If you want to start a successful business, you have to be OK with failure — and let go of your ego.
For Jenny Nguyen, that meant facing the possibility of moving into her parents' basement. But she decided to take a risk on opening The Sports Bra in Portland, Oregon, a successful, first-of-its-kind sports bar where only women athletes appear on the TVs.
In taking that step, she decided "that the worst that could happen wouldn't be that bad if I just gave it my best shot," she told CNBC's Kristina Partsinevelos during the CNBC Make It: Your Money virtual event on Oct. 17.
The hour-long event featured successful entrepreneurs and investors who offered actionable advice about how to level up your career and start your own business.
"People tend to overestimate how bad things are going to be," added Matt Higgins, a self-made millionaire, "Shark Tank" guest judge and co-founder of RSE Ventures.
When teaching at Harvard Business School, Higgins asks entrepreneurs to offer advice they would tell the 25-year-old version of themselves. "They almost always say the same thing: Trust your ability to just figure it out," he said.
"When I decided to open The Sports Bra, it was very clear that I knew probably 1% of everything I needed to know," said Nguyen.
That awareness actually made it a lot easier to ask for help.
"The best advice I got was to take whatever question you have and find a person who knows as much as possible about that area, and ask them every question under the sun until you understand it," said Nguyen.
She also credits her success to overcoming a sense of imposter syndrome while she figured out the business.
"There's so many decisions I've made that have just been instinctual. To be able to say, 'Ooh, I can trust my instincts' — that's a huge confidence builder," she said.
"To be successful, you have to carry a little bit of defiance," said Higgins. But you also have to put your business ahead of your ego, and learn from your mistakes, he added.
How to nail a job interview
For many people, leveling up in their careers means securing a new — and better — job. If you want to nail a job interview, the impression you make starts with how you look, according to Erin McGoff, a career educator and influencer with more than 2.7 million followers on TikTok.
"Looking your best is really important in a job interview," she told CNBC Make It's Ashton Jackson. "There's something called the halo effect … if you look good, if you look put together, it actually communicates to the interviewer subconsciously that you are put together."
From there, you want to make it clear that you've done your homework and are familiar with the company. "The recruiter can know within the first five seconds of the interview if you have done your research or not," McGoff said.
Before every interview, look up any recent news about the company to get a picture of where it currently stands. Was it recently acquired? Did it just go through layoffs? "Don't just think about your role at that company, but think about the company ecosystem as a whole."
Throughout the interview process, consider the company's perspective. During your first interview, recruiters are "listening for keywords," McGoff said. A recruiter or HR representative probably isn't familiar with all of the intricacies of the role.
"You need to repeat that job description back to them," while showing how it aligns with your skills.
In a subsequent interview with someone like a department head who has specific knowledge of the role you're applying for, "that's when you're going to want to speak more industry-talk with them and get more specific," McGoff said.
And don't forget to send a follow-up email after the interview. "It's crucial," McGoff said. "It lets you end on a positive note" and "communicates your professional etiquette."
How to get your finances organized
Whether you're working for yourself or somebody else, you want to get your money in order. Your first instinct may be to make a budget, but you can't budget properly without identifying and prioritizing your financial goals, Douglas Boneparth, founder and president of Bone Fide Wealth and co-author of "The Millennial Money Fix," told CNBC's Frank Holland.
Start with your goals. Do you want to pay off your student debt? Save up for a house? Build up a cash reserve?
Next, quantify those goals by time and value: "When do you want to achieve that goal? And how much is that goal going to cost you?" Boneparth said.
The last, and "most important" step is to prioritize those goals, Boneparth said. That means deciding "where is the first and last dollar of available savings going go to." If you have multiple goals, how are you going to split up your savings across those goals?
Once you fully understand what your goals are, you can go back to determining a budget and mastering your cash flow.
And whatever your goals are, Boneparth strongly recommends building up an emergency cash reserve that's able to cover three to six — or even nine — months worth of your expenses before starting to invest.
"I'm a big fan of having stability and being able to withstand volatility," he said. "Life never moves in a straight line. There's always ups and downs."
Another priority before you start investing: Paying down any high interest credit card debt. The average credit card interest rate is currently over 20%, well above the 6% to 8% return you can typically expect on investments.
"Get rid of the credit card debt and never let that happen again," Boneparth said.
Boneparth admits that his advice to prioritize building an emergency fund and paying down credit card debt over investing may go "against conventional wisdom." But by doing this, you set yourself up to be financially stable and avoid needing to dip back into your investments when you run into financial trouble.
Yes, you might miss a year or two of compounding interest on investments. But that will be a short-term term sacrifice for the benefit of stability, "so you don't need to touch investments later on," he said. "It's worth it."
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Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to ABC's "Shark Tank."
