5 Business Lessons Entrepreneurs Know That Regular People Don’t

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I spend most of my days on the computer, and when I’m not busy writing, I’m working on various entrepreneurial endeavors or interviewing and meeting with other business owners and entrepreneurs around my community and around the world for my podcast. I’ve realized in my time since leaving corporate America that entrepreneurs and small business owners often have a different perspective of the world than typical workers with a 9-5 day job. I scoured the web for great business owner insights that regular people don’t run into on a regular basis. Here are some favorite gems of wisdom that can help you succeed in your business, or your career.

Business Lessons from Entrepreneurs

• “That grades in school have only a minor correlation to success in entrepreneurship. Even in many cases, intelligence has only a minor correlation as well.”—Brian Sloan via Quora

I am a strong believer in education, and credit much of my online success to my two finances degrees, including an MBA. That said, I was not a 4.0 student. I was more in the 3.0-3.5 range. While that didn’t help me land a job at Goldman, in the world of entrepreneurship I do just fine. Thanks to a combination of the right skills and a solid work ethic, I have passed many of my peers in terms of income and business success. I even do better than many people smarter than me, as I focus on the right skills rather than just getting an A.

I recently read the story of Richard Rosner, arguably one of the most intelligent people in the world but someone who has had limited career success. Despite his record-setting IQ, his career didn’t lead to any groundbreaking business or discoveries. He has worked as a stripper, roller rink waiter, and other menial jobs, plus a few media appearances. Many people without the same mental abilities built huge business empires through hard work and determination.

• “Entrepreneurs know how messy running a business is—but you don’t hear about it because most of us are pretending it’s all under control.”—Asim Qureshi via Quora

Business blunders make the news when they impact a wide number of people, as is evidenced by recent airline PR problems and customer data hacks. But most of the time, business problems stay private inside the business. In a startup, everyone works on all parts of the business. Few financial, digital, human resources, or other parts of the business are handled perfectly. Many businesses operate with varying degrees of organized chaos on a daily basis.