10 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Took My Company Public

The knowledge of becoming a public company is greatly misunderstood in many markets.

My background working in healthcare and being an advanced specialist in critical care medicine gave me great strengths in accessing situations, strategies and outcomes, but it did not give me the skills I needed to lead a public company. Those skills had to be learned, and they had to be learned quickly.

When you hear the term “public company,” through the eyes of an American businessperson, it typically makes you think of the success of NASDAQ companies. If you take your company public, you expect to be with the greatest minds — the ones with stoic determinacy, business skills and versatile leadership, willing to take on the world. Yes! That is a position I absolutely wanted to be in! Passionately knowing I have the solution to address the mental health crisis, I ignorantly said, “Yes, let’s go,” when asked if I wanted to take my small medical clinic to an international securities exchange.

That’s when I began being introduced to a specialty I knew nothing about, and my sole trust on professionals and experts “being the best” became sorely viewed as I saw the intention to truly make change didn’t exist. Given my company’s mission — to change the world one life at a time — I expected those interested in helping me take my company public would be authentic, and would want to help literally save people from the mental health crisis we’re experiencing now. But unfortunately, not everyone has good intentions; some have succumbed to greed due to worship of the dollar.

Related: 5 Tips for Deciding Whether to Go Public or Stay Private

Short-sighted visions, self-importance, egos and the need for power take over. The distaste, disgust and honestly, laughability of watching men pitch fits because of their need to try to control what I created and their yearning desire to control me has been a sight to see. The pushback and failed attempts of hostile takeovers “because of a girl” have only built my spirit to push harder.

The feeling I once had of being an imposter in this role quickly dissolved when I realized I had no other choice if I wanted to save the company I created and what many unknowingly (and knowingly) tried to destroy.

These are the lessons I have learned from this venture:

1. If you have zero public company experience and a team seeks you out to be the CEO, be very wary. Can you do it? Yes. Should you? Probably not. If you choose to, be ready to stand your ground and fight for every person who believes in your vision. The investors, the staff, the clients… everyone. Do not let anyone try to strong-arm you by forcing you to act only for their best interest, because their personal interests are not your responsibility.
2. Evaluate trust accordingly. When everyone tells me, “trust no one,” that is a life I don’t want to live. I want to be willing to trust and expect that I can, though I have changed my views in business to look at everyone with their own personal mission, vision and values. At one time, I looked at everyone as a member on my team that would help the team succeed. I have now learned that those team spots have to be earned, and are only earned over time.
3. Expect that everyone is in it for themselves — but when they prove to you they are in it for the mission of the venture, respect it and be grateful.
4. People will try to destroy you — don’t let them. Make the effort to continually learn about yourself. Know you are not perfect and that you will make mistakes. Make an effort to improve your emotional, physical, mental and spiritual health.
5. Have the strength to look within. When someone accuses you of something that you know isn’t true, have the ability to reflect and ask yourself: How did that person get the impression to interpret the situation as they did? Just because they may be wrong, doesn’t mean you can’t have empathy for their different perspective.
6. Learn to communicate. Even if you think you are an excellent communicator, learn to communicate better. This does not necessarily mean communicating more. This means to communicate more effectively. Respect your time,the time of others and the power of communication.
7. Do not avoid investors. Many entrepreneurs see investors as a threat. Put your mindset in a position of learning. When you are wrong or are ignorant on a subject, learn from it and change it. Keep improving yourself.
8. Do not quit. Through the anger, the fear, the sadness, the numbness — do not quit. Your mission is bigger than you. Expect all of the emotions and build from them.
9. Learn the term “commitment.” When you commit to a company, they tell you that you have to be married to the company for a minimum of five years to make it succeed. Commitment means you prioritize the company over everything. This is a statement that should not be taken lightly. If you don’t commit, you will fail.
10. Learn to rebalance. I personally measure goals with the company in sprints, strength and marathons. If you don’t find a way to categorize and rebalance, you will fail, because one of your personal pillars will fail. Burnout, motivation, discipline, mental health — each of these items should be greatly respected, and when you start noticing one creeping up, rebalance; find yourself, again and again and again.

Related: Your IPO Could Fail If You Don’t Follow These Communication Strategies

Keeping these insights close to your heart will help you to have some sense of what “normal” is because until you see it, do it, teach it — you won’t know what “normal” entails.

Find a mentor, have a pack and build an environment around you of your protectors — people who not only believe in you, but people who believe in your mission. It’s a type of sacrificing love that you will need in order to complete what you set out to do.

Learn how to love and respect your mind, your heart and your discipline, and don’t let anyone break you.