50 things I wish I’d known before I started my business (part 2)
Are you thinking of starting your own business? Or at least running your business at some point? There is honestly so much information (and misinformation) out there. And honestly, it can get overwhelming at times. And if you are overwhelmed and stressed out, here’s something for you.
Here’s some of the main things you want to consider or jot down (for later reference) if you’re starting a new business. These are some of the mistakes I’ve made and some of the lessons I’ve learned the hard way. They’re here so you can learn from them and avoid making the same mistakes that I did. Instead, go out and make different mistakes and let me know about them. 
21. Mistakes are a good thing – The more mistakes you make, the more you will learn so stop running away from mistakes and put yourself out there. Don’t let your ego get in the way of your profit. There, I said it. You can hate me for being blunt but it’s true.
22. Take breaks - I am someone who can focus pretty well which means I rarely take breaks in the middle of a project. I have learned the hard way though that breaks are super important and you will eventually crash at some point if you don’t take breaks. If you’re very focused like me, try breaking your projects into phases and take a day or two off after each phase. You’ll come back with a lot more new ideas.
23. Take notes - I honestly think you shouldn’t be anywhere without a little notebook and a pen or your Blackberry (or some other Smartphone). Be ready to take notes anywhere. Your million dollar idea is more likely to hit you when you’re in the middle of something unrelated like grocery shopping rather than when you’re in your boardroom brainstorming. Learn more about the importance of notetaking and how to take good notes here.
24. Learn how to be a good employer - Being an employer is harder than we thought (oops!). It requires a lot of self discipline, accountability and organization – that’s if you ever want to have employees who produce good results.
25. Hire help - I don’t care how small you are, you can start hiring others to help you out as soon as you have the resources to do that. You’ll learn a lot.
26. Hire temporarily with probationary periods – Never ever sign a contract that makes it hard for you to fire anyone. Always keep a good margin between profits and salary paid. This means you don’t need to spend all your earnings paying salaries only. It may sound funny but this is one of the biggest challenges small business owners face.
27. Be honest, learn how to fire - Learning how to fire someone isn’t easy but if someone is ruining the company culture or the working environment, consistently being late for deadlines, not pulling their fair share then you have no choice but to dismiss them. Firing the wrong employee is one of the best gifts you can give to your business. I know it’s not easy, I struggle a lot with it even when my teams are all virtual so I shouldn’t have that big a problem since I don’t see them everyday right? Not really.
28. Look into outsourcing – Outsourcing is very cost effective and can save you tons of time and money. You can find high quality virtual assistants for a fraction of the cost of hiring an assistant locally.
29. Know your numbers – Learn how to track your money. It’s not as hard as it sounds and you can use a software like Quickbooks or Moneydance. I personally find Quickbooks a bit complicated because I don’t have a finance background plus I have other softwares to tell me all my sales numbers automatically. Moneydance is a pretty good software, costs a lot less than Quickbooks and is much easier to learn. I use that one for tracking both my business and personal accounts.
30. Take your cut - Once your business starts making profit, you want to start taking a cut. Pay yourself a salary. If you aren’t in that position yet, pay yourself a small bonus amount every month. It will make you feel better and make you feel like you’re actually getting something out of your business instead of just having to put something in all the time. One of the best meals I’ve had in my life was a sub that I treated myself to for being a great part of “Get Your Success Now”. It cost the company a whole $5.95 but got a happy executive. That was the first cut I’d taken after spending thousands of dollars on the business. It honestly makes you feel great.
31. Get a business account - This should be the first law of business and yet most small business owners don’t have a separate business account. Honestly, a business account doesn’t cost that much. Go to your bank and get the account that makes sense to you. It’s almost impossible to keep track of your money if you don’t. You know 90% of the small businesses fail in the first 5 years right (that’s according to a research done in the States)? You want to stack the odds in your favor and this one’s a biggie.
32. Learn about stress management - I think this one should be done as soon as you decide to start a business or learn about business. Drop everything and learn how to manage stress. And no, you cannot run it on the go.
33. Learn about time management - This is the second thing you should do right after you open a business account. Your time is your most valuable asset and poor time management leads you directly into a high stress zone.
34. Your business should not be your job – Can your business makes you money without you working? That’s the question number one you should ask yourself and be able to answer positively. Try working on it everyday till you get to that point.
35. Don’t put all your eggs in the same basket: I think it’s always a good idea to have multiple sources of income. So, take some money out of what your business has made you and invest it in whatever you feel strongly about (just research first). Not all your earnings need to be invested into your business.
36. Put yourself out there - It’s so easy to hide these days. You can run a business and never see your clients ever. But tell you what? If you want to make more money, you have to build relationships with your clients. You cannot do this if you always hide with your customers. Pick up the phone and call your customers sometime or send them a personal email once in a while.
37. Pick your opportunities - There’s way more opportunities out there than you can act on. Pick the best and leave the rest.
38. Create a decision making system - Making decisions can get tricky at times but if you are running a business you need to learn how to think on your feet. Ok, not all decisions have to be quick. I know I’m quite slow at making any major decision but some decisions, like what stapler to buy, don’t need to take an hour. Adopt a 60-second-decision-making rule for small things like these.
39. Review your position every week - Check up on how you’re doing with respect to your goals every week. It will help you stay focused.
40. Create a weekly action list - Once you’ve reviewed where you are, create a list of things you can do over the coming weeks to get closer to your goals and implement them!
Watch out for the part 3 of this article. There’s a lot more to learn!