Gratitude for Business Lessons Learned

As a business owner, we often go through lessons that are difficult to learn – but all of them are worthwhile. If we are intentional about learning those lessons, we can grow quite a bit from them, as can our businesses. And although the process can be difficult, I’m grateful for the lessons I’ve learned. 

These lessons have allowed me to gain insights that make me a better leader, a better coach, and a better mentor. They also have helped me to avoid prior mistakes, helping me to grow a stronger business and a stronger team. 

Gratitude for Failure 

One of the biggest lessons I had to learn was to not be afraid to fail. This was not easy for me; I’m very competitive, and when I set my mind to something, failure is rarely an option.  

As a business owner, however, some failure is inevitable. It would be nice if this weren’t true – how many of us would love to never have to go through the trial and error process? But the simple truth is that there are a lot of variables involved in running and growing a business, and sometimes, we’re just not going to anticipate all of them. Sometimes, we’re going to make the wrong choice. 

And sometimes, we’re going to fail. 

One way that I got past this was by finding the silver lining in failure. By taking stock of my options and deciding to learn quickly from failure, I’ve become less afraid of it and more willing to take the risks that can lead to it. 

By failing quickly (some call it failing forward), we can learn the lessons needed to succeed more efficiently. The trick is to approach it in a measured way, so that if failure happens, the loss is moderate and easier to get past. 

In doing so, it’s also important to learn as much as you can from each failure. What led to it? How can you avoid it in the future? What shifts can you and your team make, and what ideas can they bring to the table? 

Gratitude for New Perspectives 

Another lesson that has become important to me is the gaining of new perspectives. When I can look at my business, and my life, from a new perspectives, I find that new ideas come more easily and that I’m more open to new ways to pivot. 

It’s common for business owners to be blinded to these new ideas. This isn’t because they’re closed-minded, but because they’re too close to what they’ve built.  

Think of it as visiting a new place. Because it’s new to you, you look at it from every angle – first from a distance, then up close, and then you want to explore every nook and cranny. You can feel a sense of anticipation and opportunity around every corner. 

How different is this experience from walking through your own house? You see it every day and you decorated it yourself. You may have even overseen the building of it. You think you already know all of its secrets, so you don’t look closely – and as a result, you might miss some of the opportunities that a stranger might see. 

The same is true for your business. You built it from the ground up, you planned every phase of it, and you know where you want it to go. But are you seeing the new opportunities that it might bring? Do you have the ability to look at it from far away, from different angles and directions?  

Or do you need some help gaining this perspective? This is something I love to bring to my clients – it’s actually part of the reason I became a coach – but it’s also something that I’ve learned I need. 

And as difficult as it might be to gain sometimes, I’m thankful for it, as it allows me to grow a stronger business. 

Gratitude for My Team 

I became a coach partly so that I can help other business owners through the lessons I’ve learned; I started my own coaching firm partly because I love building and growing a team. 

One thing that can be difficult about growing a team, however, is that my team members probably won’t see things the same way I will. When I come to them with an idea, chances are I’ll have already designed a plan to go with it. 

However, because I’ve grown a team with different perspectives and viewpoints, they may see things that I don’t – things that could throw a wrench in the works. They may bring some push back that results in having to adjust my plans, or even to consider new ones. 

This isn’t a comfortable place for me, but I’m grateful for a team that cares enough to do so. Ultimately, they’ll follow my lead, but they’ll bring up their concerns and work to help me find other solutions if they can. 

Even when things don’t go according to my initial plan, I’m thankful for a team that will come alongside me to help me grow my dream. 

Ultimately, I’m grateful for being a small business owner – for the wins, for the losses, and for the lessons I’ve learned. Every step of the way, I’ve had the opportunity to grow, to impact more lives, and to help others thrive. It’s not always an easy ride, but It’s also not one I would trade!