Biggest lessons you've learned in business

[Brian Turner]

What are the biggest lessons you feel you've learned in business?

Here's a few of my own for starters:

1. Never allow yourself to feel intimidated by lawyers, but ensure you take good legal advise to ensure you know your legal rights and limits

2. Never sell a service to a customer - sell the benefits and cost effectiveness instead

3. Try and plan for long term goals - and make sure you meet at least some of them

4. If you ever plan for anything, make sure that it's not only flexible enough to cope with new eventualities, but also ensure there's enough redundancy for it

5. Learn to gauge risk from experience - make decisions based on small risks, make decisions based on big risks - but never risk more than you can afford

6. Always investment in your company for the long term

7. Never let work sink your personal life - always allow for personal time. Additionally, know that there always has to be a clocking off time, and that some things really can be left until tomorrow

8. Be honest but direct - never bullshit, but don't waffle irrelevantly even if well intentioned

9. Avoid getting too technical with clients - just tell them what they're getting and at what cost, and you deal with the rest

10. Never try and get one up on a client. Be faithful.

11. Never take anything away unless you can offer something of value to compensate

12. Be organised as much as possible

13. Spend some of your business time on projects with low income value but strong on passion value, to keep your enthusiasm up

14. Find people you feel you could rely on, then rely on them for delegated tasks

15. Never buy B2B services on price alone - buy on quality and value. If you spend peanuts, you get monkeys.

16. Know your industry and the people in it - then you can spot those who walk the walk, as opposed to those who just talk

17. Be gracious and polite as much as you can. Try and reply with humour instead of anger. If you can't, walk away.

18. Listen to your intuition. Always act on your gut feeling where possible, but avoid rushing in too quickly. Good gut feelings remain persistent until you either act on it, or they prove themselves right to your detriment,

19. Listen more than you talk. If you talk, say something useful. Remember that even those with less experience than you can teach you something valuable

20 Always be open to new ideas, and new directions, but remain focused on how and why you follow them up


Anyway, a few there for starters.

[mark08]

Great lessons. Thanks for sharing. I guess the biggest lesson we learned is always have a contingency plan and make sure you have enough cash flow for your operations.

[mischstar]

really interesting post, i particularly liked number 13, its important to keep that balance

[Brian Turner]

21. Never let any payments drag on. A client who fails to pay on time on a regular basis is a liability. Never, ever, allow a non-paying client to run more than 2 months overdue without suspending their contract.

[JohnStevenson]

I personally liked N 13
I can not share my good impressions on it
Keep going!

[JohnStevenson]

1.Research and Plan Your Business - A well-written business plan is essential to starting and running a business. Business plans are required when applying for business loans or seeking investors. A good business plan describes in detail a business' mission and goals, and how these goals will be achieved.
2.Get Business Assistance and Training
3.Choosing a Business Location - Selecting the right location involves basic considerations such as proximity to customers, ease of access, and leasing and zoning restrictions. Financial incentives and tax credits offered by your local government may also influence your your decision.

[chief07]

Number 15, has to be. We had so many problems with overseas programmers/copywriters in the first few months that we vowed NEVER to use them again. Exactly as Brian says, you get what you pay for.

[ecoliving]

Totally agree with 15 you get what you pay for

[MrKap]

Don't expect anyone to communicate with you regarding what they really want. That's why they've come to you, so you can help them get where they want to go.

So it's a balance of patience, taking a back seat while someone else drives, and trusting people enough.

Also... don't ever trust someone too much... dependencies usually do the most damage. Turn a blind eye, but don't ignore anything that effects your own welfare.

[Rohitashwa]

I like your business lesson. If any person follow your lesson he must be stable and successful business. Particularly i like number 15 and 18.