5 great pieces of advice from a 60-year-old entrepreneur
Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock
My 23-year-old daughter acknowledged the other day that I’m better than she is at finding stuff on Google.
"That’s because I grew up with the Dewey Decimal System," I replied. "And I had to wait for my mother to drive me to the library."
(Don’t know what the Dewey Decimal System is? Google it!)
Last month I turned 60, which probably puts me in the upper age bracket at WeWork. I come from an era when we looked things up in encyclopedias and checked the indexes at the back of books. It turns out that all this makes me amazing at online research.
I started my own company at 48, after a long corporate career as a brand executive. I may not know how to code, but I know lots of other stuff. Some of it’s really useful when you’re starting or building a business. I love mentoring new entrepreneurs and recent graduates. The ones who listen to me go on to do great things.
In addition to the Dewey Decimal System, I know that I am really good at presenting to investors and clients. I have probably asked for money a zillion times throughout my career. (That’s a slight exaggeration, but it sounds impressive).
What else? Coming up with a "plan B" is second nature for me. After seeing lots of work projects go wrong (or not go exactly as planned), I’ve developed the ability to respond quickly to change.
And I’m good at working offline. When the Wi-Fi goes down or my smartphone dies, I have hundreds of ways to keep myself occupied and entertained.
My daughter listens to me only some of the time, but other 20- and 30-somethings tend to consider me the "cool mom." I help them rewrite their resumes, connect them to good business contacts, and even role-play tough situations with them. Here are the top five business tidbits I’ve dispensed to my younger WeWork colleagues.
1. Don’t take yourselves too seriously.
You still have a lot to learn. I don’t mean that in a demeaning way. You’ll just be amazed at my age at how much you didn’t know when you were 30 years younger. Smile and laugh a lot.
2. Know when to cling to your beliefs and know when to fold.
A little humility goes a long way.
3. Talk to strangers.
You can meet some really interesting and influential people in weird places. I know you’re busy. But when you just grab lunch and run back to your office, you miss a chance to be part of a community.
4. Say thank you when someone helps you.
And ask people what you can do to help them.
5. Take out those earbuds from time to time.
You may hear important stuff. In fact, unplug from everything on occasion. Siri really doesn’t know the answer to "What is the meaning of life?"
And, because I am a mom, I have to remind you to floss often and try to eat healthy and get enough sleep. In addition to good genes, doing these things is why I don’t really look 60.