Be Considerate in Communication We communicate in business for our audience to understand and digest what we are saying, where we are going, and what we are doing. This doesn’t necessarily mean proving how smart you are, rather showing how professionally transparent you are. Considerate communication builds trust. [caption id="attachment_229518" align="alignright" width="283"] HX Innovations Co-founder Nicole Homer[/caption] Take time to build trust Good business happens between good people. Being a good person is a character trait that has little to do with pedigree or privilege. Take your time to get to know and build trust with the people you are interested in doing business with, then get it in writing. Business partnerships are easy to get into but an expensive headache to get out of.  Read and keep reading. Never hesitate to pick up a book. There are several exceptional libraries in the State of Delaware. Read. Find new prose, ideas, economies, and people - including topics you are not already familiar with. Exposure encourages innovative thought and strategy.  Figure out what you do not want to do. Determine what you don’t want to become in business. As negotiations have a bottom line and deal breaker, so should you. While considering what you will do, consider also what you won’t do. Allow failure to be an experience. Business is as predictable as it is unpredictable.  Failure and disappointment are experiences I consciously choose to learn from. Choosing optimism helps to avoid feeding fear, isolation, and becoming a bitter cynic. Fear, isolation, and cynicism could limit one’s ability to assume the risks and collaborations needed to grow and advance a business, project, or idea.  Embrace and learn from your legacy. The ability to embrace and learn from my legacy took me a while to absorb, own, and implement. Once I decided to look at myself, my family, and my legacy with eyes not covered by negativities I have been directly or indirectly taught, I became empowered, confident, and driven - all things one needs in becoming a business professional.  Stand tall, not down. Many people from certain socioeconomic classes are taught to shrink down, to speak less, to lead from the back. Some are content in this. Others have an inner pioneer that stirs within contenting this mentality. If you have visions of developing viable organizations, strong teams, and economically stable communities; break through the noise and take advantage of every opportunity to implement the plan for your vision. Dare to be excellent. Take care of your people. If someone helps or supports you in any way, at a minimum give thanks. We had a phenomenal consultant MJ Dean who walked around with blank thank you cards. Thoughtfulness goes a long way.  Following the pack will have you stuck. In most cases, I choose not to follow the pack. One gains a better perspective when taken out of a familiar environment. Change is good and healthy.  Try not to cut off your nose. ‘Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face,’ meaning offense turned into anger leading to self-destructive decisions. Being a business leader holds challenges that test your core.  To keep perspective and focus on where I am going and what I need to do to get there, I have had to let several offenses roll off my shoulders. Pride, ego, and stubbornness can blind perspective and lead to poor decisions.  Nicole Homer is a co-founder of HX Innovations.