The Engine's Still Running: 16 Years of Lessons from the Road of Entrepreneurship
16 years. Krile Communications is now old enough to drive, which got me thinking about how much running a strategic communications firm is like learning to get behind the wheel. In a community like ours, where your reputation rides shotgun everywhere you go, the lessons land a little differently.
So, with a full, grateful heart, here's what 16 years on the road has taught me:
1. The first years, you are white-knuckling it. Early on you grip everything too hard, check every mirror twice, and feel certain disaster is one wrong move away. Every decision feels enormous because you have no muscle memory yet. You think it's all on you. You don't understand the principle of making sure you have the right resources (cruise control, auto-steer, and, most of all, people) supporting you. But soon, you will…
2. You stall out, and it's embarrassing. A bad hire you don't see right away, not valuing your own worth, trying to be something you're not, avoiding the hard conversation because it is painful. It’s the equivalent of killing the engine at a green light with people honking behind you. You learn more from these moments than from the smooth stretches.
3. Eventually the mechanics go invisible. What once took all your concentration – invoicing, office maintenance, agendas, meeting notes - becomes something that happens in the “hum” of business. You're no longer thinking about the clutch; you're thinking about where you're going. There are others who keep the engine running. You are setting the course and ensuring the car stays on route. You are anticipating detours and re-routing around obstacles. And you are so grateful for the people who are ensuring the car keeps going. You couldn’t do it without them.
4. But you can never fully zone out. The moment you get complacent is the moment a deer jumps into the road. Sixteen years in, you still get surprised, and successful business owners stay alert precisely because they know that. I call it “the other shoe” – always waiting for it to drop. The moment I take my eye off of the road, the car veers left, and I spend days, weeks, or more course correcting. If you are always keeping your eyes peeled and you have your alerts set, you’ll know when you need to grab the wheel and take control before things spin out.
5. Everyone in the passenger seat has opinions. Family, clients, executive coaches, YouTube videos, Ted Talks, the latest best-selling business book, that friend who "ran a business once"…all of them telling you to brake, speed up, or take a different route. Part of the skill of running a business is knowing whose advice to actually take – and not continuously pursuing new roads just because it is the newest trend or entrepreneurial fascination.
6. Ignore the warning lights and you'll pay for it. That little check-engine glow…a client who hasn’t been responding, a key team member going quiet… something seems “off” but you cannot put your finger on it. It is cheap to address early. It’s so easy to just dismiss it. You tell yourself everything will be fine. But, it is brutal to ignore. Because that little light becomes a glaring problem that, once it becomes obvious, means you have to stop in your tracks and pay the price for ignoring the early signs.
7. Other drivers are unpredictable. Competitors, the economy, clients who change lanes without signaling. You can drive flawlessly and still have to react to someone else's last-minute, non-strategic decision. And, in my experience, because we are the communications experts, sometimes, we are on the receiving end of unclear communication – which leads to unintentional signals or lane changes that we aren’t prepared for.
8. The destination keeps moving. When you started you thought you were driving somewhere specific. Sixteen years later you realize the trip itself is the thing, and the map keeps redrawing. I thought I was going to have three clients and work part time…I had two babies at home and thought I would be content to just “hang out” with them. And then, I hired my intern as my first employee…and then another and another. And now we have 13 employees, two interns, dozens of clients and we are a full-fledged business. I blinked – and God said, “here you go,” and here we are.
9. Sometimes you just need to let Jesus take the wheel. Letting go of control is probably not easy for you, but sometimes you have to let go and stop trying to steer in a direction that you’re not meant to go. I have had moments where I have literally had to say “I don’t know where you want me to go, so please lead me and guide me.” And He has always done just that.
Early on it's all terror and concentration, and the real arrival isn't "mastery" so much as a calm comfort with the fact that you never stop paying attention… keeping your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road. You avoid skidding into the ditch. You swerve to miss the squirrel. You slow down in the school zones and, sometimes, you take a detour because, while it isn’t profitable, it’s beautiful and meaningful and fills your cup.
But here's the part I'm most grateful for: you don't drive these roads alone. This community has been the road, the map, and so many of the hands that kept me steady when I stalled. We thrive because you trust us with your stories, your communication and your strategies… and there is no greater privilege than leaving it better along the way.
Sixteen years of plenty of road behind us…and thanks to all of you, the engine's still running. Here's to the miles ahead.