co-founders are people with whom you can share your real experiences: your deepest fears, your wildest concerns, and your greatest successes. A strong co-founder relationship is essential to withstand the ups and downs of entrepreneurship.
Find the right people who can hold you accountable, balance your skill sets, and make the experience of running a business a little easier.
7. It sucks, but it gets better
When I first started Lemonlight, I was working 14-hour days, constantly dealing with problems, and it felt like there was no end to things to do. Now, the company is running much more smoothly thanks to the structure and people we have in place, and I can focus on the bigger picture and finding areas where my expertise can be useful.
Let’s be honest, starting a business is hard, but if you take it one day at a time, it gets really easy.
8. Small improvements every day can make a big impact
Speaking of taking one day at a time, small steps each day add up to big results, and while some days were marked by particularly notable victories and milestones, for most of the past decade it’s been just small steps of progress.
A decade and a half later, 20,000+ videos, 5,000+ clients, and 150+ team members later, progress may not be visible, but it’s always there. Consistency is powerful.
9. Financial acumen is key
A solid financial position is a key component for any entrepreneur, and while finding trusted professionals to help you is important, it’s also essential to have a personal understanding of your business’s financial situation.
Being able to read and understand key financial statements, track key performance indicators, and progress towards financial goals is invaluable. Don’t rely on others to make the right decisions for you, especially in the early stages when you can’t afford world-class help.
Related: 4 lessons most successful entrepreneurs learned from bad experiences
10. You can’t save money if you spend it on other things
In the early days of Lemonlight, we were very careful about how much we spent, but we had a bad habit of “saving” money in one area and spending it in unproductive ways in other areas. We patronized ourselves for saving money, but that money wasn’t actually contributing to the bottom line.
Whenever you find an opportunity to save money, make sure you keep it, or at least spend it on something that really counts. Don’t just think you’ve done a great job and then let the money go somewhere else. The money you save will actually strengthen your business, not just be diverted.
Entrepreneurship is often thought of as something you do alone, but in reality, you don’t have to figure everything out alone. I hope these lessons I’ve learned from my business can help reduce uncertainty in your own business and help you move forward without encountering so many obstacles.
