It’s okay to make a mistake, at least you’re not doing it twice. 

I remembered my ex-boss said that when I apology due to making mistakes. It’s very related to what Sophia Amoruso shares in her blog: The 4 biggest Mistakes First-time Founders Make. Sophia Amoruso is an American businesswoman who also published her popular autobiography's book in 2014 titled,  #GIRLBOSS. The book is very successful until it was adapted into a television series in the same title for Netflix.

For her, the meaning of ‘mistake’ is debatable. They say that “you will win or you will learn”, which Sophia has totally agreed. In my opinion, learning from Sophia’s mistake is giving me the advantages so that I could see the situation from silver lining.

Don't put your ego too high

“They’re too precious. They become so attached to their ideas that they can’t accept feedback. Hot tip: the idea here is to build something for your customer or client, not for yourself. In entrepreneurship, there are no sacred cows. Cut your losses, and your ego along with it."

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by SOPHIA AMORUSO (@sophiaamoruso)

First and foremost, while confidence is certainly a good thing most of the time, ego-driven individuals are often led by unhealthy overconfidence, convinced they are right regardless of the facts.

But perhaps the bigger issue is that the businessperson with the inflated ego is far too often seeking glory for him or herself. “Me” before the company. “Me” before anyone else. This is an individual who is obsessed with seeking glory, who wants to get noticed, who wants all the credit, who must be the best. And that takes the focus away from where it should be—which is on building the company.

Do everything with your own

"They navel gaze. They’re afraid of the messy beginning, the not-knowing, and are frozen in idea zone, tweaking alone, talking about what they’re going to do… and never do it. You know who you are. We’re onto you, and tired of hearing it."

In today’s world, we are overwhelmed with the pressure to get an achievement. Facebook pages are flooded with crowing moments of achievement used as a personal badge of worthiness.

The pressure to be great is, in fact, much greater than it has ever been in the past. It seems we idolize the girl who can do it all. It is the girlboss who has become admirable because she is a woman building an empire or killing it in a male-driven business world.

Give up too early

"They give up too early. They put their first idea out and expect confetti emojis to fall from the sky. No one’s first idea is the final idea. Listen, iterate, test, and listen more. Mutate or die."

Founders have a special gene. The 'never give up founder' gene. That’s what makes us founders. We take crazy ideas that most people would never touch, and then we bang our heads against the wall for months on end trying to make things work despite our friends and spouses telling us to give up. We might even spend every last dollar we have along the way; not to mention giving up nights and weekends — pretty much a given.

Life balance is still important

“Focus on your customers, those you love, and your self care. There is no amount of accolades that can make up for lost time with loved ones or polish a turd of a product.”

It is not easy to achieve work-life balance in today’s unpredictable and fast-paced business world. As we grow increasingly more connected through technology and social media, it is becoming more and more difficult to separate work from our personal lives.

It is common to check emails at all hours, take business calls at the dinner table and work on our laptops on weekends. How has this become acceptable? In fact, work-life balance is very important for your mental health and with a healthy mind, you can come up with brilliant ideas for your business.