Last night I hosted an open house for women involved in the Hatch Network, a “modern business school where women start and grow their businesses together.” Unfortunately the rain prevented us from our planned Walkabout in the SF Marina, but we were able to enjoy cocoa and cookies as we discussed our businesses in a relaxed setting.

Our group ranged from successful entrepreneurs, growing businesses, and budding entrepreneurs who we listened to a great success story from MuniWireless founder Esme Vos. Esme shared the history of how she founded her company and some of the successes and setbacks she experienced along the way.

There were some great insights I gleaned from her talk, that I think are great lessons for everyone:

1. The trend is your friend. Every field has trends, and you don’t want to miss them. If you stay on the forefront of trends in your industry, you can capitalize on this. Be sure you stay connected with other trendsetter and partner with them when the opportunities arises.
2. Do something bigger than yourself. If it’s just about money, you won’t be satisfied. How is your work impacting the greater community?
3. Fate plus action leads to success. If you see a great opportunity, jump on it immediately. If you read about someone you need to meet, don't wait, pick up the phone and call them.
4. Don’t let yourself get bored. Business owners can experience the same level of boredom that employees feel if they’re not continually looking for ways to improve their businesses. But entrepreneurs have the opportunity to continually reinvent their businesses and thus themselves and can avoid getting bored.
5. Make your business support your lifestyle. Being a business owner can take over one’s life, so it’s important that your business and personal lives are aligned. If you love to travel, you need to ensure that you can work remotely and during off hours (so a retail store probably isn’t for you). If you have a young family, then you’ll want to find something that doesn’t involve too much travel (in this case, retail may be a great option).

These lessons are great for all business owners. I’m a huge fan of cultivating business ideas in small-group settings and I’m looking forward to the upcoming 15-week Hatch Network pod I’ll be moderating in San Francisco. In the pod I will mentor start-up business owners as they try to incubate their new business ideas. There’s a great curriculum that will help women get their business started and avoid some of the challenges and mistakes that I experienced when I started SmartsCo. There is still space available and if you want to learn more, please email me to schedule a phone call.

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