On February 13th Jon Novak, CEO of Boomerang Transportation, had the opportunity to speak at The Tampa Club’s B2B: Breakfast to Business Speaker Series. Novak’s presentation focused on mistakes he has made throughout his entrepreneurial journey and what he learned from each of them. Novak believes that learning from your mistakes is one of the best ways to excel professionally and personally, but that learning from the mistakes of others is true wisdom. His candor on the tough times that most entrepreneurs face left the audience with key takeaways on the Dos and Don’ts of business and how to be successful in the long-term including:
Mistake #1: Failure to Improve/Innovate
- Learn from previous employer.
- What values do they have that I do/don’t want to use?
- Don’t reinvent the wheel, make it better instead.
- Where can you build upon a proven business model?
Mistake #2: Not Being Present
- Easy to take your “foot off the gas” after working hard and achieving success
- If you are not present, you cannot identify gaps
- If you cannot identify gaps, you cannot improve
- Leadership matters
Mistake #3: Getting Angry
- “Whoever gets angry first, loses.”
- You can be factually correct, but getting emotional can cause you to lose an argument out of poor behavior/communication.
- Never write business correspondence when angry.
Identifying mistakes and learning from them helps people in every aspect of their lives. As Novak continues to learn from his mistakes and those of others, he also celebrates his successes including achieving fast growth and being represented in Inc 5000 (x4), TBBJ Fast 50 (x5), and TBBJ Top 200 Largest Private Companies, building a respected brand by focusing on building trusted leadership and continuously improving, and watching as his team grows with the company.
To learn more about Boomerang Transportation and their successes, visit here.
