My 25 Business Lessons Learned

As we mark our 25th year, we'll be sharing some special things with you each month.  This month, Yvonne Campos has jotted down 25 of the most valuable lessons she's learned over time starting and running a business. 

Yvonne in Campos Inc's earlier days

1. Trust your gut.
2. Have a clear yet flexible vision.
3. Client retention is one of the best strategies a company can have.
4. People like to do business with people they know and like.
5. Help others. Share your time, your knowledge and your connections to help others, and watch them go to extraordinary lengths to help you.  
6. Hire people who have different smarts than you who can help fill any existing gaps in talent.
7. Pay attention to your industry – the changes, the future. Be thinking ahead and quick to move.
8. Give your employees the opportunity to fail in an environment that rewards effort and lessons learned from mistakes.
9. Know the financial implications of business decisions.. You need to understand the numbers.
10. You can grow yourself right out of business.
11. Always be on the lookout for talent that can help foster new and different ways of thinking, regardless of headcount constraints. 
12. Do what you say you are going to do when you said you would do it.
13. As you grow, you need processes and systems – the sooner the better.
14. Business never gets easier.
15. Keep clients in the loop if issues arise. Don’t surprise them with problems at the deadline date.
16. Transparency is great; share news and numbers – both good and not-so-good – in an objective way that will motivate the team.
17. Run your company like the company you want it to be, not necessarily the company it is.  I chose to run Campos Inc like a much larger company, versus a “mom & pop” model.
18. Not all clients are a good fit for your organization.
19. As president/CEO, always be aware of the impact that you have on your company’s working environment. You can – and will – set the tone in what you say and do, and how you say and do it. 
20. It’s all about being visible in the community and making connections. This is the role of the CEO.
21. Make a decision. If it’s wrong, you can always come back and change it.
22. Use consultants wisely to help fill the gaps in talent you may need.  Be sure they know how to work with small businesses.
23. When hiring, be sure to hire the person who has the potential for bigger things, not just the position you are hiring for.
24. Establish good relationships with your accountant, lawyer and banker early on.
25. As employers, we are sometimes quick to hire, but slow in making tough decisions.