Things you wish you had known from the start

[Heath Sanchez]

Hey guys!!

I thought it would be cool if we made a BIG list of all the things that we wish we'd known before we started out in business...

A great way to learn is by your mistakes, but it's also good to learn from other people's mistakes too!

I'll start off by saying that I wish I'd known never to make a big order with a supplier until my client has actually SIGNED THE DEAL!!!

[moneymoney]

i wish i knew that you shouldn't mix business and sex

[Jay Brass]

I wish I knew that I couldn't pay people to do my work if there was no cash in the bank account.

[zharlene]

I just got a tip from a developer which I should share with you guys: "ALWAYS get your customers to sign a contract".

[moneymoney]

Nice. here's one for you crazy entrepreneurs with a great idea every few days;

good ideas can be your enemy. remember to concentrate and focus on ONE THING AT A TIME! same with projects, same with daily tasks.

oh and make a list EVERYDAY of the MOST important things you need to do that day and don't sleep until you've checked every one of them off!

nearly every successful person starts their day with a list. I wish I did that years ago, I would have saved a lot of time that was wasted by getting carried away with my next new idea.

[burtonridr]

Things I've learned:

Nothing is ever as easy as it sounds.

It doesnt take money to make money, it takes a good business plan or idea.

The world is running out of cheap oil....

Paper work is a pain in the ass, but you have to keep good records.

ALWAYS get a contract.....ALWAYS

Its better to be up front with people, dont pussy foot around something, just tell them what you expect.

Always negotiate a win win situation, if your not happy you lost, if they are not happy they lost. If you cant come to an agreement on a win win dont cave and just agree to their terms if it compromises your ability to succeed.

Always do you due diligence, there is a fine line between proper due diligence and analysis paralysis though....

I like the create a list idea also, it helps tremendously.

As you can tell, I like to learn things the hard way. But it made me wiser

[dontheinfoguy]

i wish i knew that you shouldn't mix business and sex

except those in the porn business.

I wish I know personal development is a critical key to success 3 years ago.

[Hooman]

I just got a tip from a developer which I should share with you guys: "ALWAYS get your customers to sign a contract".

Indeed! I learned that one the hard way myself.

But I'll add another one to the list.

Don't micro-manage!

It's tempting to hire people who are less qualified because as an entrepreneur you're afraid people will steal your idea. Entrepreneurs are generally also poor managers. And I didn't quite get this until I started hiring people. I actually went ahead and hired very qualified people for a project, and initially I started to micro-manage them. I was paying them well, yet I was telling them how to do their job and what to do every 5 minutes.

Then I had an "ah ha" moment, and realized I need to let go. I'm paying this much, why am I telling this guy what to do? Besides I was managing really poorly. I took a step back and let the guy do his thing, and he finally got into a zone and produced much better work.

I've learned that as an entrepreneur, we inherently have this flaw (or maybe it's just me), and that I need to trust that not everyone wants to be an entrepreneur anyway. I realized that if I'm truly passionate about what I'm doing, then there's no reason to be afraid of anyone because I'm unstoppable.

And as long as I have good contracts, people can't steal my idea anyway

[Nigami Enterprise]

95% of worries don't come true.

I wish I new that a few years ago would of saved a lot of stress.

[Aletheides]

Don't listen to the opinions of people who aren't entrepreneurs or business owners.

[SophieM]

Don't listen to the opinions of people who aren't entrepreneurs or business owners.

Except from the customer

[Heath Sanchez]

Yeah right on Sophie! I wish I knew from the start that my customers are my most valuable asset and should be treated like royalty!

[Fadzuli]

Nice. here's one for you crazy entrepreneurs with a great idea every few days;

good ideas can be your enemy. remember to concentrate and focus on ONE THING AT A TIME! same with projects, same with daily tasks.

oh and make a list EVERYDAY of the MOST important things you need to do that day and don't sleep until you've checked every one of them off!

nearly every successful person starts their day with a list. I wish I did that years ago, I would have saved a lot of time that was wasted by getting carried away with my next new idea.

That's a really good point!! Thanks for sharing.

[Jay Brass]

I just got a tip from a developer which I should share with you guys: "ALWAYS get your customers to sign a contract".

I completely agree. So much can go wrong without a contract.

[Lambo]

never mix business and friendship