04 May “Business is a marathon, not a sprint.”
Jilliene Helman, CEO and co-founder of RealtyMogul, talks about what she learned whilst growing up in a family of entrepreneurs.
“In my childhood home, business was one of the most common topics of dinnertime conversation. And the entrepreneurial focus of our upbringing had a lasting impact on my siblings and me. In a family of seven children, four of us have become business owners. I am confident that far fewer of us would have gone on to start our own companies had our parents held typical 9-to-5 jobs.”
…and the head-start she felt it gave her:
“I also gained invaluable real-world business experience long before many of my peers began their path to entrepreneurship.”
She wasn’t shielded from the rollercoaster that entrepreneurship can be:
“To be successful, entrepreneurs need resilience. I watched my father come close to bankruptcy and bounce back. Having him as my example helped me build my ‘entrepreneurial stomach’ and taught me to manage difficult situations. I learned to compartmentalise, separate my business ambitions from the rest of my life, and not allow setbacks to destroy me emotionally.”
…and she learned lessons on the paths to success and cultivating relationships.
“The lesson I took away from watching my father take the slow, methodical path to success was that if I were to become a successful entrepreneur, I would need to develop patience. Business is a marathon, not a sprint.
“Learning to cultivate the right relationships is an important lesson I learned from my father’s long-term success. As an entrepreneur, you’re only as strong as the team you’ve built.”
Even without a family of entrepreneurs, these can be dinner table conversation topics. There are always opportunities to practice resilience, emotional toughness and long-term thinking, it’s just about finding them!
