If I Started a Business in 2026, I'd Learn These 7 Lessons First

So most entrepreneurs, they learn their biggest business lessons the hard way. They burn through months, sometimes years, repeating the same mistakes. that could have been avoided if someone had just been honest with them. From the start. I went from being twice unemployed to eventually working at Google. and then building my own business from scratch, and every single stage taught me something. I really wish I had known from the beginning. In this video, I'm going to share seven brutal truths about building a business. that nobody told me, but changed everything once I finally learned them. Two number one is that you don't need more information.

You need more clarity. So here's where a lot of people get stuck. And I was one of them. You might relate to this too. You think. the reason you're not moving forward is because you don't know enough yet, so you think you need one more course, one more book, maybe one more webinar, and then you'll be ready. But the truth is, the information isn't the problem. The problem is that you have too much of it. and no clear direction for what to do with it. So when I first started my business, I was consuming content constantly podcast. While I was walking outside courses in the evenings,

and I was downloading every free guide I could find, and I felt really busy. I felt really productive, but I wasn't actually building anything. I was just preparing to build something and it went on forever. And here's what I realized. The entrepreneurs. who actually move forward, they aren't the ones who know the most. They're the ones who get clear on one problem, one priority, and then go deep on that. They collapse a gap between idea and execution. So a study from Columbia University found that when people are given too.

many choices, they're less likely to actually take action at all. They call it the paradox of choice, and I think it applies to business more than anywhere else. So if you're feeling stuck right now, it's. probably not because you need to learn more. It's because you need to decide on what matters most and focus on that one thing. By the way, I run a weekly newsletter called Growth Catalyst. to share some of my best insights and lessons on my own business journey. What's working and not working well? Building a life of work that I love. You can get your free copy in the link in the description. And truth number two is that your business will only grow as fast as you do now.

This next one took me a long time to accept. When your business hit a ceiling. It's really tough to think the problems out there. Maybe it's the algorithm, maybe it's the market. Maybe you just need a better marketing strategy. But most of the time the real ceiling is you. It's how you think, how you make decisions and how you handle pressure. And here's something I notice, both in myself. and also with other entrepreneurs. I share this with. We tend to spend our time working the parts our business don't really enjoy.

If you love creating content, you keep tweaking your content strategy. If you love the product side, you'll keep perfecting the product. But the area that you keep avoiding, that's probably. the one that actually needs you the most. And for me, it was letting go of control. I remember hitting a point in my business where I was doing everything myself, and I told myself I was being scrappy and efficient, but honestly, I was just scared to delegate. I didn't trust anyone else to do the work that the way I do it, and that kind of kept my business stuck at the same level for way longer.

than it needs to be. So that shift came when I finally started investing. my own growth as a business owner, not just in the business itself. I got myself a mentor. I joined the community of people building at the same level I want to reach. I started working on how I made decisions and I forced myself to get better. at the things I was uncomfortable with, like hiring, like managing people, like stepping back so someone else could actually step up. So ask yourself honestly, where am I in this bottleneck?

Is it because I lacked a skill? Or because I've been avoiding the uncomfortable things? Because that's really where the real work really is? And number three is to treat your work like a real business. From day one. So this brings me to something that I honestly wish. someone had told me much earlier. When you're just starting out, it's so easy to think I'll get organized later. I'll sort of the finances, but once I'm making real money, I'll set up proper systems when the business is bigger. But that moment never comes on its own. And in the meantime, you're making decisions without clear numbers.

You don't know what's actually profitable and what's just keeping you busy. You're guessing instead of knowing. I learned this the hard way, and in the early days, I was terrible at managing my finances in my business. I remember one quarter where I hit my biggest revenue month at the time, but I still couldn't pay myself properly, and the stress that came with. that was just another level. So that's when I came across the book Profit First by Michael Michael Woods. The core idea is simple, but really game changing. Most businesses, they treat profit as what's left over.

Instead, you should flip the formula. You take your profit first and learn to run the business on what's left. It really forces you to be intentional, more disciplined, and then far more in control. And that concept completely shifted how it's all about money. But mindset alone wasn't enough. I need a system to help me. And that's where Xero came in. Who's also kindly sponsoring this video? My accountant introduced me to it and I'm now use it for over eight years. It really helped me to actually implement the profit first approach. I could finally understand where my money was going.

So Xero is a cloud based accounting software that's sync. with my bank accounts, made invoicing and reporting really simple, and show me. exactly what I had available for taxes, expenses, and of course, my profit. If you're running a business without a proper financial system, it's going to be something that will be much harder to address later on. And the biggest mistake I made was not having a system from day one. So to work like a professional business, it really is. And as a filming this, you can get 90% off for six months with zero.

Using the link below from my viewers on this channel, try it out for yourself. So if you're in those early stages, please don't wait up your financial system now, even when it feels like overkill because the clarity. it gives you, it will shape every decision you make going forward. And shoot number four is that most people quit right before things start working. Now, this one is something that honestly keeps me going on the hard days, because building a business is really slow, way slower than anyone tells you. And if you're only measuring your progress, but the results you can see.

right now, you're going to feel like it's not working. And there's a book by Seth Godin called The Dip. that completely changed how I think about this. He described this pattern that happens with almost everything worth doing. You start something new and the first is very exciting. You're learning. You're seeing progress. You gain that rush of momentum, but then you hit the stretch where. the effort you're putting in stops matching the results. that you're getting back and things slow down. It gets hard. You start being fun.

And that's the tip. And most people, they quit right there. They hit that uncomfortable stretch and they think this isn't working. But the whole point is that the dip is what separates the people who end up. being great at something from everyone else, the people who push through. that stretch, who keep showing up when the results aren't there yet, and they're the ones who come out the other side and I love this. When I started my YouTube channel, I posted videos for months and barely. anyone watched them. So I spent hours filming, editing, and putting a video out.

And then we get maybe a handful of years and I think, is this even worth it? In my first year of freelancing, I wasn't earning anywhere close. to what made my corporate job, and it took years of consistent work before the income caught up. And that was the dip. And I'm so glad I didn't quit in the middle of it. But here's the other thing that Seth Godin talks about that. I think is just as important. He says, when there's actually quit all the time, they just quit the right things. If you're stuck in something where no amount of effort. is going to change the outcome, that's not a tip.

That's a dead end. And saying the dead end isn't persistence, it just stubborn. The smart move is to quit that dead end so early that you can put all your energy. into the things where pushing for the tip will actually pay off. So I think the question isn't just should I keep going? It's am I in a tip or a dead end? Because if it's dip leaning, stay consistent. The results will come. But if it's a dead end, have the courage to walk away. and redirect that energy towards something that's actually worth your time.

So I think about it all the time. Like this. You can learn control how many times you show up. You can't control when the results arrive. So if you're measuring your success only by the outcomes you can't control, you're going to feel terrible about yourself all the time. And I think patience isn't about sitting around and waiting. It's about being honest with yourself, about what deserves your persistence, and being relentless about showing up for those things, especially, I think, on a days when nothing seems to be happening or working. because that's when the foundation is actually being built.

And truth number five is that you don't need to do everything. You just need to do the right things. Okay? So this next thing is something people completely overlook. And honestly, I think is one of the biggest reasons. that entrepreneurs burnout. So we think being busy means being productive, but they're not the same thing at all. I used to have my calendar packed from morning to night, so meetings, emails, content creation, client calls, admin task, and at the end of the day, I'd be so exhausted, but I feel like I hadn't actually moved anything forward.

A ten year study by McKinsey found that when people into a flow state, when they're fully focused on one meaningful task, their positivity increases by up to five times. But the average person takes 23 minutes to refocus after a single distraction. So every time you check your inbox or respond to a message. in the middle of the work, you're paying a huge cost for that. And here's something I had to learn the hard way. So sometimes you have to let small fires burn. Not every urgent thing is actually important.

So when I stopped treating every email, every message, every small request. as something that needs my attention. right now, I actually got much more done on the things that really mattered. So now I protect my mornings for deep focus work, the kind of work that really helps to move a business forward. So meeting calls, admins, all that gets pushed the afternoon. And when I look back to the end the month, the only thing I have to show for. are the things I did during those protected hours and everything else.

Really just keep the lights on. So here's what I encourage you to do. Instead of asking yourself, how can I get more done today, ask yourself, what is the one thing that if I did it. today, everything else would get easier and start there. Protect that time and let a small fire burn and watch what happens. And to number six is that the people you surround yourself. with will shape your results within any strategy. And this brings me to something. that honestly change how I think about business and growth. Because I used to believe that success was mostly about what you know.

and how hard you work. But after years of building my business, I can tell you that. who you spend your time with matters more than anything else. There is actually a. well study concept in psychology called the proximity principle. It says that the people that you're physically closest to, the ones you see interact with most often, are the ones who shape your thinking, your habits, and your decision. The most. So research from social psychology has shown that even just sitting next. to someone. regularly, it makes you more likely to adapt their behaviors and beliefs.

And we don't even realize that's actually happening. So think about it, right? You're spending most of your time around people who complain about their work, who don't take risks, who think small, that's going to rub off on you. not because they're bad people, but because that's just how proximity works. and your environment shapes you whether you choose it or not. And I think there's an important distinction here is. that you want to be close to people who want more for you, not from you. Some relationships, they drain you.

They always need something. They always have an opinion about what you should do, but they never actually support you in getting there. And the relationships that change your life are the ones. where the other person, they generally want to see you win, and they push you to be better because of it. So when I started being more intentional about this, everything shifted. I joined communities of other business owners. I found a business best friend who was building at the same level. I want to reach. I made co-working friends where we meet at cafe. or side by side and talk through what we're building.

And what I notice was that my standards start to rise, my thinking got sharper. and I started believing bigger things because it was possible, because people around me were doing those bigger things. And psychologist Adam Rudd's research back this up, too. He found that people. who are givers in their networks, helping without expecting something back, actually rise to the top of success in the long run. is not about networking in this transactional way. It's about building real relationships with people who push you higher.

So take a look at who you're spending most your time with. Are they pulling you forward or they're holding you back? And if you don't have that circle yet, go find it. Join the community. Reach out to someone. You show up at events because the right people around. you will change your trajectory faster than any course or strategy ever could. And truth number seven is that your not your business. Protect yourself as a human being. And this last truth is the one that I think everyone needs to hear, especially if you're deep in the building phase right now.

So when you start a business, it becomes your whole identity is all you think about, right? Is the first thing on your mind when you wake up, and the last thing. before you fall asleep. And for a while, that intensity, it feels real. and you tell yourself this is what it takes. But here's what nobody tells you. If you're in charge, density is your business. Then every failure feels like a personal failure. Every bad month feels like proof that you're not good enough, and that's not sustainable. So I went through this.

There was a period where my business was my whole life, and when something didn't go well, I just spiral. I take it personally, and I beat myself up for it. and try to work harder to make it better, which just made everything worse. So I think here's the trap that I see so many entrepreneurs fall into. You lead the 95 because you want the freedom. You want it. More time, more flexibility, more control over your life. But then you build a business that takes even more from you than your job ever did. You end up in this new kind of rat race, except this time it's.

the one that you created for yourself. And if you're not careful, you spend all your time chasing. more revenue without ever stopping to ask, what is all this money actually for? And I think that shift for me was learning to separate myself from my business. My business is something I work on. It's not who I am. And once I start diversifying my identity, spending more time on my hobbies, being present in my family, setting real boundaries around my work hours, I actually became a better business owner. because I wasn't running on fumes anymore.

I energy, I had perspective, and I actually think clearly I was happier. And then I realized something getting better doesn't always mean getting bigger. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do for your business. is to make it better, not just larger and better systems, better. boundaries, better quality life for the person who's actually running it. And that's what makes a business sustainable in the long run. So if you're in that place right now, where your business is everything, I want to kind of gently push back on this.

So close a laptop at the end of the day, spend time doing things that nothing. do at work, and remind yourself that your worth isn't tied to your revenue. Because the most successful people and entrepreneurs I know, they protect. their energy, their relationships, and their mental health. just as much as they protect their business. Because at the end of the day, building. a business isn't about having all the answers. It's about becoming the kind of person who can figure it out. no matter what comes your way. And that person isn't built by the winds. I think that person is built by the truth that you're willing to face.

the things that you willing to change. So set that boundary, track those numbers. and say no to the things that doesn't serve you. Reach out to that person you admire and trust yourself enough. to keep going, because you don't need to have it all figured out. You just need to take that next step. If you enjoyed this video, you might also like this one about the high income skills. that helped me to build a life and business I love. I'm Lori and don't forget to subscribe for more videos like this! See you in the next video!