What Type Of Person Thrives In Entrepreneurship According To A Founder And CEO At Mustard And Moxie
Anna, Founder & CEO at Mustard & Moxie, identifies a key trait for entrepreneurial success as the willingness to embrace mistakes, stating, "I genuinely appreciate...the process of making those mistakes, is that they're mine," using these learning opportunities to improve their company and themselves. This contrasts sharply with corporate environments where admitting mistakes can be hindered by politics and fear, highlighting a crucial difference between corporate and entrepreneurial career paths.
Entrepreneurship, Resilience, Mistakes as Learning Opportunities, Leadership, Honest Self-Assessment
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Anna Boudinot
Founder & CEO
Mustard & Moxie
New York University, 2000
UCLA Anderson MBA
Film, Media Arts, Visual Arts
Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking, Advertising, Communications & Marketing
Entrepreneurship and Business Owner
Scholarship Recipient, LGBTQ
Video Highlights
1. Entrepreneurs thrive on learning from mistakes and creating a safe environment to admit fault.
2. Anna's experience in corporate settings showed her that admitting mistakes can be stressful due to politics and the need to protect oneself. This contrasts with her current entrepreneurial approach where mistakes are viewed as learning opportunities.
3. The ability to say 'I was wrong' is a crucial skill that translates beyond business and contributes to personal growth and development, according to Anna's experience.
Transcript
How would you describe people who typically thrive in your industry?
People who thrive as entrepreneurs and business owners are not afraid of making mistakes. They are willing to admit to their errors, learn from them, and seek help from others.
As a business owner, I've made many mistakes, some more significant than others. I've dwelled on some longer than others, but what I genuinely appreciate about the process is that they are mine. These mistakes impact my company, its future, my clients, and my employees.
This presents an endless learning opportunity. When I worked in the corporate world, or even as a waitress, mistakes often angered customers, bosses, or managers. They impacted other employees and involved politics.
Sometimes, it was in my best interest to hide my mistakes and try to fix them secretly before anyone noticed. That was a very stressful process and not conducive to learning.
Being able to say, "Hey, I was wrong," or "You were right about that," or "I should have gone in this direction instead," has helped me as a human being in other areas of my life. Admitting you're wrong isn't as scary as you think, especially in a safe environment where you're ready to learn.