I remember when I was just starting out. I was so enthusiastic, and so hard working. I remember working seventy hours a week. I worked until it hurt. I slowed down a few years later as I couldn’t take it anymore. I watched each aspect of my business very carefully as I was concerned with everything. Although I lacked skill, I was so adament about everything I did, that my endeavors went well. I remember having trouble getting others to get things done, but I bugged the hell out of them until they accomplished their tasks. I remember financial risks I took, but I managed those risks so carefully, that I never lost big.
These days I am a lot smarter, and have a lot more experience. However, I make tons of mistakes just because I am too busy to watch everything I am doing with the same level of carefulness as before. When I was just starting out, I was so careful to make sure nothing went wrong. Just a week ago, I had a failed data migration that cost me a few hundred in lost labor. Sure, the cost won’t kill me, but the fact that I didn’t oversee the project with the carefulness that it deserved showed me something. I need to be a lot more on top of things, and that means managing my time better. I need to make priorities more as I am so busy.
Another thing that bothers me about my level of experience is that I have had so many different social media helpers, that I have become more complacent when their work doesn’t measure up. When I was first starting out, I wanted to make sure I got my money’s worth from everyone I hired. As I got more used to particular companies, and individuals, I let them have a lot of slack. I feel I am paying for that slack. Sometimes it is good to hire lots of new people, because people often behave better when they are new, and then start slacking off four to twelve months later. This is a very realistic and unpleasant fact about hiring people!
Looking back, I think it is definitely better to have the spirit of a brand new inexperienced entrepreneur and mix it with the experience and knowledge you have as an older person. If you have lost that new entrepreneur spirit. Try to gain it back. Try to relive your earlier moments if you can remember them. Try to rethink some of those thoughts you had as you were very short on money. Remember, when you first started your business, everything was new to you. As someone more experienced, most of what you are working on is old, and you only hire new people from time to time. When you were just starting, everyone was new and everything was new. Get that new feeling back into you!