Ten Commandments of Small Business Owners

Thursday, June 21, 2007 5:00 AM

Posted by Jonathan Danylko | Tag: Business | Comments: 0 | View blog reactions

Obey the commandments and you will be successful in your business.

1. Honor thy customer.
   If you didn't have them, where would you be?
   
2. Thou shalt never lie.
   I've had my share of other businesses lie to me about certain aspects of what they offer and how they do business. This type of behavior seriously reflects on the way your company is perceived.
   
3. Thou shalt never be tardy
   If you are going to be late to a meeting or something else comes up, call the customer and let them know instead of leaving them hanging.
   
4. Thou shalt provide quality over quantity.
   The fastest and the most doesn't always mean the best. Allocate your time properly to account for a good product or service.
   
5. Thou shalt listen first, then speak.
   Understand the overall picture when your client is talking to you. Similar to what people announce at presentations, "We'll take questions AFTER the presentation." Translation: For now, zip the lip!
   
6. Thou shalt be open-minded to ideas
   My grandfather always told me, "Your mind is like a parachute. It works best when open." The best opportunities are available when you open your eyes and your mind.
   
7. Thou shalt take responsibility.
   Being a small business owner means taking responsibility for your own actions and especially your employee's actions.
   
8. Thou shalt make mistakes.
   Make the mistakes, learn from them, and move on. Don't sit and stew over them.
   
9. Thou shalt prepare documents.
   Whether it be programming documents, networking documents, basic accounting documents, or even contracts, it's work that is absolutely necessary for your business to move forward.
   
10. Thou shalt target a market.
    If you aren't targeting a market, why are you in business then? It's like you're blindly throwing darts without aiming for a target.

If you are interested in more business lessons that were learned the hard way, make sure you check out the Business Lessons under the Featured Sections.

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