20 Business Lessons You Don’t Want To Learn The Hard Way<\/h1>\n<\/hgroup>\n\n\n![\"lessons\"](\"http:\/\/b-i.forbesimg.com\/theyec\/files\/2014\/01\/lessons.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n(Photo credit: Mashable)<\/p>\n
A few months ago, we posed this question to\u00a0ShortStack<\/a>\u2018s\u00a0Facebook<\/a>fans: \u201cWhat is one\u00a0business<\/a>\u00a0lesson you learned the hard way?\u201d It began as a simple question to garner engagement, but it led to a long list of business owners\u2019 reminiscences that included some great advice.<\/p>\nOf course every business owner will have his or her own trials, but here are 20 reminders our community shared that just might save you a headache:<\/p>\n
\n- You can\u2019t do everything on your own.<\/strong>\u00a0Building a team is essential because there are only so many hours one person can devote to a business. Exactly when you reach that limit depends on your other obligations. If you\u2019re a young single person, you might be able to do everything for a year or two. But if you have a family, your dedication will eventually hurt those relationships. Build a team that can carry on when you\u2019re not around.<\/li>\n
- You may think your product is perfect, but your clients won\u2019t.<\/strong>\u00a0Listen to user feedback: Your opinion may not be the best one. The key takeaway here is \u201crelease your product early and release it often.\u201d You won\u2019t know if you have a great product until it\u2019s in the field and users are beating it up. It\u2019s like some of the contestants on American Idol. They think they\u2019re talented, and their friends and family think so, too, but when they get on a bigger stage, their flaws become obvious.<\/li>\n
- Do one thing really well.<\/strong>\u00a0Entrepreneurs<\/a>\u00a0try to be everything to everyone, but it\u2019s hard to be the store that sells bait and baby toys and vintage Beatles albums. Specialize, and you can charge for what you do provide. That said, if there is a skill or service that would make your core product better, provide it.<\/li>\n
- Get paid before you hand over a project to a client.<\/strong>\u00a0This is especially important if you provide a service. Once you turn over that contract or website or design project, you won\u2019t have much bargaining power. When I was a graphic designer, I watermarked all my projects and hosted websites on a private domain until the bill was paid.<\/li>\n
- Undercharging is not sustainable.\u00a0<\/strong>You think, \u201cI don\u2019t need to charge $150 an hour, I can charge $70 and make way more than I was making as an employee!\u201d But you might find out a short time later that your \u201cgreat\u201d rate is unsustainable. By the time you pay taxes, employees, business licenses, insurance, etc., that $150\/hour is looking more realistic. Compete on quality, expertise and your niche focus (see #3) instead of price. When competing on price alone, the clients who are price-shopping will always leave for the person or company that undercuts you.<\/li>\n
- Patience and flexibility help you survive the lean times.\u00a0<\/strong>ShortStack started out as a side project at my web and graphic design studio. We weren\u2019t a software development studio, but when a client asked us for a software product, we didn\u2019t say no. We were patient, scaled slowly \u2014 partly out of necessity \u2014 and it allowed me to build with company without debt.<\/li>\n
- Build for your actual market.<\/strong>\u00a0All of my software-building experience so far has been in answer to a demand. It is purely opportunistic. If you\u2019re an app developer and you think \u201cWow, I think xx industry could use xx,\u201d you might be disappointed. Put another way: I would never start a restaurant without having worked in one\u2026for a long time!<\/li>\n
- Never enter a partnership without a buy\/sell agreement.<\/strong>\u00a0No matter how well you think you know someone, you just don\u2019t know when he or she will want to retire or do something else. Even if it\u2019s on amicable terms, know how you can get rid of one another when it\u2019s time for one of you to move on.<\/li>\n
- Be grateful.<\/strong>\u00a0Appreciate loyal customers who show you there is a demand for what you do. There is no dollar amount you can put on brand advocates. Good will translates to loyal customers.<\/li>\n
- Look after those who look after you.<\/strong>\u00a0We offer referral commissions at ShortStack, but it\u2019s very much under the radar. We want people to recommend the product because they like it, not because they\u2019ll say anything for a dollar. If we notice someone said nice things about us publicly, we might send them a t-shirt as a thank you. If they do it again and again, we might say, \u201cHey, you should become a referrer and earn a percentage of the business you send our way.\u201d<\/li>\n
- It\u2019s not a sale until it\u2019s paid for.<\/strong>\u00a0This sounds obvious, but I\u2019ve known small business owners who get very excited about orders and\/or meetings with prospective clients. But until the money for those products or services is in the bank, it doesn\u2019t count.<\/li>\n
- You\u2019ll make more money being \u201cwrong\u201d than proving you are right.<\/strong>\u00a0Rather than fight with an unhappy customer and say, \u201cYou\u2019re using it incorrectly,\u201d or \u201cYou don\u2019t know enough CSS to use our product,\u201d we just refund their money. In the long run, these people consume so much of the support team\u2019s time and energy that it\u2019s more cost effective this way. They\u2019re not our ideal client, and that\u2019s OK.<\/li>\n
- People don\u2019t leave companies \u2014 they leave management.<\/strong>\u00a0This lesson goes for both employees and customers. A manager will lose staff if the employees think they\u2019re not being listened to or valued. Customers will stop using your products or services if they are dissatisfied with them. The quality and reliability of your products and services is a reflection of management.<\/li>\n
- The way you present your business should be a reflection of your audience.<\/strong>\u00a0If you have serious clients, be serious. If you have hip, fun-loving clients, have a sense of humor. You have to find your niche and build your content to suit them. For example,\u00a0Constant Contact<\/a>\u00a0and MailChimp do essentially the same thing, but their marketing content reflects very different client bases.<\/li>\n
- Agree on scope in advance.<\/strong>\u00a0Have a clear contract before work begins. Once a project goes beyond the documented plan, charge for it. If you agreed to build a website with 10 pages, but soon the site is 20 pages, the client should pay you for them. If your contract makes that clear at the outset, it is easier to control scope creep.<\/li>\n
- If your company sells a variety of products, make sure you know how to use\/operate every single one of them.<\/strong>\u00a0It might sound like a tall order \u2014 depending on how many products your company sells \u2014 but learning to use what your company sells will help you look at things with fresh eyes.<\/li>\n
- When you think you\u2019ve tested your product enough, test it some more.<\/strong>\u00a0Never release a product until it has been tested and tested and tested by people who don\u2019t work for you.<\/li>\n
- Understand how social media networks work.<\/strong>\u00a0When Twitter was first available for businesses, I\u2019d see people use it like an ad in a newspaper. If you go on a channel and use it the wrong way, it could do more long-term harm than good.<\/li>\n
- Save up.<\/strong>\u00a0You can operate at a loss for a number of years but you can only run out of cash once. Have a rainy day fund that has at least two or three months\u2019 operating costs in it. And have a line of credit available, even if you don\u2019t plan to use it. Having a CPA look at your books once a quarter is also a must.<\/li>\n
- Always let the CFO pay for drinks.<\/strong>\u00a0Cheers!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Have you learned any business lessons the hard way? Let me know in the comments section below.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
20 Business Lessons You Don’t Want To Learn The Hard Way (Photo credit: Mashable) A few months ago, we posed this question to\u00a0ShortStack\u2018s\u00a0Facebookfans: \u201cWhat is one\u00a0business\u00a0lesson you learned the hard way?\u201d It began as a simple question to garner engagement, but it led to a long list of business owners\u2019 reminiscences that included … Continue reading 20 solid business lessons<\/span>
(Photo credit: Mashable)<\/p>\n A few months ago, we posed this question to\u00a0ShortStack<\/a>\u2018s\u00a0Facebook<\/a>fans: \u201cWhat is one\u00a0business<\/a>\u00a0lesson you learned the hard way?\u201d It began as a simple question to garner engagement, but it led to a long list of business owners\u2019 reminiscences that included some great advice.<\/p>\n Of course every business owner will have his or her own trials, but here are 20 reminders our community shared that just might save you a headache:<\/p>\n Have you learned any business lessons the hard way? Let me know in the comments section below.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 20 Business Lessons You Don’t Want To Learn The Hard Way (Photo credit: Mashable) A few months ago, we posed this question to\u00a0ShortStack\u2018s\u00a0Facebookfans: \u201cWhat is one\u00a0business\u00a0lesson you learned the hard way?\u201d It began as a simple question to garner engagement, but it led to a long list of business owners\u2019 reminiscences that included … Continue reading 20 solid business lessons<\/span> <\/a><\/p>\n\n