30 Business Lessons I’ve Learned Before 30

This was a post I made on LinkedIn last week before my 30th Birthday and thought I’d share it here too.

Let’s get right to it…

Tomorrow I’m 30 years old, so I thought it would be a cool idea to try and come up with 30 business lessons I’ve learned before turning 30. I’ve seen these done before and loved them, so thought I’d give it a try…

I’m giving myself 30 minutes to come up with the ideas, so hopefully I get 30 written out:

1 – Set hard deadlines for yourself, you’ll get stuff done quicker and without them you’ll procrastinate

2 – Wake up earlier. Nothing feels better than accomplishing important tasks before the rest of the world is just getting started

3 – Use “focus time” sessions where you have zero distractions, know exactly what needs to be done, and get it done (also referred to as deep work)

4 – Start the day with that “focus time” so nothing can interfere with it

5 – Put some headphones in for focus time and listen to music that gets you in the zone. For me that’s focus music in an App called ‘Calm’. I’ve found it better than regular music with lyrics, although that used to work OK for me too. Podcasts are great, but too distracting for focus time

6 – Noise-cancelling headphones are amazing for #5

7 – Schedule your day, so you know exactly what you’re doing each day before you get started

8 – Google Calendar is an amazing tool when used effectively

9 – Front load your work, so energy levels, distractions, etc can’t interfere with work

10 – Schedule in breaks. My current schedule is work 3 hours, go home to see my daughter/walk my pups/eat/workout, and then back to work. And on busy days – another break for dinner and then another work session. I used to try and spend 8+ hours in a row working and while it works sometimes when needed, the breaks keep me more productive

11 – Schedule in vacations. I’ve been bad at this lately, but getting away from work/home for a good week in the sun can be the best thing you do for your energy, motivation, creativity, productivity, mental health, etc

12 – Get out of your house to work (if you work from home). I worked from home for 10+ years and recently got some office space. Although I was usually pretty productive at home, getting out of the house does wonders for productivity without as many distractions

13 – Find other people with similar goals as you to network with. It’s great for motivation, support, brainstorming, etc

14 – Get some exercise in at some point each work day. If you’ve got a hard workout scheduled try to push it towards the end of the workday, so you’re not drained for your work day

15 – Dogs are the best. They are the best in general, but to make this business relatable: nothing beats a walk with the dogs to get outside and clear your mind (not as fun in the winter)

16 – Listen to educational podcasts. When walking the dogs alone I’m always listening to a podcast. Also great for in the car, cooking dinner, doing chores, etc

17 – Always be learning. Stay subscribed to smart people (podcasts, blogs, youtube, etc)

18 – Create more. The more “stuff” you create the better chance you have of catching someone’s attention

19 – Don’t worry about perfection. If you’re not cringing at your old work you’re not growing fast enough

20 – Help more people. Good things happen when you help people in both business and life

21 – When you do stuff for free don’t expect people to follow through. People are way more likely to follow through with things if they’ve invested money into it

22 – Provide value (don’t hold anything back) then ask for money. The easiest way to make money is after you’ve helped someone out. I’m 10x more likely to invest in something that’s already helped me

23 – Be everywhere. If you’re trying to reach a market be everywhere that they are. For HockeyTraining.com we’ve got articles for people who are searching the internet or like to read, we’ve got videos for Facebook, videos for YouTube, Instagram posts and stories, and a podcast. To reach and help as many hockey players as we can we need to be everywhere they’re hanging out at on their devices to get their attention

24 – Don’t spread yourself too thin. It’s better to be a leader in one area than a nobody in many (I put this after the above lesson on purpose – being everywhere is great, but only if you can do a good job with what you’re putting out on those platforms)

25 – Customer support is everything. Keep your customers happy, they will come back. Use your customers for feedback, they will give you ideas on what your market wants. Get to know your customers, they’re usually great people and can help you in multiple ways just as much as you can help them

26 – Invest in yourself. If something is going to make you a better person it’s probably worth investing in

27 – Invest in your business. Your business isn’t going to grow fast if you’re worried about spending money to improve your business. When I was 19 and barely making $1,500 a month I should have been blowing that money at the mall, but instead was putting at least half of it back into my business. Investing in my business has always worked out for me

28 – Get uncomfortable. Your best results will often come from things that make you uncomfortable. I used to hate being on video, but without getting over that I wouldn’t have grown my businesses

29 – Make sure you have a good support team if you want to be an entrepreneur. Being an entrepreneur is much harder than anyone thinks. No matter how good business is going there’s always something to worry about – someone who wants to take your spot, changes to adapt to, figuring out how you will stay relevant, not knowing what you’ll be doing in 10 years, etc. It won’t be easy, but I’d have it no other way

30 – Continue to try and be a better person in all aspects of life. It will carry over into business too

31 – Always go above and beyond what’s expected. How else are you going to beat your competition?