We asked some brilliant entrepreneurs, artists and creatives to reflect on lessons they’ve learned at prior jobs. We’ve shared highlights below.

Brenna Potter

Before becoming a coach, I worked in HR, starting as a Sr. Human Resource Assistant and eventually advancing to an HR Business Partner role. Along the way, I learned invaluable lessons about people leadership—things I hadn’t picked up from previous student leadership positions. HR often comes with a lot of connotations—many think HR isn’t your friend—but I always aimed to shift that narrative for the employees and managers I supported. I saw my role as serving both the company and its employees. Without engaged and effective employees, how can a company function at its best? Making sure they had the tools, knowledge, and resources to perform their jobs well was a significant part of my responsibilities. Read more>>

Jawann Graves

I’ve learned a lot from my experience as an SRE, but one of the most important lessons I’ve learned is the importance of staying calm under pressure. I’ve had to deal with a lot of emergencies, both as an SRE and as a business owner, and it’s important to be able to think clearly and make good decisions even when things are going wrong. One of the most stressful situations I’ve ever been in was when I was working as an SRE for a government contractor. We had a server that was handling payroll that suddenly crashed, and I was the only one on call. I spent the entire night working with the vendor to get the server back up and running, and I was so stressed that I could barely think straight. Read more>>

Alexis Burhenn

Prior to owning my own business, I was an in-house Senior Tech Recruiter and I was in Recruiting for almost ten years. As a Recruiter, *in my opinion through experience*, there are three main goals: 1. Find the right fit and talent for the company and team. 2. Ensure your hiring managers and candidates trust and respect you. It has t0 be a good match on both sides. 3. Find ways to improve the recruiting process so it is more effective and efficient for all parties involved. Read more>>

Sedona Rigsby

Belonging is a choice. Although I grew up in an artistic environment, I spent much of my 20s working in a technology agency, balancing creative work within corporate structures. Early on, I felt like an outsider, unsure how to fit in with the more technical and analytical people around me. But over time, I realized something crucial: belonging is a choice you make. I could choose to bring my unique perspective to the table and recognize my differences as strengths. Once I told myself, “I belong here,” everything shifted. My skills became assets, and I was able to fully engage in my work without the feeling of isolation. Read more>>

Lindsay Hartmann

I’m a wedding photographer and have photographed with a bunch of different people. I worked with one wedding photographer a couple of times as a second shooter. Before he hired me, we had a conversation about how much experience I had and he looked over my work. After explaining I had years of experience and he liked my work he booked me to help him at a couple of weddings. The first wedding we did together he asked to see the photos I had taken throughout the day which is completely normal and expected. However, telling me he liked the images and everything that I was doing, he proceeded to micromanage me – telling me where to stand and what exactly to photograph all night. The next wedding we worked together I thought would be better since I had proved I knew what I was doing and he had first hand experience seeing that. Unfortunately, it was the same: looking over my shoulder to see the images multiple times throughout the day, telling me exactly where to stand, and what to photograph and how. I wasn’t able to be creative and I did not enjoy shooting the wedding like I typically do working with other people. Read more>>

Mike Lanouar

So before Becoming a full-time creative business owner, I was a SWAT Detective for 10 years. In that job, I learned many things but the biggest was personal accountability. Owning a mistake out loud but fixing it fast and trying not to repeat it has been a huge benefit. Things happen in this industry and it is very easy to want to point the finger at others so you keep the limelight off of yourself, but with that, you don’t take ownership and it just comes off as excuses, and people see right through that. Take ownership of your mistakes don’t be afraid to admit they happened and grow from them. More often than not, the client loves when you do that and respects you more. With that, work hard to never drop the ball too make sure you pay attention to details, make mistakes few and far between, and never make the same one twice. Read more>>

Karen Biggers

When I first started working as a young person I got a job at a fast food restaurant, Kentucky Fried Chicken. As I was being trained to work the counter where people placed their orders, I learned a valuable lesson that I’ve remembered the rest of my life. My manager told me that no matter how long the line was, no matter how disgruntled people got while waiting, my only concern. was the person in front of me. My job was to give my full attention to that one customer. I was to spend as much time as needed with him no matter how many people were waiting. Once I made sure that I got the order correct, and gave them the right amount of change, then I could move on to the next in line. Read more>>

Shanti Grossman

One point that I am so passionate about sharing about my journey is….my journey! From the outside looking in, it appears as if A Brighter Year was an overnight viral success, but that is not the whole story. When you look at just the story of A Brighter Year, yes it was a quick success, but what people don’t always look at is the entrepreneurship journey I have been on for 20 years. Along the way there have been a lot of businesses that have started and failed. There have been service based businesses and product based businesses. Businesses that lost money for years before I eventually closed them down, and a business that I built and eventually sold, and every step of the way I was learning how to set up my next business for more success than the last. Read more>>