It is Expedient that there is always money in the bank.
I cannot exercise this enough it is of primary importance that you always have money in the bank. The most common business-failure mode, hands down, is running out of cash. If you know you’ve got a cash flow problem coming up, fix it now before it's too late!
Pamper your Star Employees!
OK maybe not pamper per say but you really need to treat them well as nothing hurts more than loosing a hardworking and loyal employee loved by your customers. Take out time as a leader to ensure they are motivated, challenged, and compensated.
Be Decisive Use "Yes" and "No" Often
The two most important words business owners and founders have at their disposal are “yes” and “no.” Learn to say them a lot. And that means being decisive. The most important reason to focus (to be clear on what your company does) is to be clear on all the things it doesn’t do.
Listen to your Customers
I really don't need to stress this you need to listen to your customers. I've seen a lot of people who have no regard for their customers and it has left me dumfounded. It boggles my mind how little most entrepreneurs value their customers when, not only are their feedback and input among the most critical information they will ever learn, but their repeat business is the easiest business to get.
Know "When to" and "When not" to be Transparent.
Transparency is as detrimental at some times as it is beneficial at others. There are times to share openly and times to be discrete. You need to know when and with whom to do one versus the other. It's a skill It comes with experience.
Run your business like a business.
Far too many entrepreneurs run their business like an extension of their personal finances. Bad idea. Very bad idea. Construct the right business entity and keep it separate from your personal life.
Your Gut needs to be trusted.
This phrase is often repeated but rarely understood. It means that your own instincts are an extremely valuable decision-making tool. Too often we end up saying in retrospect and with regret, “Damn, I knew that was a bad idea.” But the key is to know how to access your instincts. Just sit, be quiet, and listen to yourself. Let your thoughts be loud and listen!
Protect and defend your intellectual property.
Most of you don’t know the difference between a copyright, trademark, trade secret, and patent. That’s not acceptable. If you don’t protect and defend your IP, you will lose your only competitive advantage.
Know your finances like the back of your hand!
If you don’t know your revenues, expenses, capital requirements, profits (gross and net), debt, cash flow, and effective tax rate – among other things – you’re asking for trouble. Big trouble.
The problem could be you, Train yourself.
When I was a young manager, my company sent us all to a week of quality training where the most important concept we learned was that 90 percent of all problems are management problems. When things aren’t going well, the first place to look for answers is in the mirror.
No comments:
Post a Comment