Access to capital is often the #1 hurdle for small businesses. The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) has pulled together a practical set of resources to help entrepreneurs explore funding options —
from grants and loans to creative financing strategies. If you’re looking for ways to fuel growth or strengthen your cash flow, this article offers timely guidance and links to helpful tools.
6 Hard-Earned Lessons Entrepreneurs Wish They Knew Before Starting Up
Starting a business is equal parts exhilarating and daunting. The leap comes with uncertainty, risk and a steep learning curve that no guidebook fully prepares you for. Six founders recently featured in ICSC’s Small Business Center share the lessons they learned the hard way — from misjudging the market to underestimating timelines — that they wish they’d known at the start.
Test the Market Before You Launch
Kendra Scott, founder Kendra Scott LLC, who shared her journey as a keynote speaker at ICSC LAS VEGAS 2025
“I started my first business at 19. I actually took a temporary leave from college to open a small hat store in Austin, Texas. I started it really for my stepfather, who was diagnosed with brain cancer. I wanted to create headwear that was both comfortable and stylish for people experiencing hair loss.
The destiny is that my business did not work out. Turns out, most people just don’t wear hats. I ran that shop seven days a week, open to close, for five years — barely making enough to get by, selling maybe a hat or two a day. I couldn’t afford help. [I] ended up selling maybe a hat or two a day on a good day.
After five years, I had to close the business. It was devastating. I had started it for my stepfather and by that point I had lost him to brain cancer. I didn’t have a college degree. I had poured everything into that business — my time, my money and my heart.
But I remembered my stepfather’s words: ‘Honey, I want you to use the gifts you were given to do something good in this world.’ He always told me that every hard thing in life has a purpose. You just have to stay open to what comes next.
What came ahead was that I had also sold [some handmade] jewelry in the hat store. After I closed it, customers would call, not for hats, but for the jewelry.”
That side hustle became the start Scotts eponymous jewelry brand, which launched in 2002 and is now a billion-dollar company.
MORE FROM SCOTT: How Kendra Scott Turned Her Side Hustle Into a Billion-Dollar Brand
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