Just Graduated - looking for direction and advice

[BThomps]

Hello YE,

I graduated in May, studied economics and a little bit of business.

My dad owns a small company about 6-7 ppl, I have been working there for 3 months now. He tells me he is grooming me to take over in the near future, maybe 2-5 years. He lets me make a lot of decisions on my own for how to handle things and keeps me involved in a little bit of everything, much like how a CEO would work. For example, I started out as customer service, after 2 months of that, he hired a different person to take over customer service (we're small so 1 or 2 ppl in customer service is plenty), he laid all the training and managing this new employee onto me, and let me change anything about customer service that I wanted to (I would always check w/ him before I did anything just to make sure).

We have a new line of product coming out and are debuting it at a trade show in the near future. At this trade show, it will only be myself, my dad, and 1 or 2 employees meeting hundreds upon hundreds of potential and current clients. I will be interacting w/ ppl 10-20 years older than me and am a little worried. I want to be on top of my game bc I know it'll look bad if I'm not, esp. since I'm the owner's son and a common question is if I'm next in line to take over.

Again, I have only done customer service which is over the phone or through e-mail and generally with individual people. I have almost no face to face experience with "big" clients, that represent other companies.

Does anyone have any good suggested reading material, ways to practice, or any advice at all that could help me make sure I'm on top of my game?

Would really appreciate it as my dad's company is a pretty big deal to me and definitely something I want to be "good" at.

[Gaulkin]

All you have done is read, you cant learn trade skills in a book. Concentrate on learning the business, finding ways to improve productivity and how you can expand later down the line.

[guylogan]

You can always learn from books, there are some really good one's out there. I would start off by reading Dale Carnegie 'how to win friends and influence people', it's old but so relevant to everything in life!

[jkhustle]

BThomps-

Sounds like you're in a very favorable position. Many would dream to have a similar situation after college.

I would tell you, books can always help; however, the experience alone will take you further. I will recommend one classic book that I think will help you plenty. It's very basic, easy to understand and comes with a common sense approach.

The book is: "How to Win Friends and Influence People". This books was written in the 50's I believe by Dale Carnegie, which has translated into one of the larges training institutes in the U.S. You can purchase the books for a few books on amazon.

I'm 7 years out of college, and have found my way in corporate America and via entrepreneurialship and I'm no longer a fan of self help books. I guess once you read enough, the message begins to all sound alike, making you feel as though you've not only wasted your money, but your time. But for you, at such a tender spot in your career, any think you read can be of great benefit to you.

I suggest that you look beyond the basic business self help-type books and start to look into books on strategy and psychology. When my focus turned to these topics, my game grew tenfold.

One more bit of advice. Try to not get caught up in the fears of your inexperience. Prepare yourself, and go for it. If you're going to fail at something, fail as quickly as possible so you can recover and achieve your goal as quick as possible.

I wish you the best of luck and if I can ever be of assistance, I 'got your back'.

[BThomps]

Thanks for the reply guys.

Will def pick up that book "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and look forward to gaining much needed experience from my first trade show. I have read 2 of the self-help business books such as "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and about 3/4 the way through "Know What Makes them Tick".

Any suggestions for the books on strategy and psychology?

[generationy]

Hey! Always nice to see another passionate and ambitious young mind! Good for you!

Like the individuals above, I would agree that Dale Carnegie is one of the best authors to provide some excellent advice. I would also suggest perhaps reading a few books on negotiations, marketing and dealing with people in general by Donald Trump. Another excellent book to read on entrepreneurship in general is the newest book by Ryan Blair, "Nothing to Lose". He has risen from some of the worst conditions imaginable and built 6+ successful multi million $ companies.

Although I am a huge fan of books, it always crucial to actually have a mindset for networking and meeting others outside of your "comfort" zone. That means reaching out to successful business people, entrepreneurs, professors in fields of interest etc. to learn from them and their experiences. Networking and reaching out is a trait of every successful entrepreneur who knows the value of people and relationships. Give it a try. Don't you dare be afraid! After all, entrepreneurs take some of the biggest risks known to man! They are the risk-takers. Are you?

Check out the resources section of youngentrepreneur.com as well for more suggestions. Wish you the very best on your journey!

Good luck!

[BThomps]

Thanks again for the advice and encouragement. Looking forward to reading a few of those books that were mentioned!

[RealProfitStrategies]

Knowldedge and passion can get you a long way. My advice would be to learn as much as you can about the industry. If these are people that have been in the industry for a long time, then they're probably knowledgeable and passionate about it, so if you display those same traits, they'll respect you and it'll help you relate to each other. It's like if you meet somebody and find out they love the same band you love and they have all their stuff, have seen them live a bunch of times, etc. You automatically have something in common. If anything the fact that you're much younger than them and you already know the business well and you're passionate about it might wow them even more, like "Wow, I wish I knew as much as this guy did when I was just out of college."

[guidemesingapore]

I say follow your dad around and learn everything. Learn from his experience. Don't be shy to learn from the employees as well. They have more experience than you right now and there is nothing wrong in letting them help you out. You can read all you want but actual work experience is the most important thing.

[BThomps]

picked up "how to win friends and influence people" a few days ago. Pretty enjoyable read. Definitely see how applying some of his techniques will help. Thanks again!

[nelsonnebraska]

Instead of reading books it will better to learn from someone who is experienced in this field, you can follow your dad and can learn something. Even if possible you can learn from one of your employee too.