Lessons from 40 Years of Starting Companies

By Win Jeanfreau

In 1986 I started my first company, Pacific Rim Computers, building computers by hand for businesses around the Salt Lake Valley. Forty years later I'm still starting things. Today I'm President and CEO of EverForged, a wellness company with centers in Sandy and Cedar City, Utah.

In between, I've built companies in manufacturing, technology, financial services, and education. I founded Aperion Audio (originally Edge Audio) in 2000, selling speakers direct to consumers. I co-owned a Shred-it franchise in Oregon that set the growth and profitability record among 100 offices worldwide. I co-founded Kameleon International, a vending franchisor that operated across a 10-state region.

The industries changed. The lessons didn't. Here are the ones I'd hand to anyone starting a company today.

Lesson 1: Opportunity is cheap. Resources decide.

Every founder I've ever met has more ideas than money. The idea is rarely the limiting factor to growth. The real work is to identify the opportunity, then marshal the resources to chase it: capital, people, suppliers, and time.

Before you fall in love with an idea, write down what it will take to prove it. What does it cost? Who has to say yes? How long can you last before it pays? If you can't answer those questions, you don't have a business yet. You have a hobby with a business plan.

Lesson 2: Build the system before you need it

A franchise only works if the system works when the founder isn't in the room. That's true of every business, franchise or not. The companies that grow bigger, stronger, and faster are the ones that write down how the work gets done while they're still small enough to change it.

Document your sales process, your onboarding, and your month-end close now. It feels like overhead when you have five people. It's the only thing that saves you when you have fifty.

Lesson 3: Execution beats strategy

I'm a certified trainer in Franklin Covey's 4 Disciplines of Execution, and the core idea is simple. Most strategies don't fail because they're wrong. They fail because the urgent work of the day swallows them.

Pick the few goals that matter most. Find the leading measures you can actually move this week. Put them on a scoreboard everyone can see. Then meet on a regular rhythm and report on commitments. A good plan you execute beats a brilliant plan you don't.

Lesson 4: Make it pay its way

I've said it about green manufacturing and I'll say it about everything else: things happen in business when they make financial sense. That's not cynicism. It's discipline.

Every new product, hire, or tool should have a clear answer to the question "How does this pay for itself?" If it saves time, cuts cost, or brings in revenue, prove it with numbers. If it doesn't, keep your cash.

Lesson 5: Keep a checklist, even when you know the route

I'm a private pilot and a captain in the Civil Air Patrol. In aviation, nobody skips the checklist because they've flown the route before. That's exactly when mistakes happen.

Business is no different. The routine decisions, like payroll, renewals, and pricing updates, are where small errors compound into big problems. Build checklists for the work you do over and over, and run them every time.

Lesson 6: The next adventure is the most exciting one

After four decades, I still believe the best company is the next one. Every venture teaches you something you couldn't have learned any other way. If you're thinking about starting something, do the math, build the system, and execute. Then start.

What's the one lesson your first company taught you that you still use today?

About the author: Win Jeanfreau is a serial entrepreneur based in Utah.