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10 Stupid Mistakes Made by the Newly Self-Employed

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on 2007-08-25 by eugene_ilyichev

A nice article of warnings and recommendations to startup self-employed businessmen.
Very educating..

Russian <-> English translation services
Английский перевод
l10n.110mb.com

on 2007-08-25 by eugene_ilyichev

A nice article of warnings and recommendations to startup self-employed businessmen.
Very educating..

Russian <-> English translation services
Английский перевод
l10n.110mb.com

Public Sticky notes

10 Stupid Mistakes Made by the Newly Self-Employed

Highlighted by fenimore

it’s a waste of time to try selling to people who simply don’t need what you’re offering.

Selling to the wrong people includes trying to sell to everyone.  Some customers are much easier to sell to than others.

Highlighted by arizona2

If you think a meeting is pointless, it probably is.  Don’t network with random people just because you think you’re supposed to network.  Today I accept such invitations less than 1/10 as often.  If an offer doesn’t excite me right away, I usually decline or ignore it. 

Highlighted by arizona2

Most relationships simply aren’t worth pursuing.  Learn to say no to the weak opportunities so you have the capacity to say yes to the golden opportunities.

Highlighted by arizona2

In 2004 I started this personal development business with only $9 cash even though I could have spent much more on it.  No fancy logo, no snazzy web design, no business cards or stationary.  I paid to register the domain name, and that was it.  That’s as much as I was willing to spend before I started generating a positive cashflow.  All other business expenditures came out of that cashflow.

Highlighted by arizona2

Don’t let frugality get in the way of efficiency.  Take advantage of skilled contractors who can do certain tasks more efficiently than you can.  Buy decent equipment when it’s clear you’ll get your money’s worth.  You don’t have to overspend on fancy furniture, but get functional furniture that helps you be more productive.  Don’t use an antiquated computer with outdated software that slows you down if you can afford something better.

Highlighted by arizona2

Often the very thought of getting a second opinion makes the correct choice clear.  If you can’t justify the expenditure to someone you respect, it’s probably a mistake.  On the other hand, there are situations where it’s hard to justify not spending the cas

Highlighted by arizona2

5.  Assuming a signed contract will be honored.

I’ve made this mistake more than I care to admit.  I’ve had signed contracts with supposedly reputable corporations, and they weren’t worth squat when the CEO decided he wanted out of the deal, even for completely dishonorable reasons.  Sure I was in the right, but did I want to go to court to enforce it?  No, I’d rather continue doing meaningful work.

Highlighted by arizona2

One of my attorneys, who had worked on dozens of game development deals, told me that no deal he worked on ever followed the contract exactly; most weren’t even close.  And these were big money deals in many cases.  Business relationships are similar to other personal relationships — they twist and turn all over the place.

Highlighted by arizona2

Having been a non-employee for about 14 years now, I’ve made my share of stupid business mistakes. I’ve also coached a number of people to start their own businesses, and I’ve seen many of them make similar mistakes. This advice is geared towards small business owners, particularly people who are just starting (or about to start) their own business.

Highlighted by glitch

We simply don’t have enough data to make truly logical decisions because business deals depend on human beings, and we don’t have a logical system for accurately predicting human behavior. 

Highlighted by arizona2

If you get a bad read, walk away.  If you get a good read, proceed with caution.

Highlighted by arizona2

6.  Going against your intuition.

Intuition is just as important in business as it is in other settings.  You’d be amazed at how many gigantic corporate deals are green-lighted or red-lighted because of some CEO’s gut feeling.  While you might think that logic is the language of business, that’s far from reality.  If you base all your business deals on hard logic and ignore your intuition, most likely you’ll be in for a world of hurt.

Highlighted by arizona2

I started my games business in my early 20s, and people in their early 20s are invariably weird.  But I assumed that as a business owner, being weird wasn’t appropriate or acceptable.  So most of my business letters and emails looked like they were written by the same people who created Microsoft’s EULAs.  The job title of “President” really went to my head.  I learned how to function without a personality.

Highlighted by arizona2

Don’t be afraid to be more like Steve Jobs… and less like Steve Ballmer.  Don’t pretend to be something you’re not.  Ultimately you’ll enjoy your work much more if you attract the kinds of customers and partners that want to work with you for who you are — warts and all.

Highlighted by arizona2

If other people can’t handle your weirdness, too bad for them.  Focus your energy on the people who can.

Highlighted by arizona2

Don’t fall into the trap of using archaic methods for doing routine tasks that could be automated, including inventory management, billing, accounting, order processing, communications, and marketing.  If you find yourself doing the same repetitive tasks month after month, make sure you put some effort into optimizing them.  Not optimizing is like throwing time and money down the drain.  It’s often much easier to save time and money than it is to create them.

Highlighted by arizona2

It takes significant effort to build a successful business, but it’s also a tremendous growth experience.  I know many people who have quit their jobs to run their own businesses.  Many of them didn’t do as well as they’d hoped, but I don’t know any that regretted taking the plunge.  There’s simply no substitue for holding the reins of your own destiny.

Highlighted by arizona2

Many people don’t like the ad layout on this site, but it’s the most effective layout I’ve tried so far.  I use it because it works.  Adding the donations page was another optimization.  Some people click ads, some people donate, and some do both.  So even though value creation is the primary aim of the business, this is still a for-profit business and needs to generate income in order to be sustainable.  If I don’t eat, I don’t write.  More money means more resources for ongoing value creation.  So value creation and optimization go hand-in-hand.

Highlighted by arizona2

10 Stupid Mistakes Made by the Newly Self-Employed

Highlighted by lemming9

7.  Being too formal.

I’ll say it again.  Business is built on relationships.  In some settings a certain degree of formality is appropriate, but in most business situations being too formal only gets in the way.  Business relationships work best when there’s a decent human-to-human connection behind them.

Highlighted by arizona2

10 Stupid Mistakes Made by the Newly Self-Employed

Highlighted by dawalker

the real purpose of a business is to create value

Highlighted by qrystal

much easier to save time and money than it is to create them

Highlighted by qrystal