7 Rules of Thumb from 7 Entrepreneurs

In addition to writing and interviewing women for their 40:20 Vision…I run the 7×7 Mentoring Salons — these are “knowledge exchanges” between more established professionals and those just starting out or starting over. The idea is that every woman deserves their own advisory panel. So I give women a chance to have that for at least one night. I invite 7 mentors and 7 mentees to participate in an evening geared to getting issues out on the table and getting feedback from the people who are one or two steps ahead of you in business.   Today I’m sharing 7 tips from one of my first mentoring salons…this one focused on entrepreneurship but there are some good lessons for anyone in business!

On career…

“If you walk away with one thing it’s the importance of relationships. They will take you to the next level. There are a lot of people who are great at what they do. It’s more about who likes you.” – 40-something entrepreneur

On hiring/firing/managing…

“Is it the wrong person or the wrong goals?” – 30-something, entrepreneur

On stressing over “finding your passion”…

“Don’t panic. You have 60 more years of your career left.” – 40-something, entrepreneur

On setting goals…

“Always under-promise and over-deliver.” – 40-something, entrepreneur

On selling/ making projections….

“You can try to sound big or you can try to sound smart”. – 40-something entrepreneur

 On not knowing…

“It’s okay not to know. Just ask.” – 40-something entrepreneur

 On negotiating…

“Making a deal is like dating. You have to go in to it knowing what you want. You either want a fling or you want to get married or you just really like the person and want to go on date.” – 40-something entrepreneur

On persistence…

“Don’t take no for an answer. The one who calls the most gets the job…the money…the ask.  That doesn’t mean you won’t get some no’s. But it means not stopping at the nos. You get on with it.  If it’s not that one it will be someone else.”  – 40-something entrepreneur