Commencement Moments for Entrepreneurs

Most of us can’t remember sitting in rows of a packed auditorium, shoulder to shoulder with classmates, waiting to rise and advance to the stage to receive a diploma. For some of us graduation from high school or college seems like ions ago. Yet every spring as news of graduation speeches flash on television screens or shared on social media, we might be transported back in time to one of our biggest accomplishments.

Even if we graduated from an educational institution decades ago, we have experienced “commencement” often in our business life. We felt it when we filled out our legal paperwork to create our business, as we landed our first customer and when we expanded from a one woman operation to managing a staff. Graduating through the stages of being a business owner happens to us frequently throughout the year and lifetime of running a company.

What we tend to forget as we commence through successes and next stages is the exhilarating feeling of accomplishment as we leave what we learned behind in order to progress forward. We don’t have the opportunity to sit shoulder to shoulder with colleagues, hear inspirational speeches or receive a certificate to prove we have done well; we just move on. Think of the loss of recognition and excitement a student would miss if she didn’t stop to acknowledge her hard work, progression or advancement to the next level.

Today be inspired to think about the last time you were “advancing” in your business to a new stage and whether you acknowledged its importance. If you could write your own graduation speech to address to your “class” what lessons would you share or expectations would you present for the next phase in your life?