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

Kate Hutson

One lesson I learned at a prior job is that I cannot be a people-pleaser if I want to be an exceptional leader. In my teens and 20s, I, like many other women, struggled with being a people-pleaser. For years, I only felt confident or worthy if I had external validation from my boss, my colleagues, my boyfriend, my parents, or my friends. I wanted approval from others to feel happy. Read more>>

Neal Cohen

Things very rarely, if ever, go to plan. Prior to cofounding Tip Top Proper Cocktails, I was a Marketing Director at Superfly, working on festivals such as Bonnaroo, Outside Lands and Comedy Central’s Clusterfest. Festivals are highly volatile environments. When lots of attendees, artists, vendors and staff from all over the place come together in an outdoor space for multiple days to have a shared experience, approximately four million different things have to go right in order for it to be the experience that was promised to everyone involved. Read more>>

Patrick Holladay

My first career step right after college was to become a United States Peace Corps Volunteer. For a little over two years I worked as an ecologist in Slovakia. The word “volunteer” is very loose as any Returned Peace Corps Volunteer will tell you. You are essentially a federal employee funded through Congressional appropriations and there are a lot of expectations placed upon you. Read more>>

Laura Whitfield

I always tell people that every job I’ve had prepared me for being a published author. My first job out of college was at a mid-sized advertising agency, where I was the assistant to the president. That’s where I met my first mentor and decided I wanted to follow in her footsteps and become a copywriter. When the agency wouldn’t promote me, I left to freelance. I did that for eight years before starting a family. Read more>>

 Jalen Copeland

The most important lesson I have learned in a previous job is the power of relationships & providing value. Relationship building from a business standpoint can help you get new clients, keep clients coming back, and manage your reputation. Providing value is one of the key ingredients to having a successful business. I believe the more you help others the more you help yourself. Read more>>

Teashya Tucker

Having years of experience working for two major beauty authorities- MAC and Sephora from 2013-2018, I was able to receive a huge amount of artistic development and business knowledge. Looking back, I would say it served as a sort of paid internship to the cosmetic industry before I branded myself and created my own business. Read more>>

Norma Reyes, PhD

One of the most important lessons I learned at one of my first personal jobs, was that you have to be accountable to yourself first. As a first-generation American, there are a lot of unknowns, and you just kinda get used to ‘figuring it out.’ So that’s how I’ve learned to navigate my career. As a young 26-year-old, I really didn’t know what I was doing. I had my bachelor’s in psychology and was working in HR for a major theme park. Read more>>

Lacita & Laquinda Moody

At jobs, everyone is replaceable. As a result we learned how to make ourselves valuable and hard to replace. It is important to prove yourself which often requires a certain level of commitment to the project or work task. The same is true for entrepreneurship. You have to dedicate that same time and energy to yourself because there will be no one to stay on you to get tasks completed. You have to be a self-motivator Read more>>

Alexis Jaworowski

The most important lesson I learned in a job prior to real estate was that things will seldom go as planned. One thing you should know about me is, I’m a planner. I like to know what is going to happen and be in control of my day. I’ve come to learn that, while it is great to plan and be prepared, most of the time you just have to go with the flow. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality with a focus on conference and event planning. Read more>>

Lisa A. Smith

Before I started working in the health and fitness industry, I was a social worker for the state of Michigan. I had been a foster care worker for four years but what I really wanted to do was land a job with the federal government so I was always on the federal job site searching for open positions. I believed that not only would it be a more prestigious job title but that, if I chose the right position, Read more>>

Sarah Thompson

I do not have a background in business. I am a former professional dancer, health researcher and student of herbal medicine. Each of these fields have gifted me a valuable lesson that I have used in starting and growing my own business. As a professional dancer I learned grit and persistence. Read more>>

Becca Brooks

Hands down – anticipating problems and questions before they arise. Prior to starting Becca Brooks Events & Design, I spent nearly 10 years working in marketing and public relations at agencies and large consumer-facing brands. Whether I was developing executive-facing presentations or strategizing cross-channel advertising campaigns, I was taught at an early age to poke holes, remember the end-objective, think through all scenarios and always, always offer solutions that meet objectives and make the client happy. Read more>>

Anna Baranovskaya

When I was 26 i came to Cyprus (EU) and decided I can run a business. I opened a school for kids with an extensive team of 20 people. I had zero business experience, zero funds, zero understanding of how processes work, had no well planned business model or back up plan, but I had passion and belief that it will work. Read more>>

G. C. Smith

Some years ago I got a job in a dirty makeshift studio in the cafeteria kitchen of an old school recycling old reclaimed books into decorative books and objects. We casually referred to it as “the book factory”. Though the work exposed me to a variety of different materials and people, it was very repetitive, and very detail oriented. Read more>>

Parker Duerink

I’ve learned that your value is not determined by the company that you work for. You determine your own value and set your own worth based on what you know you can do. Others will limit your potential based on their assumptions of who your are, and how it fits into their own experiences. Read more>>

Victoria Mallow, PT, DPT

Before opening my own practice, I worked as a staff physical therapist at other outpatient clinics as well as in a hospital setting. While each prior position provided unique experiences and valuable skill development, the most important thing I took away was confidence in knowing the kind of care I wanted to be able to provide to my patients. Read more>>

Savannah LeFors

One of my previous jobs before setting up my own dog training business was as the coordinator of the animal therapy program at a hospital. Many people think that you just have to be good with animals to be a dog trainer, but thats certainly not the case. You have to be good with people also. Read more>>

Bri Joli

Most important lesson I’ve learned from past jobs is remembering to put myself first. I tend to excel so greatly for others, to where I start to put my dreams on the back burner. I realized that only causes me to be burnt out and not have energy for my own businesses. I vowed to no longer neglect my dreams. Read more>>

Mary Carley

Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of amazing, inspiring executives. When I was working in Human Resources at Ford Motor Company, I met Alan Mulally. He is a very down to earth, approachable leader. Although he had a team of executive assistants working twenty-four-seven to manage details of his global responsibilities, he insisted on doing a lot of things himself such as new employee orientation. Read more>>

Josh Edwards

I think the best lesson I’ve learned from past work experience is just to work hard. I started working a paper route when I was 8 years old and haven’t stopped working since. I’ve worked in food, at the airport, loading boxes in truck, as a teacher, in the army, in hospitals, and owning my own business. Read more>>