Technology is incredible, and honestly, if it wasn’t for things like social media changing the way we communicate and consume information, I probably would not have ventured down the entrepreneurial path I’m currently on.
While attending medical school to become an Osteopathic medical doctor, I began to see how powerful social media was becoming. It was a platform that allowed you to connect with and market to any person or target audience you desired.
I started to put more effort into my branding on social media while practicing medicine, and then I started to dabble in business ventures outside of my responsibilities as a doctor. I founded a marketing agency, a fitness brand, multiple online publications, and started a business-focused podcast.
I became addicted to business and the opportunities that are available — resulting in me becoming a serial entrepreneur. Expanding beyond just medicine has brought me a great deal of happiness, and when you finally get to experience that you learn to prioritize those things in life that are responsible for that happiness.
Here are some of the most important takeaways from my venture into the world of entrepreneurship. These six reasons are responsible for me reaching this point in my life.
Valued Time and Freedom More Than Anything
Experiencing what entrepreneurship provided in terms of the freedom it allowed is what first got me addicted, and the more I began to explore it further, the more I understood just how much more in control one could be of his or her time.
It doesn’t matter who you are or what your social status is — time is one asset you cannot buy more of. We have a very limited amount of time and allocating more of that time the way I wanted, became my primary focus.
The more time I was able to control, the happier I became. When I shifted my focus on achieving more freedom and unlocking more of my time, I became laser-focused on my goals across all of my new business ventures.
Focused on Passion and Not Money
I think everyone becomes blinded by the “bling factor” at some point — the fancy clothes, the nice watches, and the expensive cars. While those things are nice, and there is nothing wrong with wanting to have nice things, I entered started every business venture of mine because I was passionate about the subject. It wasn’t about the money or the potential money.
I launched my marketing agency because I loved personal branding and the potential that social media presents individuals and brands alike. REX Fitness was started because I am passionate about fitness and living a healthy life.
When you lead with your heart, the money will eventually follow, as long as you have a strong plan and execute that plan flawlessly.
Prioritized Creating a Fun Business
I know plenty of business owners that make a lot of money and have achieved financial freedom, but they are tied to a business they hate. They aren’t excited to start each day — they fell into a routine and because of the financial payoff, they cannot walk away.
Each business I start has to be involved in a space that I enjoy and want to be involved in. The way I see it, creating a fun business gives you extra incentive to put 100 percent of your effort into making it a success.
The day I stop waking up excited about one of my businesses is the day I know it’s time to part ways and move onto something new. Thankfully that hasn’t happened yet, and I honestly don’t ever see that happening down the line — because from day one, I made sure each business was deemed fun in my eyes.
Developed a Growth Mindset
Medical school was responsible for instilling this in my thought-process, even though at the time I didn’t think of it as a growth mindset. It was understood and expected that I would need to constantly learn and grow as a medical professional, from day one and every day thereafter during my career in medicine.
The same applies to entrepreneurship, from learning a new skill, researching a new industry, or fine-tuning existing skillsets. A growth mindset also applies to how you react and handle situations. If you make a mistake — and I have made several along the way — it’s important to learn from them.
Understood the Value of Relationship Building
I attribute a lot of my early success as an entrepreneur to the relationships I built in the beginning. I spent a lot of time networking in person as well as on social media. From local meetups and events to connecting with fellow entrepreneurs at co-working spaces, you have to always make efforts to grow your connections.
Today, in-person events are very limited to non-existence due to the pandemic and COVID, but that doesn’t mean you should scale back on your relationship-building effort. If anything, you need to make it more of a priority.
Facebook groups present an opportunity to connect with any group of individuals imaginable, and the classic social media DM can be highly effective as well. A new app, Clubhouse, is also developing into a goldmine in terms of meeting and connecting with entrepreneurs. It’s a voice-only app, making it highly personal. It’s invite-only now, and I predict it will quickly become the go-to virtual networking tool
Remained Positive Regardless of the Situation
Most entrepreneurs only talk about their wins and success, at least on social media, failing to mention the difficult times and struggles they face along the way. When you encounter these — and you will — it’s important to remain positive.
Learning how to take the hits and bounce right back up with a positive attitude ensures that particular circumstances, whether directly your fault or not, don’t affect your happiness. Being an entrepreneur is a rollercoaster ride.
One minute you could be celebrating a huge win and the next day you might be tasked with putting out a fire. Make a promise to yourself that you will remain positive no matter what you come face-to-face with.