5 Business Lessons I Learned in 2012

1. Work hard, play hard

The logic is simple: if you want to achieve big goals you need to work very hard. However, if you don’t play and have fun with the same intensity, sooner or later you will burn out. So do put in your 16-hour days of work, but when it comes to having fun do it like mean it. Go sky-diving, kart racing, wind surfing at a caribbean beach. Travel to Vegas, Paris, Thailand. Rent a boat, a sports car. You get the idea. Sure, those things are not cheap, but they will help to keep you sane, which in turn will allow you to work harder and make more money.

2. Put your own ideas before client work

In 2012 I started focusing on mobile app development. The two options I had was to either create apps for clients or to work on my own apps. I opted for the former, mainly because the money would start rolling in faster. Big mistake. Launching your own successful idea/app is certainly harder and takes more time, but if you manage to do it the earning potential is much higher. Not only that, you’ll have much more fun working on your own stuff. If you are in a position where you can choose between doing your own stuff and working for other people/companies, put your own stuff first. If you are not in that position yet, well, work to get there.

3. If you are not working on your best idea you are wasting time

I can’t remember where I heard this, but it stuck with me ever since. Most of us have one or more ideas that we believe have a lot of potential. Very often, however, we post-pone working on them. Either we don’t have the funds, the technical expertise, or we have too much on our plate right now to be able to tackle yet another project. You know what? Those are all excuses, and if you fall for them you’ll be wasting some precious time. Do what it takes to free your time and get what you need to start working on your best idea right now.

4. Aim to build a business (not a website, an app, etc.)

If you are or want to be an entrepreneur your goal should always be to create a business. A mere website, web or mobile app won’t cut it. You need to think about what problem you are going to solve, how are are going to deliver your product/service, who is going to pay for it, and so on. If you are not thinking along those lines you are wasting your time on projects that won’t fly very high.

5. Start now and learn as you go

People don’t start working on their best ideas right away because they fear they don’t have the necessary know-how yet. They figure that if they take a couple of courses, read a couple of books and work a couple of smaller projects first the odds of succeeding will be higher. The problem is that by taking this approach you will lose a couple of years. A better strategy is to start working on your idea right away and to learn things as you go. Not only you’ll get a head start, but you will also learn things more effectively because you’ll be using them right away.

Here’s to a very successful 2013 for all of us!