I left university at 20 with no network and no proof. 7 years later I am involved in more than a dozen businesses. Here are some take aways!

This message is from me, after finishing the post. It is not a genius piece of copy or perfectly structured. But I think it's still better than the fifth Claude & ChatGPT post today.

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I have seen plenty of businesses throughout the past 7 years. Just like many of you, people were laughing at me at first.

I had just decided to leave university at the age of 20, to pursue what I thought would be a better fit for my life. I dropped a career that I had spent more than 13 years consciously working towards - basically overnight. I left it all behind, invested whatever money I had in my business education, and it paid off.

The amount of ego-bloated business owners, marketers and sales reps I have encountered since is straight up flabbergasting.

The amount of times I heard "I have 15 years of experience in marketing, I know how it's done" - just to find a business generating 12.000 Euros per month for 15 years straight.

Today, I am involved in more than a dozen businesses, and each of these ventures outperforms those people by tenfold - while they are still stuck in the same office, with the same problems.

But we are all entrepreneurs here, at whatever stage we might be. You are in this subreddit because you can swallow your ego and remain open to learning - which leads me to my first lesson.

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#1 — Never stop learning. Never. Not a single day.

What helped me outperform already "established" business owners in almost no time was the ability to consume knowledge. By that I do not mean watching every business-related video from some YouTube coach posing with a fancy car and watch.

I blocked 30 minutes every day - in my calendar - dedicated to learning. I built a clear and logical curriculum around everything that was important for me to become the marketer I am today.

• Buyer psychology
• Persuasion and changing behaviour
• Perception
• Objection handling
• Funnel architecture
• Brand architecture and engineering
• Business operations
• Service fulfilment

I dropped my university classes and created my own study schedule.

Whatever I needed, I consumed it - and used my iPad to document and track everything in Microsoft OneNote. Nothing fancy. But I made sure to handwrite everything I learned.

I analysed launches, funnels, ads, landing pages, tools - always asking: "Why would they do it this way, and what is the intent?" Whenever I learned something, I applied it within the next 6 hours, so it would not become just another piece of useless information sitting in my head.

I have invested at least 145.000 Euros in my own education, and even today those 30 minutes a day are non-negotiable. Not my wife, nor my cat has access to my office while I am learning. It is me, my Mac, and my phone somewhere far away.

If someone makes a valid point - whether it is a delivery driver or Elon Musk - I listen and try to take something away from it. Always learning, always improving.

On top of that, I read a book a week, with a clear plan of what knowledge I need and which books to read next. If you have recommendations, I am more than open.

Track every learning you have. Every time you hit an "aha" moment, write it down. Good thought at 1am while lying in bed? Write it down.

It is not just about learning - it is about building a knowledge base and tracking what you learn.

If there is something I simply cannot wrap my head around, I will pay someone to find a solution. I pay a lower six-figure amount per year just to have access to a network of business owners in a similar position - because I know that information, data and access cost money.

Investing money or time in building knowledge is always worth it. Buy courses - even though Reddit has a rather negative relationship with that idea. Every new piece of information potentially unlocks a new stage of your business development.

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#2 — Business growth is compounding, and depends on your personal growth.

Every decision matters - from the food you eat, to the habits you follow, to the environment you work in. It is the sum of small decisions in the right direction that will set you apart from others.

• Are you sleeping in because you feel like it, or are you sticking to your routine?
• Are you ordering food or eating healthy home-cooked meals?
• Are you working remote from your bedroom in jogging pants, or are you leaving the house, dressed and groomed properly?
• Who are you surrounding yourself with?
• Where are you living and building your business?

Every activity, every decision compounds into the version of yourself that you are. You are your business.

Frankly - I barely have any friends from my school days, simply because I get nothing from spending time with them. When it feels like a waste, why continue? We naturally grew apart, and that is okay. It was a decision and a necessary sacrifice.

If a friend asks me for advice or support with their business, I am happy to help - but they know to expect an invoice. Not because I am stingy, but because I learned that advice given freely loses its value. It is in their own interest to have a financial commitment, because it creates urgency to actually act on it.

Some people consider me selfish because I always think about myself and my business first. What they do not see is the responsibility of by now more than a hundred people - partly on my shoulders. They work on projects I initiate and businesses I supervise. I think about the loans they take on, depending on and trusting the ability of the leadership around them.

If a friend asks me to help them move, I am more than happy to pay for a moving company - but you will not see me assembling furniture. My time is better used elsewhere. I would rather have that person over for a great dinner and a day together than spending it on flat-pack furniture.

We are business owners. The difference between us and our employees is that we have a vision, a greater goal, and the relentless drive to achieve it. Everything has to contribute to that goal. Every action, every activity. Our time has value and should not be wasted by people who do not respect it.

This does not mean there is no space for rest and leisure. But when I decide to watch a movie with my wife, take her out for dinner, or travel - it is with the goal of keeping that person in my life. And at the same time, I get a genuine rest from our time together.

Maybe you are sitting there telling yourself I am exaggerating. That is fine.

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#3 — Keep your word. Have integrity and be straight.

If you say you are going to deliver the ad creative by Friday at 6pm, I expect it at 6pm. If it is not, I will give it another chance - maybe one more - but that is it.

People plan around your word. Someone is launching a product based on the delivery date you promised. People plan their day around the meeting they scheduled with you. Show up.

As a business owner it is even more crucial. I live by: underpromise, overdeliver.

It is all a matter of how organised you are. If I tell you your freebie will be fully designed and ready for distribution by Friday, you will have it on Tuesday - and we spend the remaining time reviewing everything together.

If a timeline depends on others, plan accordingly. Give your team a due date of the 10th of May and communicate the 24th to your client.

Keeping your word makes you trustworthy. And if you are trustworthy, people are far more likely to do recurring business with you or refer your service.

The same applies to social proof, testimonials and how you present yourself as a young business owner. If you are new - be honest about it. "I am looking for my first test clients to validate my offer" is far more credible than building a handful of fake companies to manufacture social proof on a landing page.

Live by this, and you will attract the right clients, the right employees and the right partner. And the choice of partner is so crucial for your business success.

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There are plenty of lessons. I have personally documented well over 600 throughout the years in my own knowledge base. It is an asset that nobody gets access to. Full of collected data, lessons learned and more. I would advise everyone to build something similar.

Now - what are your biggest 3 lessons? I think I missed the point of keeping it to just 3, but maybe someone here is more structured than me.