One advice from successful entrepreneurs on here

[enjay]

To those who are experienced entrepreneurs/business owners on this forum:
if you were to give one advice to an aspiring entrepreneur what would it be?
Thanks :)

[Fulcrum]

Never give up, but know when to cut your losses and run from a bad move.

[lacarrye]

Never give up.

[Dan Furman]

DO.

Tons of people dream. Tons of people have ideas. Tons of people are "gonna". Tons of people talk. And tons of people quote mindless motivational crap.

Not many actually *do*.

[nealrm]

Over estimate your costs and time, under estimate your income.

Improve your business some every single day.

Learn the difference between procrastination and planning.

Live within your means. If you want more, work harder/better until you can afford more.

[thewebwriter]

Don't BS. If you don't know it, learn it or outsource it, but don't BS it.

[Zap Labeler]

I think Dan hit the nail on the head. Don't get bogged down by minutiae. The details are important, dont get me wrong, but people tend to get lost in the weeds and not 'Do'.

Dave

[Tal210]

You better be passionate about what you are doing. It does sound clichéd but it really does make a difference.

[Harold Mansfield]

Don't assume you know things and fly off hap hazzardly basing everything on what you think is common sense.
A lot of things in business and marketing defy common sense, and have specific reasonings why they work and don't work.

My advice, never stop reading and never stop learning.

[billbenson]

Don't assume you know things and fly off hap hazzardly basing everything on what you think is common sense.
A lot of things in business and marketing defy common sense, and have specific reasonings why they work and don't work.

My advice, never stop reading and never stop learning.

Is Bush still president?

[Dan Furman]

You better be passionate about what you are doing. It does sound clichéd but it really does make a difference.

I would agree that being passionate about business is important. Or perhaps your work environment ("working outside" /etc).

But I'm pretty sure the guy who cleans my septic tank isn't passionate about it. And that's ok.

[Harold Mansfield]

I would agree that being passionate about business is important. Or perhaps your work environment ("working outside" /etc).

But I'm pretty sure the guy who cleans my septic tank isn't passionate about it. And that's ok.

Yep. Given the choice, I'll take drive to succeed over passion. I know an artist that is very passionate about the work that she does and of art as a whole. But she has no business sense and absolutely no drive to learn. She expects passion alone to miraculously turn into money.

[Dan Furman]

Yep. Given the choice, I'll take drive to succeed over passion. I know an artist that is very passionate about the work that she does and of art as a whole. But she has no business sense and absolutely no drive to learn. She expects passion alone to miraculously turn into money.

I'm also of the opinion that, for the most part, hobbies should stay hobbies. (which is usually what we are talking about when we talk about "passion" in a business sense.) I knew someone who was really into fishing, and figured he'd turn that passion into a business. Yay for him, right? Except running a "fishing-supply" store (which is what he ended up by doing) is a far cry from actual fishing, which he found out.

[BNB]

My best advice: Always take advice from those who are doing better than yourself.

[broudie]

I'm also of the opinion that, for the most part, hobbies should stay hobbies. (which is usually what we are talking about when we talk about "passion" in a business sense.) I knew someone who was really into fishing, and figured he'd turn that passion into a business. Yay for him, right? Except running a "fishing-supply" store (which is what he ended up by doing) is a far cry from actual fishing, which he found out.
Maybe, but making your hobby a business automatically gives you subject matter expertise you may otherwise not have.

I would say though, that I'm sure all the fun would drain out of the hobby once you realize you have to depend on it for your supper.

[broudie]

My best advice: Always take advice from those who are doing better than yourself.
True, true.

There was once this Indian tycoon who won an auctioned lunch with Warren Buffett. After the lunch the tycoon realized that he spoke more during the lunch than the Oracle of Omaha - Buffet was actually trying to get business information from the Indian rather than the other way around!

So, keep asking questions, especially from people who are not greedy of their success.

[level3]

Michael Gerber in his book "The E-Myth" hits the nail on the head when he explains the difference between working on your business and working in your business. There's a big difference in being a plumber and running a plumbing business.

[huggytree]

cheap customers expect to pay the least and get the most!....often unrealistic...they will also drop you when your competition is $1 less

focus your business on people with $$....they appreciate your work, they are willing to pay extra for great service.....and there expectations are realistic.....if they are satisfied with your work you will have their business for life

[naysmithd]

Admit when you've made mistakes. The best people get to the top from mistakes. Simon Cowell lost his millions, twice. Richard Branson got into all kinds of financial issues from dodgy practises. As big or small as they may be, face them and improve on what you've done.

[zholtan]

start slowly and surely, no big steps, no big quantities, no big ranges, just get it slow and sure.

[Fulcrum]

start slowly and surely, no big steps, no big quantities, no big ranges, just get it slow and sure.

Every step for a new business is a big step. Whether it's getting new equipment or taking on a new account (or even both in some cases), every step is a big step. Some are just a bigger leap of faith than others.

The slow and sure method may work for a very short term, but unless the dollars are big and the margins even bigger, this can be death for a business when applied over the long term.

I have to disagree with the no big quantities statement. Unless a new business cannot afford to get the raw materials in (which tells me they are underfunded), and no factor or PO funder will look at them, then they will need to steer clear of the big quantity. Otherwise, if it is a reputable customer, go for it.

[broudie]

My own advice? Find ways to systematically improve revenues and profits that have no correlation to your own physical effort. Working more on the same thing is not the way to achieve success. Rather, try to make the same amount of work do more for you. For example:
- Remove as many middlemen as possible. Buy from the manufacturer or as close to it as possible. Or better yet, be the manufacturer. It's a permanent boost to your profitability.
- Broaden the reach of your product/service. If you sell in the US, go international. If you sell online, go brick-and-mortar.
- Stay liquid. The bank is a middleman for your money
- Outsource non-core business functions once they start making sense financially and increase your own efficiency (ex: do you really want to take those calls? maybe a call center can do the same work cheaper)

[Jack Burton]

You can do anything you put your mind to! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!