I became an entrepreneur at 50.
Before that, I had spent five years with Mobil Oil as a marketing rep and almost 24 years with Manulife Insurance Company as an agent and agency leader. I thought I already knew quite a bit about business and people.
I was wrong.
Nearly 30 years later, I realize that some of the most important lessons in business cannot be learned from books. They have to be lived.
Here are a few things I know now that I wish I knew then.
1. People matter more than plans
When I started, I thought business was mainly about having a good concept, finding the right location, watching the numbers and working hard.
All those things matter.
But eventually I learned that business is really about people. Hire good people. Treat them well. Develop them. Trust them. And when you find people who share your values, do everything you can to keep them.
2. Cash is more important than profit
A business can be profitable on paper and still get into trouble.
Cash pays salaries, suppliers, rent, loans and expansion. I learned to watch cash flow as closely as I watched sales and profits.
Numbers don’t lie. Learn to understand them. You can’t manage what you don’t measure.
3. You don’t have to do everything yourself
Entrepreneurs sometimes think nobody can do things as well as they can.
That may be true in the beginning. But if everything depends on you, you haven’t really built a business. You have built yourself a job.
Learn to delegate. Give people authority and hold them accountable.
4. Don’t grow for the sake of growing
More branches do not automatically mean a better business.
Every expansion should make economic sense. Sometimes the smartest thing you can do is strengthen what you already have.
Growth without profitability is simply getting bigger.
5. Protect the things money cannot buy
At 50, I was hungry to succeed.
Today, I still love business. But I have learned that health, time, relationships, peace of mind and respect are also measures of wealth.
What good is building a successful business if you lose yourself along the way?
Final thoughts
If I could talk to the 50-year-old Bunny Pages today, I would tell him:
Work hard. Dream big. Take risks.
But don’t be in too much of a hurry.
Enjoy the journey. Take care of your health. Spend time with the people you love. Help others succeed.
And remember that the purpose of building a business is not simply to make money.
It is to build a life.
