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When I started my own business several years ago, my primary goal was to surpass the five-year mark. I’d heard time and again that the majority of small businesses don’t survive past that point, and I was determined to defy the odds.

Not only did I survive, but I gained some valuable insight into who I am as an individual and learned a number of life lessons I will carry in my mental arsenal for many years to come. Never in a million years would I have thought entrepreneurship could be so enriching!

In an effort to share the wisdom, here are some lessons I’ve learned as a small business owner about how to thrive in the real world:

1. Don’t Sweep Small Accomplishments Under the Rug

In the world of entrepreneurship, you don’t always reap the rewards of your efforts overnight. That’s all the more reason to savor small victories along the way.

Whether you’re looking for auto, home, or life insurance, you certainly don’t want to overpay. Unfortunately, policy prices are based on highly personal factors; what might be the cheapest insurance company for your friend or neighbor could be the most expensive for you. And you might find an awesome deal with a certain provider now, only to find your rates zoom up in a couple of years when you move, get a fancy new car, or face other changing circumstances.

Of course, you can still find cheap insurance quotes by shopping around. The easiest way to do that is by using an online quote tool for auto, home, or life insurance:

No computer is invincible, so learn to protect yourself from identity theft and cyber fraud. Photo: Remko van Dokkum

Imagine if complete strangers could look inside your head and see your every thought and know everything about you. Imagine if they could use that information any way they wanted to. What sort of damage could they do to your life?

Strangers can’t get into your head to root around for information to exploit, but they can get pretty close by gaining access to your personal information. The same “strangers’ we’re taught to fear as children have been hacking their way into personal computers for as long as there have been computers.

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to five word summaries. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. Contact from the IRS
2. Buy it for life: pocketknife
3. Merging accounts long after marriage
4. Amazon gift cards
5. Splitting up land
6. “Experience” gifts
7. Home security
8. Perfect gift that’s too expensive
9. Wood fireplace