A dear friend recently took the leap to start her own business. Inspired by her courage, as well as two inspirational young leaders of non-profit organizations with which I work, I began to reflect on the best advice I have for a young entrepreneur just starting out, and my young friend in particular.
That prompted me to go a step further by actually penning those thoughts and lessons learned. In “Notes to a Young Entrepreneur”, which I invite you to download here, I speak directly to my young friend, but also to anyone else who has decided to heed what I truly believe is a worthy and noble calling.
Based on my own personal experience as an entrepreneur, here are some notable “notes” from the essay:
Be the very best person to know that one thing … maybe two things … okay, after some time, maybe three things. But specialize, focus, stick with what you are really good at, what you love to do, and what people are willing to pay you for.
More young businesses fail due to lack of capital and/or poor financial hygiene than any other reason. Plan for this. Before you start your business, simplify your lifestyle, pay off any debts, downsize.
I’m a big believer in focusing on both very long-term goals and very short-term goals, and allowing the medium-term ones to take care of themselves. A bit like a piece of elastic.
Free milk, free spirits, sweat, courage, and more … they’re all topics I touch on. Whether you’re an entrepreneur — or considering becoming one — I hope my musings are helpful.
You can download Jonathan Terrell’s complete essay, “Notes to a Young Entrepreneur”, here.
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Jonathan Terrell is the Founder and President of KCIC. He has more than 30 years of international financial services experience with a multi-disciplinary background in accounting, finance and insurance. Prior to founding KCIC in 2002, he worked at Zurich Financial Services, JP Morgan, and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
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