The team asked me to reflect on the 6 biggest lessons I’ve learnt in the six years since starting Unknown Group.
Early on, especially starting a business in the middle of the pandemic and working closely with other businesses, I found myself taking on a lot of stress and pressure from clients. You feel responsible for everything. Their problems start to feel like your problems.
But the reality is, you can’t fix everything.
That was a big shift for me. Learning not to take things personally and starting to make more calculated decisions instead of emotional ones. When you’re too close to something, it’s easy to react instead of think. Taking a step back and removing emotion from decision making is something I’ve had to learn over time.
Working in a creative space, you’re always going to come up against differences in opinion. Not everyone is going to align with how you think, what you create, or how you approach things.
At the start, you try to make everything work. You try to keep everyone happy. But over time you realise that creative alignment actually matters more than trying to please everyone.
We’re not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s completely fine. The right people will align, and the work is always better when they do.
Most of what I’ve learnt over the last six years has come from mistakes.
You make decisions: some work, some don’t. But the biggest thing is learning from them. You can’t change what’s already happened, but you can take accountability and learn from it.
The more comfortable you get with making mistakes, the more you actually grow. If you’re constantly trying to avoid failure, you’re probably holding yourself back from learning anything meaningful.
Something my dad said to me has always stuck. If you get to where you are and can’t be proud of how you got there, then there’s no point in getting there at all.
That’s shaped how I approach business.
There are always opportunities to cut corners or take advantage of situations, but that’s never been how I’ve wanted to do things. These opportunities often can speed the process up in the goals you’re chasing, but I would rather get there at my own pace and be proud of the journey.
It’s very easy, especially in a fast-paced environment, to drift away from your values without even realising it.
There’s pressure, there’s growth, there’s different opportunities coming at you, and it’s easy to get pulled in different directions. But the more I’ve gone through it, the more I’ve realised how important it is to stay grounded in what you actually believe in.
The people you surround yourself with play a big part in that as well. You really do become a reflection of the people around you, so being around people who push you to be better makes a huge difference.
That’s shaped how I approach business.
There are always opportunities to cut corners or take advantage of situations, but that’s never been how I’ve wanted to do things. These opportunities often can speed the process up in the goals you’re chasing, but I would rather get there at my own pace and be proud of the journey.
This is something I’ve really developed over the years. A younger and less confident me would have been scared to share information at the fear of losing value.
I am now comfortable and understand the value in sharing information and lessons.
If you’ve got knowledge or something valuable to share, there’s no point holding onto it. Educate people, help people, say what you’ve got to say.
There’s enough room for everyone to do well. Sharing what you know and helping others doesn’t take away from what you’re building.
280-282 Crown Street
Wollongong, NSW Australia