Forget Marketing

I want to make this abundantly clear - entrepreneurship is a calling. Most people view being a “lone ranger” “going it alone” and “pioneering” as something terribly romantic, deliciously enticing, and amazingly exciting. The first time the entrepreneur quits his full time job (and steady paycheck!), however, they are in for a rude awakening.

Being an entrepreneur is all about perseverance, drive, ambition, and balance. Over my years of being

“lone ranger”, I’ve made an infinite amount of mistakes. Each mistake wasn’t a failure - but rather a learning experience and an opportunity to build my personal integrity to a new level. Although many times I thought about giving up and going back to the 9-5, I stuck it out. Here’s what I’ve learned. Following them cannot guarantee success, but it will greatly improve your chances.

“No challenge in business is identical to any other.”
-Norm Brodsky

1. Know the Math

A business is almost like a living creature. Unless you pay attention to every one of it’s needs, you will eventually be putting your tail between your legs and begging for your old job back. Knowing your business needs is a challenging thing, but the only way to succeed in doing this is by looking at the core numbers that your business is producing and understanding the relationships between them all.

This will give you an idea of how your business sales are doing, if you can afford to hire a new salesperson or office manager, how much money you’ll need to deal with all the new business you’re bringing in, and how you can afford to market your small business. You absolutely cannot wait until your accountant tells you about this stuff - you need to be able to tell your accountant!

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2. Don’t count a sale until you receive the check.

My first sale with my first business was when I was giving guitar lessons as a 14 year old freshman in high school. Boy, was I excited. Every time my phone rang with someone who was interested in receiving guitar lessons, I would immediately start counting them in my head as a sale, and start counting my profits already! When I wouldn’t hear back from that individual, I would simply say, “They’ll call next week!”

Even later in life, I would make somewhat of the same mistake. I would have an excellent meeting with a potential new client (one of my internet start-ups) and I would walk away sure of a sale. I later read an article that informed me that if you don’t receive a check on the initial sales call, 96% of the time you never will.

3. Just say “no” to shortcuts.

Your business is going to take a lot of hard work. Nothing is easy in creating a small business. With that said, we all look for shortcuts - ways to do things easier. It’s only natural, especially if it’s it’s your first start-up. I’ve learned that the unfortunate reality that my shortcuts almost always come back and bite me.

I am one of the most impatient people you’ll meet. Since I was able to walk and talk, I’ve tried to find cheaper, faster, and easier ways to get things done. I’ve learned that I need to work with my business and make decisions based on the assumption that my business will last forever - not just TODAY.

5. Cash is tough to save and easy to spend.

It takes money to make money. One of the first things I learned was that in the start-up phase, I learned to only spend what was needed to survive. I’ve seen companies waste tons of money on furniture, office space, branding, etc - when they could have waited! If your cash runs out before you start gaining customers, your business is dead.

Growing up, my father always used to say, “Andy, always pay yourself first.” He didn’t mean I should immediately draw from my business account first - he meant that whenever money was coming in, I should invest in my savings account. Saving money is crucial to any business survival.