The Top 6 Things I Would’ve Done Differently with My First Business
Experience gives us knowledge. Unfortunately, this knowledge can come at a very hefty price. In the case of my Partners and me, it resulted in the bankruptcy of our office furniture business. We did many things right and enjoyed great successes for most of the time I was an owner. We were never afraid of change. In fact, our staff would grow tired of us always implementing new ideas. We were always innovating. We had some brilliant creations and some spectacular failures. Today, I coach business owners on how to financially thrive, protect, and build wealth using their businesses by avoiding some of our mistakes. These are the 6 things I would’ve done differently with my first business.
Really Know Your Company’s Financials
I’m not talking about learning how to read your Financial Statements, but rather really dig into your financials and let them be the basis for your decisions. I knew how to read financial statements but to dissect them and understand them better than our accountants. We made some financial decisions with our company based upon recommendations that came from our Accountants. They suggested some strategies that would’ve recommended a different path to take, given my level of knowledge today.
Never Hire in Anticipation of Business
Being an entrepreneur requires being optimistic but not at the sacrifice of reality. Often, we used “The Field of Dreams” philosophy, “Build it, and they will come”. In other words, create the infrastructure and the support, and the sales would follow. It is better to push through the discomfort of too much workload for a while before you decide to throw more staffing at it. Unless you have a projected workflow for a sustained period of time, better to hear a few complaints of working too much than having people sitting around twiddling their thumbs after the work crunch has passed. Besides, you can always give bonuses or time off down the road.
