There are so many ideas when it comes to small business. Some are good and some are not so good.

I have a couple of commandments that I like to follow when I coach small business owners.

Never ever ever ever ever ever ever give up” Winston Churchill. You will be tested again and again to test your resolve. There will be days where you want to go back to the security of your job. This is the time where you need to be strong, emotionally strong that is. If business was easy everyone would be doing it. Franchises are successful because everything is done for you, you have systems in place. Even with a franchise, there is no guarantee of success. I remember one morning (1 am) when I started my shift, the internet was done, the phone line wasn’t working and I did not get one sale for the next 3 days. How did you think that felt? I was destroyed. I looked around my study with my motivational hand written pieces of paper stuck to the wall with blue tac. One of them said, “There is a silver lining in every cloud” I saw no silver lining. All I saw was misery and a feeling of helplessness. However, I dusted myself off and got up again. The roller coaster ride of business is something that cannot be explained until you experience it. You can give me all the motivation and tutorials you want but when that phone stops ringing, all your fears come to the surface and that little voice in your head creates havoc. This will happen for the rest of your business life. Get on with it, be positive and do your best but never give up.
When you succeed, do not change as a person, show empathy. Time and time again I have seen successful people bragging about how busy they are and that they cannot keep up with customers. This trait is embarrassing and not recommended. The majority of people lie anyway in my experience. You don’t need to advertise that you are busy. People are smarter than you think; they can work it out for themselves. You see, here lies the problem. If you are arrogant, then one day your business closes down, what do you do then? Do you hide in shame? Do you crawl under a rock? No. Do not get in this position. People will resent you. When people ask hows business, you say business is ok, we are seeing improvements. That is empathy. You should tell people you are successful without big noting yourself. Nothing makes my father prouder than when people tell him how humble his son is. I take after dad. He is the same guy who arrived on a boat in Australia, nothing has changed. Sure, he has a better house and car but deep down he is still the same guy who grew up in a strict household.