What 1 thing would you tell a new business owner?

pgj2015

Don't be greedy. There is no need for it in my experience, you can still make loads of money without being greedy. I always try to be fair with my customers and never ever rip them off or overcharge them. But id say 9 out of 10 businesses do, trying to sell you extras you don't need. They think they are being clever but they aren't, even if I am buying something off a business and I don't know much about it, I still see when I am being ripped off.

It is such a stupid mistake, and have even seen family members try it with me at times.

what happens with greedy businesses? you won't recommend them and you will likely tell people to avoid them.

2 businesses that do work for me. They are firstly great at their job but they are really fair with their prices, I have recommended them countless times over the past few years.

jimmii

Maybe its the industry you're in but I definitely don't think 9 out of 10 are trying to rip you off.

The one thing I would tell a new business owner is get more money you're going to need it at some point.

JMR

I would add - Don't be afraid to ask for advice / help.

Most people in business are only too willing to offer nuggets of advice that they've learned over the years. This forum is proof of that.
Whatever you are doing, you are not the first person to do it and can always learn from others experiences.

pgj2015

I am talking about businesses across all sectors. Especially ones who are selling you something who know you don't know much about the product or service. maybe 9 out of 10 is bit of an exaggeration but sometimes it can be impossible to find a business who isn't taking the piss regarding the price they charge.


I think a big part of the problem is they think the customer is stupid, when the reality is, it is them who is stupid.

I was looking for a particular business the last few days, I found one that looked ok, then I looked at the reviews lol all fake as far as I could see, bad enough but the business used pictures of models for the people doing the reviews, one of the women/models was in a bra for gods sake.

Sky King

pgj2015 wrote: »

Don't be greedy. There is no need for it in my experience, you can still make loads of money without being greedy. I always try to be fair with my customers and never ever rip them off or overcharge them. .

The flip side of this is to ensure youre charging appropriately for your expertise or product quality. Obviously doesn't apply in all cases, but selling myself too cheap is something I did a lot of during the recession. Needs must.

Anyway, you're not paying me for the 30 minutes I spent evaluating your project, You're paying me for spending 5 years getting qualified and then spending a decade on the job learning all that stuff that I can immediately spot on your project which means my half hour spent is great value for you.

Ripping people off is charging a lot and giving bad product / service. I charge a lot and give excellent products / service. People are happy to pay it. They can always go elsewhere.

LimeFruitGum

Don't do social media or branding at the expense of actually providing a good product or service. I remember this cafe opened up near my job, and it was all done up beautifully. Some ads were even filmed in there.
They had their logo slapped on bottled waters, sandwich packets, napkins etc. The hashtag was posted up by the cash register. Someone was definitely very keen on making #TheSomethingCafe a thing - fair enough.

But the food was kind of hit-and-miss and the service was a bit meh. I remember getting a burnt toastie one time after waiting ages for it, I ended up sending it back. Once the novelty of a new cafe near the office died down, we went back to going to Londis or staying inside for lunch. It was pricy for what it was, and we didn't really see the point in going there more often.
I'm not going to Like and Share your business hashtag if you're giving me burnt food after I've been standing there for most of my lunchbreak.

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

LimeFruitGum wrote: »

Don't do social media or branding at the expense of actually providing a good product or service. I remember this cafe opened up near my job, and it was all done up beautifully. Some ads were even filmed in there.
They had their logo slapped on bottled waters, sandwich packets, napkins etc. The hashtag was posted up by the cash register. Someone was definitely very keen on making #TheSomethingCafe a thing - fair enough.

But the food was kind of hit-and-miss and the service was a bit meh. I remember getting a burnt toastie one time after waiting ages for it, I ended up sending it back. Once the novelty of a new cafe near the office died down, we went back to going to Londis or staying inside for lunch. It was pricy for what it was, and we didn't really see the point in going there more often.
I'm not going to Like and Share your business hashtag if you're giving me burnt food after I've been standing there for most of my lunchbreak.

Rhymes with Might Goose?

pgj2015

Sky King wrote: »

The flip side of this is to ensure youre charging appropriately for your expertise or product quality. Obviously doesn't apply in all cases, but selling myself too cheap is something I did a lot of during the recession. Needs must.

Anyway, you're not paying me for the 30 minutes I spent evaluating your project, You're paying me for spending 5 years getting qualified and then spending a decade on the job learning all that stuff that I can immediately spot on your project which means my half hour spent is great value for you.

Ripping people off is charging a lot and giving bad product / service. I charge a lot and give excellent products / service. People are happy to pay it. They can always go elsewhere.

I get what you are saying and you are right. some businesses definitely don't charge enough. But im talking about ones who make it so obvious they are chancing their arm and charging you more than they should.
Example, I bought a vehicle off a car dealer, then after a couple of years I needed the garage to do a job for me. I rang them up and was told it would cost 200 euro.
I brought my car to them, job got done, I went to the counter to pay. "230" euro. I thought it was 200? "200 plus VAT" and they looked at me like I shouldn't be questioning them about it. no one asks the price exclusive of VAT. They were chancing their arm.

I will be buying a new car soon and I won't be going back there because of that little stunt they pulled. I don't care about 30 euro but its the principle of it.

LimeFruitGum

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy wrote: »

Rhymes with Might Goose?

it may well do ;-)

Gloomtastic!

When you start a new business. The three most important things are cash flow, cash flow and cash flow.

Axwell

If the type of business you run is a fit then monthly recurring revenue is vital - steady guaranteed money coming in each month rather than relying on finding that next job or relying on making x amount of sales. It will help to cover the slow spots and covers the bills and can be the difference between staying afloat or going under.

pgj2015

Another hugely important one for me is don't put all your eggs in one basket. have at least 2 different businesses if you can.

enricoh

If you think you need 50k to set up , it'll probably cost 100k.
Aim high with your prices on day 1, don't set up and increase them 6 months later.
Try to avoid having staff!

Bandara

Lash the absolute max into your pension. If the business works happy days. If it doesn’t and you have to wind it up at least you have something there.

is_that_so

Marketing is not something you think you should do - do it from day 1.

pgj2015

Bandara wrote: »

Lash the absolute max into your pension. If the business works happy days. If it doesn’t and you have to wind it up at least you have something there.

For me there is more of an incentive to succeed if you don't have a pension. if you are successful enough in business you don't need to pay into a pension in my opinion.

BnB

pgj2015 wrote: »

Another hugely important one for me is don't put all your eggs in one basket. have at least 2 different businesses if you can.

Not so sure I'd agree with that to be honest with you. I think if you're going to go for it, go for it and give it your full energy and attention.

But I would add a term I learned somewhere along the way...."Fail fast - Fail cheap". A lot of business owners (myself included) make the mistake of persisting with something long after all common sense has said it ain't working...!!! Don't be afraid of failure
You had an idea
You gave it your best shot
You can see now that it won't work for whatever reason
Either piviot your idea / change your direction or pull the plug altogether, learn from your mistakes and move onto the next thing. Don't keep doing the same thing that's not working for one second longer than you need.


Separately, I would say to a new business owner, from the very start - don't try to become an expert on everything. I think it's most important that you know your product, your market, your customers...and you focus on these things. But you don't need to be an expert on :
HR
Accounts
IT
etc...

There are lots of good companies out there, big and small, who can do these things for you. Rather than spending your time learning these things yourself, your time is better spent researching/networking to find out a reliable company that can do it for you.

As an example, over the years I wasted so much time faffing around with SEO. Because I was a developer, I thought I can do this. And I'm sure I could, if I had nothing else to do. But I was trying to learn the finer points of SEO while also building a product, sending invoices, meeting customers etc etc etc.... Which meant, our SEO was a mess

A few years ago, we got a very good company to look after it for us and the results are brilliant.

You think you're saving money by doing all these things yourself, but when you actually add up the hours you're spending on doing them (often badly) you are actually wasting money and more importantly wasting your own time that should be spent on product and customers

gary550

A few lessons I have learnt over the years in business I'd tell anyone just starting as I found them to be universally true:

Turnover for vanity, profit for sanity - if you don't look after business and make sure you are actually making money you won't be around for very long.

Pick your customers - by this I mean don't try to play both ends of the court as regards service and pricing. If you set yourself up offering a premium service don't be trying to compete with lads who are sh*t.

Be firm but fair always

If you aren't enjoying the business you are in do yourself a favour and pack it in, life is far too short.

Get your branding right from the start, it's more important that you are lead to believe by most people.

pgj2015

BnB wrote: »

Not so sure I'd agree with that to be honest with you. I think if you're going to go for it, go for it and give it your full energy and attention.

But I would add a term I learned somewhere along the way...."Fail fast - Fail cheap". A lot of business owners (myself included) make the mistake of persisting with something long after all common sense has said it ain't working...!!! Don't be afraid of failure
You had an idea
You gave it your best shot
You can see now that it won't work for whatever reason
Either piviot your idea / change your direction or pull the plug altogether, learn from your mistakes and move onto the next thing. Don't keep doing the same thing that's not working for one second longer than you need.


Separately, I would say to a new business owner, from the very start - don't try to become an expert on everything. I think it's most important that you know your product, your market, your customers...and you focus on these things. But you don't need to be an expert on :
HR
Accounts
IT
etc...

There are lots of good companies out there, big and small, who can do these things for you. Rather than spending your time learning these things yourself, your time is better spent researching/networking to find out a reliable company that can do it for you.

As an example, over the years I wasted so much time faffing around with SEO. Because I was a developer, I thought I can do this. And I'm sure I could, if I had nothing else to do. But I was trying to learn the finer points of SEO while also building a product, sending invoices, meeting customers etc etc etc.... Which meant, our SEO was a mess

A few years ago, we got a very good company to look after it for us and the results are brilliant.

You think you're saving money by doing all these things yourself, but when you actually add up the hours you're spending on doing them (often badly) you are actually wasting money and more importantly wasting your own time that should be spent on product and customers

The all your eggs in 1 basket fear I have is if your business is wiped out over night, which can happen for a variety of reasons. you can then concentrate on your other business or businesses.
I work every day, so I would crack up if I suddenly went from 7 days a week to no work.

I agree on leaving the IT and accounts to the professionals, both don't have to cost a lot either.

Don't become intoxicated with victory This leads to hubris. - Pride comes before the fall!

is_that_so

is_that_so wrote: »

Marketing is not something you think you should do - do it from day 1.

As Yoda from Star Wars would say "Don't try : DO!!!

marketing

neris

Dont plough all your profits back into the business, take some money out for yourself in some form so you have it for the future or to do something else with. Remember hearing during the bust business owners who wouldnt have been far off retirement loosing their businesses because theyd over borrowed and plowed all the profits back into the business and left them with nothing to fall back on. Lenders wont pat you on the back and tell you your great for putting money back in and not looking after yourself.

Also, dont do favours for staff or go out your way to look after individual staff, theyre the ones that will cost you most trouble in the future

BingCrosbee

Most important rule in business TRUST NO-ONE. That has stood to me and all of my family who are successful and all on business and all work very hard. Get to know how to do your accounts and ride it crossways - I do and it’s a great feeling to buy stuff for the house and let the business pay for it.

CIARAN_BOYLE

Understand your business and what's going on financially.

If you are technically good but financially dumb get someone to explain the financial stuff to you. Don't just ignore it.

BnB

BingCrosbee wrote: »

Most important rule in business TRUST NO-ONE.....

I disagree with that. You will be really limiting yourself in how much you can grow your business if you trust no-one and insist on making all big decisions yourself. Essentially, that way, your business will always be limited to just what you can do yourself as every decision has to pass through you.

If you want to really grow a business and get to the point where you are not working 80 hours a week to keep it going, you have to hire good people and give them the scope and responsibility to get on with their jobs without running everything past you. You'll make mistakes along the way and hire some gobsh1tes and maybe even some people who try to f**k you over - but like anything else in business, you learn from that and see how you can not hire someone like that again.

To use a really clichéd term.... You have to hire people who are better at the things you do than you are yourself.

BnB

BnB wrote: »

To use a really clichéd term.... You have to hire people who are better at the things you do than you are yourself.

Yes.

Nika Bolokov

Dont chase bad customers.

If someone is trying to pay you less than the cost of your product, dont waste anytime trying to up the price they'll be willing to pay. Their not worth it and will just be a constant headache.

If someone is constantly a slow payer that has to be chased and chased then dont increase the amount of business you do with them. Its not worth it.

If someone constantly demands extras for free and special treatment without being fair with you, also dont spend too much time on them.

Treasure your good customers though.

Jinglejangle69

Answer your phone and turn up when you say you will.

pgj2015

Nika Bolokov wrote: »

Dont chase bad customers.

If someone is trying to pay you less than the cost of your product, dont waste anytime trying to up the price they'll be willing to pay. Their not worth it and will just be a constant headache.

If someone is constantly a slow payer that has to be chased and chased then dont increase the amount of business you do with them. Its not worth it.

If someone constantly demands extras for free and special treatment without being fair with you, also dont spend too much time on them.

Treasure your good customers though.

I agree. I go out of my way for my good customers. I let one down lately but because I had gone out of my way for them in the past, they came back to me.

Trojan

Every business is different, every sector is different and not all advice is relevant to you.

For example, there are two pieces of advice on this thread that I completely disagree with.

And yet I'm sure that each is important - and true - to the person who posted it.

Axwell

pgj2015 wrote: »

The all your eggs in 1 basket fear I have is if your business is wiped out over night, which can happen for a variety of reasons. you can then concentrate on your other business or businesses.
I work every day, so I would crack up if I suddenly went from 7 days a week to no work.

You started the thread aimed at advice new business owner - any business owner starting out will have enough on their plate just focusing everything on the one business they are trying to get off the ground rather than concerning themselves with having a second one in case the first one fails so I don't really think it applies to the audience the thread is aimed at. Not at that stage of there journey into setting up a business anyways.

The reality is a huge amount of new business owners are going to fail for various reasons. If they do they either can take the knowledge they have gained, brush themselves off and look at another venture or decide maybe business isn't for them and go back to a traditional job but at least having tried it they know they gave it a go instead of wondering what if. For those that do end up with a successful business then, by all means, consider a second business but the number of people who will be in this situation and have their first business running like clockwork to allow them to focus on a second business is going to be quite small and not something people should be thinking about early on.