Council Post: Three Business Lessons Learned From One Entrepreneur’s Health Journey

A startup growth advisor and Founder of Startup Growth Mode who has consulted for more than 200 high-growth companies.

Throughout the past 20 years, I’ve been navigating having an autoimmune disease — and the health care system as a result. It hasn’t been easy. In my experience, finding a doctor you can trust takes time, and actually being seen can take even longer. I always felt like my questions were never getting answered, and I was growing frustrated by not finding the solutions I needed to heal my health. I felt like I was taking five steps forward and 10 steps back.

I decided that when I did finally find the answers to my autoimmune condition, I was going to try and do everything in my power to help prevent others from having the same experience. I had to dig deep to find answers. I attended conferences and would research for hours every single day. The unbearable pain of not feeling well is what fueled my motivation.

On my journey, I learned a lot, and I even started a business centered around my health goals. Along the way, I also sharpened three important business skills that I believe other entrepreneurs could learn from. These skills are:

Asking questions: Interview everyone.

I asked my doctors countless questions. I was a curious cat, and I wanted to know about their protocols for healing my body. I felt that some of my doctors would become frustrated when I would ask questions, which brought me to the realization that these weren’t the doctors I wanted to align myself with.

When I started building my new business and interviewing people to work with, I found the same issue. A lot of the people I interviewed were money-driven, and they didn’t have a connection to what I was trying to achieve with my business. Their values didn’t align with what I was trying to build. I wanted to work with people who wanted to contribute to the world, not just focus on making money. So, we didn’t move forward.

As an entrepreneur, you owe it to yourself and your business to do the same. Ensure those you’re considering working with will honor the vision you have for your young company. Ask them questions to find out if they understand your mission. Ask why they would want to work for you and what value they would bring. You might even consider giving them a probationary period when they first start to see if you work together well.

Problem-solving: The seeker will always succeed.

Throughout my journey of fighting for my health, I had to be relentless, and it wasn’t easy. I became an advocate for myself; when something didn’t resonate or my body didn’t respond well to a treatment, I would try to work with my doctor to find a solution. They didn’t always have answers, so I would do my own research as well, which ultimately allowed me to take the driver’s seat of my own health.

In my experience, many people are not willing to dig deep for answers, but doing so is important both in health care and in business. I remember working with many startups where the CEO would throw money and the company’s problems in hopes they would be resolved. In most cases, that doesn’t work. (In the case of those CEOs, they would typically end up running out of money completely.) However, when you dig deep and try to find the root of the problem — as I did with my health and as entrepreneurs should do in their companies — I believe you can find the right solution. There is always a way. It’s all about your mindset.

Determination: Experiment a lot.

Many of the doctors I worked with had theories about my autoimmune condition; some of these theories were based on clinical studies, while others were based on their experience. I felt that no one would know my own body as I did, so my best shot for finding a solution would be if I were to experiment and try different ways of healing. 

To me, everyone is different; the focus of those studies my doctors would cite often had different childhoods, lives and experiences than me. So, I was OK with things not working. I would try different protocols for three months to see how they would work and then switch things up if they didn’t.

I believe there’s a lesson here for businesses that are trying to succeed during these chaotic times. If you don’t get it right on the first go, just keep going and keep trying. Do not give up. My health journey inspired me and helped me understand what types of results determination and devotion produces. Being determined and devoted means you never really deviate from your goal, but you keep trying. For example, if you’re in marketing, experiment with different methods of ads, landing pages, copy, audiences and placements to see what is going to work best for your business.

I hope this helps you in the next phase. Honing these skills certainly helped me, both physically and professionally. By asking questions, digging deep to solve problems and staying devoted to your goal, I believe you’ll be on your way to developing a stronger business.

Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?