- PPF Points
- 2,100
Alright, scrap the “ultimate guide” voice—let’s talk real about what you actually need to figure out before 30 if you wanna survive (and, you know, maybe even thrive) in business. Forget the cliches, forget the fancy transitions. Here’s the grit.
---
# No-BS Business Lessons You’d Better Learn Before 30, Or Be Stuck Googling “How to Get Rich Quick” Forever
So, 30’s looming? Or maybe it just showed up, uninvited, with a bald spot and some student debt. Whatever. The reality is: the earlier you get your head around some harsh business truths, the less likely you’ll end up in corporate purgatory praying for the weekend—or worse, sliding into midlife dreading Monday like it’s jury duty.
This isn’t some LinkedIn thread about “Crushing It.” You won’t find “synergy” or “leverage your paradigms” here. This is the stuff they don’t put in Business for Dummies.
Let’s go—here are 15 lessons that’ll slap you awake before you accidentally boomer your whole twenties.
---
### 1. Your Time Is More Valuable Than Jeff Bezos’s Yacht
Look, cash is cool and all, but the one thing you cannot recover is those mindless hours scrolling TikTok or drafting the world’s 84th “I hope this finds you well” email. You can always make more money, but you ain’t getting those 8 PMs back.
Honestly? Guard your time like someone’s coming to steal your sneakers.
---
### 2. Stop Waiting for the “Right Time.” Spoiler: There Isn’t One.
Perfection is the comfort food of procrastinators. Nobody actually knows what they’re doing at first. Everyone’s winging it, especially all those people who look scarily legit.
Messy starts are better than staying frozen. Cringy first YouTube video? Do it. Embarrassingly basic website? Ship it. You get smoother by showing up, not by overthinking it on your Notes app.
---
### 3. Selling = Surviving
This one stings: Even if you think sales is sleazy, being able to sell yourself, your idea, your whatever—is pretty much non-negotiable.
It’s not about tricking people. It’s about showing them what’s in it for them. And yeah, selling is job interviews too. It’s that DM asking for a collab. It’s even your Tinder bio (don’t screw that one up, please).
---
### 4. Nobody Cares About Your Degree Past The First Job
Degrees are passports, not skillsets. Want to stand out? Get stupidly good at something people pay for (copywriting, coding, design, whatever makes money—not just sounds fancy at dinner).
The job market is learning: Show, don’t tell.
---
### 5. Your Personal Brand = Your New Resume
By now, your IG and LinkedIn page matter more than that generic resume PDF. Seriously. People snoop, and what they find might be the difference between “let’s connect” and “pass.”
Don’t just post motivational platitudes. Actually document your work. Show your awkward process, your weird experiments, your wins and your fails. People dig authenticity, promise.
---
### 6. Your Boss Can Decide Your Fate—Unless You Diversify Your Cash
One job. One income stream. You’re basically a tightrope walker with no net.
Side hustles aren’t just for wannabe influencers in Bali. You need options: freelance gigs, mini e-com stores, even flipping sneakers. Just… something.
---
### 7. Rejection? If You’re Not Getting Enough Of It, You’re Playing Small
Everyone you look up to got shut down way more than you realize. Seriously.
Take the L, learn, and swing again. Or, as Taylor Swift would put it: Shake it off.
---
### 8. Who You Know > What You Know (Sometimes)
You can have the skills of a Silicon Valley prodigy, but if you don’t know people, the doors stay shut. Facts.
Network doesn’t mean schmoozing or slimy LinkedIn spam. Just DM someone you genuinely respect. Offer actual value. Or just say, “Hey, your work’s awesome—let’s grab coffee.”
---
### 9. Save Your Wins—You’ll Forget How Far You’ve Come
Imposter syndrome, that jerk, hits everyone. The trick? Keep a folder of every kind word, testimonial, comment, successful thing—big or tiny.
On crap days, open that folder and remember: hey, you don’t totally suck.
---
### 10. You Don’t Need a Boss, Board, or Bank’s Permission Anymore
20 years ago, you needed gatekeepers just to start. Not anymore. The internet is the wild west of opportunity and cringe-y side projects.
Don’t talk yourself out of it. Nobody even cares if you flop. Most eyes are too glued to their own dramas.
---
### 11. Most “Advice” Is Just Projection
Hot take: A lot of grownups are projecting their own hangups on you. Not every suit in the room has a clue.
Take advice, sure. But filter it like you’d filter a weird strawberry chunk out of your smoothie. Only keep what fits YOUR risk tolerance and vibe—not theirs.
---
(Don’t worry, there’s more, but let’s keep this from turning into an audiobook.)
---
TLDR: Your 20s can be a hot mess, but if you grab even half of these ideas, you’ll be miles ahead of your frantic “Find Your Passion” classmates who spent eight years optimizing their LinkedIn headlines.
At the end of the day, 30 isn’t some mystical finish line. But trust me: learning this stuff early means you’ll show up to the next stage with confidence, a little swagger, and, hopefully, enough cash to buy your own fancy birthday cake. Or, you know, just stop eating ramen every day.
Go get it.
---
# No-BS Business Lessons You’d Better Learn Before 30, Or Be Stuck Googling “How to Get Rich Quick” Forever
So, 30’s looming? Or maybe it just showed up, uninvited, with a bald spot and some student debt. Whatever. The reality is: the earlier you get your head around some harsh business truths, the less likely you’ll end up in corporate purgatory praying for the weekend—or worse, sliding into midlife dreading Monday like it’s jury duty.
This isn’t some LinkedIn thread about “Crushing It.” You won’t find “synergy” or “leverage your paradigms” here. This is the stuff they don’t put in Business for Dummies.
Let’s go—here are 15 lessons that’ll slap you awake before you accidentally boomer your whole twenties.
---
### 1. Your Time Is More Valuable Than Jeff Bezos’s Yacht
Look, cash is cool and all, but the one thing you cannot recover is those mindless hours scrolling TikTok or drafting the world’s 84th “I hope this finds you well” email. You can always make more money, but you ain’t getting those 8 PMs back.
Honestly? Guard your time like someone’s coming to steal your sneakers.
---
### 2. Stop Waiting for the “Right Time.” Spoiler: There Isn’t One.
Perfection is the comfort food of procrastinators. Nobody actually knows what they’re doing at first. Everyone’s winging it, especially all those people who look scarily legit.
Messy starts are better than staying frozen. Cringy first YouTube video? Do it. Embarrassingly basic website? Ship it. You get smoother by showing up, not by overthinking it on your Notes app.
---
### 3. Selling = Surviving
This one stings: Even if you think sales is sleazy, being able to sell yourself, your idea, your whatever—is pretty much non-negotiable.
It’s not about tricking people. It’s about showing them what’s in it for them. And yeah, selling is job interviews too. It’s that DM asking for a collab. It’s even your Tinder bio (don’t screw that one up, please).
---
### 4. Nobody Cares About Your Degree Past The First Job
Degrees are passports, not skillsets. Want to stand out? Get stupidly good at something people pay for (copywriting, coding, design, whatever makes money—not just sounds fancy at dinner).
The job market is learning: Show, don’t tell.
---
### 5. Your Personal Brand = Your New Resume
By now, your IG and LinkedIn page matter more than that generic resume PDF. Seriously. People snoop, and what they find might be the difference between “let’s connect” and “pass.”
Don’t just post motivational platitudes. Actually document your work. Show your awkward process, your weird experiments, your wins and your fails. People dig authenticity, promise.
---
### 6. Your Boss Can Decide Your Fate—Unless You Diversify Your Cash
One job. One income stream. You’re basically a tightrope walker with no net.
Side hustles aren’t just for wannabe influencers in Bali. You need options: freelance gigs, mini e-com stores, even flipping sneakers. Just… something.
---
### 7. Rejection? If You’re Not Getting Enough Of It, You’re Playing Small
Everyone you look up to got shut down way more than you realize. Seriously.
Take the L, learn, and swing again. Or, as Taylor Swift would put it: Shake it off.
---
### 8. Who You Know > What You Know (Sometimes)
You can have the skills of a Silicon Valley prodigy, but if you don’t know people, the doors stay shut. Facts.
Network doesn’t mean schmoozing or slimy LinkedIn spam. Just DM someone you genuinely respect. Offer actual value. Or just say, “Hey, your work’s awesome—let’s grab coffee.”
---
### 9. Save Your Wins—You’ll Forget How Far You’ve Come
Imposter syndrome, that jerk, hits everyone. The trick? Keep a folder of every kind word, testimonial, comment, successful thing—big or tiny.
On crap days, open that folder and remember: hey, you don’t totally suck.
---
### 10. You Don’t Need a Boss, Board, or Bank’s Permission Anymore
20 years ago, you needed gatekeepers just to start. Not anymore. The internet is the wild west of opportunity and cringe-y side projects.
Don’t talk yourself out of it. Nobody even cares if you flop. Most eyes are too glued to their own dramas.
---
### 11. Most “Advice” Is Just Projection
Hot take: A lot of grownups are projecting their own hangups on you. Not every suit in the room has a clue.
Take advice, sure. But filter it like you’d filter a weird strawberry chunk out of your smoothie. Only keep what fits YOUR risk tolerance and vibe—not theirs.
---
(Don’t worry, there’s more, but let’s keep this from turning into an audiobook.)
---
TLDR: Your 20s can be a hot mess, but if you grab even half of these ideas, you’ll be miles ahead of your frantic “Find Your Passion” classmates who spent eight years optimizing their LinkedIn headlines.
At the end of the day, 30 isn’t some mystical finish line. But trust me: learning this stuff early means you’ll show up to the next stage with confidence, a little swagger, and, hopefully, enough cash to buy your own fancy birthday cake. Or, you know, just stop eating ramen every day.
Go get it.
