One of the great things about having a small business is that you get the opportunity to learn every day. Hopefully you are not learning too many expensive lessons. I thought it would be helpful to share a few important lessons that I have learned over my years in business so that you can benefit from my mistakes. Now, there are plenty more where these came from, but here’s what I would call my top 5 entrepreneurial lessons.
Be early; On time is already late. You need to be 15 minutes early everywhere you go. If you are going to a networking event, the cocktail hour is the event for you. Once the event starts you can only network with the 9 other people at your table. If you have an appointment and you only give yourself enough time to show up right on time you are asking for something bad to happen. There could be traffic or you could have a tough time parking or maybe you’re not sure of exactly where the office building is located. Being late is deadly when making a sales call. Always be early.
Don’t take a “NO” from someone who can’t say “YES”. Gatekeepers are there to protect the time of the big boss. Do everything you can to get to the decision maker, but be respectful about it. No one responds well to being talked down to. My favorite technique is to say, “I’m returning their call.” Many times mid-level managers or gatekeepers will try to block you. Make sure you have a relationship with more than one contact at a company you are targeting. If you can, turn the gatekeeper into a friend. Give them some attention and try to make a personal connection. When you are successful, they’ll help you get to the people you really want to talk to you.
Never start work without a signed contract. As small business owners, sometimes we are so enthusiastic that we’ll take people at their word and start work before we get a signed agreement. I have even delayed a vacation on someone’s word – thinking I needed to be around to do work – on a contract which never materialized. Be willing to talk to everyone, but do not spend on money on inventory and materials, and certainly don’t change your travel plans until you have a signed contract and a deposit.
Always know your next hire. I once had a mentor tell me that even your best employees will leave you someday, and when you least expect it. You should always have a Plan B person in mind that you would bring in for every key position in your small business.
Always know how much profit is in every deal. As small business owners we have a tendency to focus on revenues—which is important, but I would much rather you focus on profits. I believe that if a deal is not making you money it doesn’t make much sense or cents. You should know how much money you’re making on every sale or contract. There will be times early on in your business when you need to do work at cost so that you can get a certain client on your roster, but don’t make a habit of doing that. Also make sure you calculate a percentage of your overhead and administrative costs in your pricing as well. Every customer should pay a percentage of what it costs you to run your business.
Do you have any lessons to share about what you’ve learned in business? Please leave a comment.
Melinda Emerson, known to many as “SmallBizLady,” is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Coach and Social Media Strategist who hosts #SmallBizChat weekly on Twitter for emerging entrepreneurs. #Smallbizchat is the trusted resource on Twitter to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business. Her first book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months was released in March 2010.
Melinda, this is a great post. Point number three, “always know your next hire,” spoke to me the most today. It reminded me that I need to be a lot more conscious about documenting my processes and keeping a file of all correspondences that go out to my virtual team. This “operations manual” should make the sting of losing “a right hand” less hurtful. Thanks again for your insights.
.-= Zenobia Garrison´s last blog ..Freedom- A Lifestyle By Choice =-.
Zenobia–
I am so glad that this blog post was helpful to you. Sometimes I think its important to reveal the things that I learned from others early on in my business so that all of my readers know that I understand their struggles personally.
To your business success,
Melinda Emerson
These are Excellent, especially the reminder to know your profit. When we started our business we were so excited to have clients that we didn’t always ‘hire’ them wisely. We also got focused on cash flow as opposed to profit. Thankfully we learned those lessons without them breaking us.
I think one of the lessons that is hard to learn in any position is that you really can’t win them all. At some point, we’ve spent more time trying to win ‘the one big one’ that we didn’t maximize other seemingly smaller opportunities. As the ‘recovering salesperson’ among the owners I especially had trouble admitting that I couldn’t close or win particular targets.
Hi Jem—
Thank you for your comment. I think the fact that you recognized that you “can’t close them all” probably saved your business. Sometimes as small business owners we can be stubborn and over confident. You must grow yourself to grow your business.
Here’s to your continued success,
Melinda