Readers Respond: What One Piece of Advice Would You Give Anyone Starting a Business?

Responses: 42

By Susan Ward, About.com Guide

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If you do not understand your business, the competitors, the cycles, and the industry, then you will fail. You must know everything about your field of business.
—Guest Ron Floyd

When you start your own business it's all about making the right choice. What i mean is that you need to plan out what what you are doing and tell someone to check it for you to see if it's good and then make the choice.
—Guest unknown

Have an easy to read and understand website that looks professional. Better to have a smaller site that is dynamic and interests the reader to find out more than a "do it yourself one" that looks unprofessional. Look around for good prices or private people that do websites if you can't initially afford the cost.
—Guest DK

I've started my own small business 6 years ago. I started with one employee - me - and now have 6 people on my team. I learned very quickly the importance of investing some of my time in developing my leadership skills. It has paid off tenfold in attracting and keeping excellent employees. DK
—Guest DK

Anyone who have a dream to start own business must first assess him or herself as to whether he has leadership and managerial skills, effective communication, and marketing skills and above all be ready to take risks in life. This is because to start your own business there are marketing challenges. Since it is a new business no one is aware of your company and its products or services. He/she must invest his time, energy, money and reading more books about business management. Business owners should have a clear cut vision, mission and objective that potential customers can understand easily and must love the kind of business he/she wants to do. Business location is very important. The business should be located in the marketed area not a hiding place but an open place. Get a business plan for loan. One can start his business at home (Home based Business). to be continued.
—Guest Eddie

Make sure you have enough capital to start the business, avoid credit from the supplier because by giving you goods on credit he will take advantage of you by finding out your S.P and adjusting the C.P to his advantage and you will have no right to choose; rather he will supply you with what he wants and this will annoy your customers. He will not care about your costs either, hence leading to your fall.
—Guest panta

For business partners, do not limit yourself to family members. Some family members are just not responsible. Link up with people who can get the job done.
—Guest lottiel

Don't be afraid of taking risks and failing. Failures are just ways of knowing the best methods to adopt. When you fail, rise and pick up from the failing point again and you will not make similar mistakes any longer.
—unclewebng

Copy the model used by another successful business. One of the best ways to do this, of course, is to have worked in the business field for a time, to also learn what NOT to do. Many sales people move on to another - or their own - business, and take their client list with them. Play fair though, and don't open up right across the street.
—Guest Dan

Shape your plan to match your vision. Include how you are going to continue implementing it. Frequently adjust the plan as you discover better actions. Almost ALL your successful competitors have flexible action-oriented plans -- that's the way small business is managed in today's environment.
—Guest Gerry McRae

Write our your plan first: with costs, market estimates, service or product manufacturing process plans. Actually find some trial customers, because it's a lot easier to fail on paper than with real money. If writing the plan is too hard, if friends and family don't want your product, or if you can't figure out where/how to make the product(s), then by all means -- don't even start, because "doing" the business is even harder. ALL that said, go with your gut instinct, and don't be afraid to try! :-)
—Guest EMT

The faster you grow, the faster you may fail. Growth that is planned and based upon sound business practices (not get quick sales gimmicks) will be with you for the long haul. Be patient and enjoy watching your business take off.
—operationstech

The best advice I ever heard for starting a small business: Over-estimate expenses and under-estimate sales. The reason most businesses fail is that they don't have enough money to keep going in the beginning when they have no income. If you over-estimate income (amount and timing) and under-estimate expenses, you won't borrow enough to keep you going until your income catches up with your expenses. And don't buy everything you want, just what you absolutely need, until you have enough income to make the payments. Starting frugally now will help you succeed faster.
—Guest Guest Jean