Seven Lessons Learned the Hard Way

John Armstrong speaking at The Queen's
Entrepreneurship Competition in Kingston, ON, CA

I had the pleasure of going to Canada earlier this year and listening to a great Keynote speaker, John Armstrong, Founder and CEO, Armstrong Partnership Ltd. He gave a great talk about the seven lessons he learned the hard way and I just wanted to share those with you along with my thoughts on them.

1. There's always time to do it twice

If you're going to take the time to do something, be sure to do it right. Review everything you write, double check that you're prepared, and take the time to produce quality work that represents you well.

2. Listen to the people who have seen the movie you are about to star in

Everyone has an opinion about everything you do in life. The trick is figuring out what advice you should take to heart and what you should take with a grain of salt. What I try to do is look for advice from those who are doing or have done what I want to do, and learn from their experiences and journey.

3. Take the conservative cash flow projections and double them

Be sure of yourself and be optimistic. Never lie or exaggerate in an irresponsible way, but be sure to be confident when predicting what could be. 

4. You don't need a ten ton truck pulling a one truck load

Don't over commit yourself in life. For entrepreneurs this might mean not getting ahead of yourself - getting an office or incorporating before you have a business- and for new grads this might mean living within your means, understanding your true needs, and not stretching yourself too thin. Try to think ahead and see how what you're doing now will affect your future.

5. It's only worth what someone's willing to pay for it

This is one of the first lessons taught in economics- what something is worth is equal to what the buyer is willing to pay. For entrepreneurs this is an obvious lesson about pricing, and for the general population, this is a big picture thought about what "worth" really means - what your time is worth and where you fit into job spectrum as a new entrant to the job market.

6. Advisers are like sushi. You want to pay for quality and the opposite is not pretty. You get what you pay for. Check references.  Do a small test.

Take the time to read the fine print.

Like I mentioned, advisers and mentors can have a big impact in your life. Make sure that you're choosing advisers well and really examining the advise you're being given. In this day and age, you can always research your mentors, research their advice, and get a second opinion before you act.

Other great advice I got about this was to sit down and think about who would be an ideal mentor for you at this time in your life and reach out to them. A well crafted cold email could be the first step to a great new, helpful relationship between you and a mentor.

7. Treat others the way you would like to be treated. Express your values. Have integrity.

The golden rule is always one to live by but it takes on a new meaning in the digital age where a great number of your interactions are recorded forever. I personally always try to polite, respectful, and mindful in my daily life.

A great rule that I live by is to write everything (especially things with a negative slant) as though the person I'm writing about will read it. You have to consider that the person or company you're discussing will discover your comments and you have to write in a way that protects you. In the days of CCed and BCCed emails, intracompany message screening, and just general technology sharing, be sure that you're always representing yourself in a positive light and realize that lashing out online could have long term negative consequences.

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Phoebe Farber is the Founder & CEO of Prospective Plus, which has built CareerApp.me - the Common App for Jobs. She is from NY but is currently based in Boston as she attends Northeastern University. Feel free to reach out to Phoebe at phoebe@careerapp.me .