Top 8 Lessons from Launching a Business

I've learned quite a bit lately. Starting a firm teaches you things you don’t expect. Some lessons arrive slowly, with trial and error. Others hit you in a single moment, usually when you’re staring at a blank page, a new client brief, or your own business.

Contemplating things while posing. 😁

👈 Ideas come like a flood at the best times. Like while hiking, exercising, or even just waking up in the morning.

Looking back at my first stretch of building Better World Strategy, here are the Top 8 lessons that mattered most.

8. Business foundations first (compliance, accounting, pricing; the groundwork)

Before anything else, I had to build the structure that would hold the business up. Licenses, insurance, accounting systems, pricing models, contracts. None of it is glamorous, but all of it creates stability. When the foundation is solid, you can focus on the work instead of the worry. The unexpected part was that I really enjoyed all of this. It quenched my thirst for learning new skills.

7. Make your services solid before launch (build the intellectual frameworks that drive your work)

Consulting is a service business, even when the service is expertise that causes others to achieve more. I learned quickly that the quality of my frameworks determines the quality of my engagements, and the success of my clients. The more clarity I bring to how I think, the more clarity clients gain in their own work. Investing early in the intellectual backbone of the business paid off immediately.

6. Partnerships beat competition all day long (collaboration and referrals lift everyone)

The consulting world is not a zero‑sum game. The more I partnered with peers, the more opportunities came back around. Referrals, shared projects, thought partnership. Collaboration builds community, and community builds momentum.

5. Make the work your own (blend learnings and expert guidance with your lived experience)

There are brilliant thinkers in this field, and I have learned a lot from them. But the work only becomes powerful when you make it yours. When you take the best of what you have learned and combine it with your lived experience, your voice becomes clearer and your value becomes distinct.

4. You are not a robot, blend your craft (consulting naturally mixes strategy, coaching, and teaching)

Real consulting work is never just one thing. Some days you are a strategist. Some days you are a coach. Some days you are a teacher helping a team understand a concept for the first time. The blend is the work. Embracing that mix made me a better partner to the leaders I support.

3. Lead with generosity (sharing tools and expertise builds trust faster than marketing)

I used to think marketing was the engine of a consulting business. It turns out generosity is. Sharing tools, frameworks, and insights publicly builds trust faster than any campaign. When people see how you think, they understand how you can help.

2. If it feels like a hobby, you are on the right path (that is a great sign)

The work takes time. It asks a lot. But when you find yourself doing it late at night because you want to, not because you have to, that is a signal worth listening to. Joy is data. Energy is data. Follow it.

1. Trust yourself more than your doubts (your track record is real)

Every founder wrestles with this. I did too. But the truth is simple. You have already done the work that brought you here. You have already built the experience that clients rely on. Imho, trusting that reality is not arrogance. It is accuracy.

A few people shaped these lessons in meaningful ways.

• @Neil Patrick Vaghan, @Ege Mala, and @Mio Takagi have all influenced how I think about partnerships.

• @Kathy Slough and @Vera Carmazon helped me refine my framework designing and people management skills while also consistently demonstrating how to always be human first.

• @Ricardo Villalobos pushed me to trust my own experience earlier in my career.

For anyone working to start something new and different, my hat is off to you, and my sincere hope is that this is helpful. Reach out if you’d like to connect.