Keep debt low and your shoes polished.
Angelo Barr, Norwood Partners LLC, Boulder Colorado
My best advice came in two pieces, and both have helped keep my business/career healthy.
1) “It’s almost impossible to go broke if you have no debt.” This has been a focus of mine in business and in my personal life. I realize that having debt is part of life for most of us, but I’ve worked very hard to keep it to a minimum. It’s helped me keep the business open through the tough years, especially during and after 2008, and it’s allowed us to focus on our goals instead of worrying about owing money.
2) “You have to look sharp to be sharp.” You don’t have to have the most expensive suit or shoes, but look professional if you expect people to view you as a professional.
Learn to speak well, especially to a group.
Kyle Kumpf, Value Focused Growth LLC, Dubuque, Iowa
Sounding confident and competent in what I'm saying to customers is one of the most important things for running and operating my business. I specialize in Lean coaching and culture change. This is a challenging task as many people are hesitant to shift their thinking, and poor speaking can make this more so. Crafting my ability to speak clearly and confidently has lead to more business and better professional relationships as well as personal growth.
The best way to fail is to try to please everyone.
Myrna Marofsky, The Business Womens Circle, Minneapolis, Minnesota
I actually got this piece of advice from a book of quotes about leadership. It’s forced me to listen to my intuition and to do what I believe is right, knowing I can never make everyone happy. Of course, I need to know the "con's" to my ideas, so I deliberately select my critics. I look for input from those who give me honest feedback and insights. Then it’s up to me to determine my best course of action.
The biggest change in my behavior as a result of this quote was to stop reacting to what the last person I spoke with told me. Now, I let everything "percolate" before I act.
Everyone needs to get paid. (Including you.)
Bill Rozga, Rozga Plumbing and Heating, West Allis Wisconsin
Thanks to my first bookkeeper for giving me these three pieces of advice. Because I follow them, I’ve never missed an employee pay period or bounced an employee paycheck, and the government does not come knocking on my door:
1) Early in my company’s life, cash was so limited that I would skip myself from the payroll. Bad habit to get into! Pay yourself each pay period (no matter how small the amount), just as you do your employees.
2) Create a separate Payroll account that your Master account feeds each pay period. Include all withholdings as well as the gross dollar amount of each employee’s wages. This way, you’ll never be short when it comes time to “pay the man.”
3) Never, never ever forget or skip employee withholding payments to the government, or fail to make these payments on time!
Find a full-service bank and develop a relationship with a banker. Now.
Bill Callaway, Servpro of Ozawkee County, Mequon, Wisconsin
My best advice comes not from someone else, but from my own experience.
Many banks make it easy to set up a business account, but don’t offer much in the way of services to go with it. Our original bank was like that, so they couldn’t help us much when we were starting up. We waited two years before signing on with a full-service bank. What a difference!
Now, whenever we have a financial situation—maybe we need to lease a car—we call our banker for assistance. My advice: Don’t wait! Make finding a good bank and a good banker a priority right as you start your business.
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