Business Lessons Learned in 2011

Posted by on Dec 20, 2011 in Business Tips | 11 comments

Business Lessons Learned in 2011

2011 is swiftly coming to a close and when I saw this MSN Business on Main article “Lessons Learned in 2011“, I was inspired to post a blog to ask YOU to contribute your lessons learned in business in 2011.  So, go ahead, post them in the comments!  On January 1, 2012, I will choose two winners to win a $50 Amazon gift card each!  Your business lesson can be long or short, good or bad and the only rule is that it has to be something that you personally learned in 2011.

This was a huge year for me and I experienced some of my highest highs and my lowest lows but through it all, I’ve learned one really, really big lesson that I will take with me into 2012.  That lesson is: “Say yes to what you love and no to what you don’t.”  It’s a short and sweet lesson and one that we’ve heard often but I really could have used this motto during 2011.  There were many things I said yes to that I should have said no to and sometimes, when I said yes, had to say no to things that in hindsight should have been my yeses.  So, I’m going to try and be more critical in 2012 of the reasons behind my yes and no responses and make sure they sit well in my gut.

There are some really awesome responses over at the Business on Main article that you should check out too!

Remember, leave a comment and tell me YOUR biggest learning lesson in 2011.

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  • Pasi

    Thanks for this one Erin. Yes +1:) 

    My best lesson this year was that you need to do your project planning properly and then you need to follow your plan and stay awake for any changes. In the course of this work the uttermost thing I learned is that there is very rarely too much communication. So I need to remember to keep the people around updated.

    Keep up the good spirit:)
    +Pasi

  • Danielle Lynn

    My lesson for 2011 was very similar to yours Erin! As a professional photographer I went into this business thinking that I have to be the ‘jack of all trades’ – photographing whatever came my way simply for the exposure. And while that strategy can totally work for some, it did not work for me. 2011 was the year that I had many breakthroughs in terms of discovering exactly what I love, and what I really want to shoot. So before my busy season this year I decided that I would only shoot what I absolutely love. And while it has closed some doors for me, it has opened up several, much bigger ones. Ones that would have never opened had I remained shooting anything that came my way as opposed to someone who specializes. In short, my lesson was that its okay to do what you love and to do it with confidence. Not only do I feel that my art is better (and growing!) as a result, but I’m just so happy! :)

  • Dan Sherman

    I would say the biggest lesson I learned was Never Assume Anything! Of course, I had been taught these for years, but sometimes old smarty pants in me thinks I know everything when I don’t. This really hit home when I was brought in to do some social media consulting for a high powered software development company. I assumed they all knew how to use LinkedIn, but they had no clue, even though they had these huge propeller beanies on : ). I learned never to assume anything about your market or your clients. Just because you can do something, does not mean anyone else can. So package up that knowledge and go to town. 

  • Paul

    prioritization is key. by cutting out EVERYTHING about my work i wasn’t totally in love with doing, i’m both happier and more effective/efficient. 

    ps: regarding saying yes, and saying no, i wrote blog posts about those here: http://pjrvs.com/saying-yes/ and http://pjrvs.com/saying-no/

  • http://twitter.com/felicelam Felice Lam

    “Be authentic no matter what, as an individual or a company.” A great example is: SEOmoz.

  • http://TheInvisibleOffice.com Erica Cosminsky

    My best lesson was not to worry so much over my clients disagreeing with my business decisions. We do transcription and changed our billing policies from billed on completion and 15 days to pay to prepaid before we start. I expected to lose clients and have angry emails. Surprisingly all but 2 clients said “Good for you!’
    I’d been wrestling with this decision for months. I really wish I’d pulled the trigger and learned this lesson sooner.

  • Mary Beth

    Just because YOU CAN doesn’t mean YOU SHOULD! It’s been so hard for me to seperate myself from my abilities and my passions. 2012 is the year I will not agree to things just becuase I have the talent or skill set. I will agree to things that align with my life goals and passions. Period! :)  

  • http://twitter.com/manusmade Tania Wojciechowski

    Hi Erin, thanks for this opportunity!

    My biggest lesson this year? Realizing what is the true Value of what I bring to my business. Like many creative entrepreneurs starting out, I was doing everything – blog writing, making products, marketing, PR, photography, product writing, web copy…. etc. I did a few exercises this year to really figure out what exactly it is that that I do that is most important to my business. And then learning to focus on those higer-level tasks, and delegating the rest. I let go of the control of making many of my products, something I thought was the only who could do this. I’ve realized, that hiring a part time seamstress to help me make my products is a good thing - I am now able to use that time to better design and plan products that fit within my business’ values, instead of constantly sitting in front of my sewing machine, not having the time to come up for air. 

  • Brittany H.

    My business lesson for 2011- Use your time wisely! Seeing as how I started out the year not working, then had a baby and started working at home mid way through, I feel like it was a hard lesson for me. Trying to balance work with family is tough when it’s all in one place. You have to really plan ahead and be efficient. So that would be my lesson. :)
    -Brittany H. aka naturallythriftymom

  • http://chrisking.ca/ Chris King

    I think the most important business/life lesson I learned was to let go of the things I cannot control, and wholeheartedly embrace the things that you can. 

  • http://www.theofficeescape.com Ella Pelayo

    Mine was: “Im possible”. This year is full of dreams turning into realities. I used to think that dreams are far from happening but Ive proven myself wrong. 2011 has been a superb year for me and I learned that I can turn all my dreams into reality. I just need to have the WILL to do it.