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Here's a story about my first business experience and what you could learn from it.
My first experience in sales was in 2006 when I was a student in Mr. Daut’s 2nd grade class. It was just after Halloween and I noticed how all my classmates talked about their Halloween candy but no one brought there’s in to enjoy during school hours. Once the other students saw (and heard) my chomping down on Laffy Taffy’s during class, they couldn’t resist the temptation to spend their lunch money on my candy. Everyone had this same candy at home, but I managed to create FOMO in my 7-year old peers. I was selling my Halloween candy at 10 to 25 cents a piece (making a killing) until the school got a whiff of what I was doing. Mr. R, the school principal, called my parents and immediately put an end to my first business venture. I was crushed by these regulations (as most small businesses are) but my love for capitalism was ignited (and my Jewish father was proud of me).
So what’s the point of my story?
I was unable to control the rules and regulations in-force.
I was unable to challenge the school’s monopoly on snack sales.
Therefore… I was unable to sell my Halloween candy anywhere on school property.
But what was I able to control?
I was able to control my emotions, my efforts, and my time.
And I chose to focus on what was in my control.
I didn’t hire a lawyer to challenge the school’s monopoly.
I didn’t go online to complain about my situation.
And I didn’t let my bad luck get me down.
What I did do was I began searching for new business opportunities immediately, and that was when I found my love for collecting baseball cards.
Two lessons can be taken away from my story:
1) You can only control yourself- but there's so much more that you can't control.
2) Your first business will probably fail- but what's important is that you learn from it.
“If you want to change the world, start with yourself.” - Gandhi
“Today if I don’t earn, best believe I’m gonna learn.” - Big Sean
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