13 Tips and Quotes for Entrepreneurs [Slides+Video]

Share with your friend!

In time of crisis you need to focus more than ever.

Do everything you can to survive.

You probably know that the safety instructions on the airplane tell you to put the oxygen mask on yourself first and then help others.

If you go out of business, then you can’t help anyone else.

This does not mean you have to be selfish. But if you fail, then all the people who depend on you for their livelihood get hit.

Check out the examples of survival and quotes.

There are ups and downs when running a small business. The ups are fun, but sometimes there’s nobody to lean on when you get into the dip.

I have collected entrepreneur quotes that get perspective and motivate yourself when you need it.

Be so good they can’t ignore you. – Steve Martin

–

Constraints drive innovation and force focus. Instead of trying to remove them, use them to your advantage. – 37 Signals

Coronavirus crisis 2020

During the corona virus lockdown many businesses who didn’t even consider becoming online businesses have done so.

Sometimes in the matter of days.

In my home country, as small village grocer became an online business in 15 minutes.

How?

They took pictures of all the shelves they had in the store and posted them on Facebook. You could order by simply sending them your shopping list on Facebooks or email and they delivered the goods to your doorstep.

–

Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value. – Albert Einstein

–

If you don’t have big dreams and goals, you’ll end up working for someone that does. – Unknown

–

Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. – Warren Buffett

–

Tough times never last, but tough people do. – Robert H. Schuller

Financial crisis of 2007–08

I launched my digital marketing agency in February 2008.

Speak about great timing.

We went from creating a company to almost out of business in less than a year.

It was bad.

We were in debt to creditors, to employees, to the taxman. I burned through all my emergency funds. Business and personal. And then there was nothing left.

I only had my half paid and mortgaged home. That was the last item of value left at half the peak price.

I put my head down, cut all the cost. There was just me and one web developer left in the company. I decided that from now on I will bring in money no matter what. We chased every lead and took every job.

Month after month, euro after euro, we dug ourselves out of the hole.

We ground for a year and a half.

And then, we broke even.

–

Don’t worry about being successful but work toward being significant and the success will naturally follow. – Oprah Winfrey

–

Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. – Unknown

–

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing. – Walt Disney

–

An entrepreneur tends to bite off a little more than he can chew hoping he’ll quickly learn how to chew it. – Roy Ash

–

Life’s too short to learn from your own mistakes. So learn from others – Unknown

–

A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. – John A. Shedd

–

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. – Thomas Edison

These quotes about entrepreneurs help you motivate yourself and keep going when it’s really hard.

10 Things Entrepreneurs Can Learn from Children

When you are new and naïve. You don’t know that asking questions may make others think you are stupid. You point out the obvious and want to know why it is this way. When you get something that you really want, you are ecstatic and bounce all around the place.

Behaving childishly is something people frown upon, but maybe we should learn instead.

1. Take risks!

Kids take risks. The reason is that they don’t have all the answers yet and can’t understand how risky something might be. As an entrepreneur, you also don’t have all the data. You will never have complete certainty.

I have noticed that when you take risks, you may get in trouble. Sometimes, maybe once or twice a year. However, when you don’t take risks, then you get in trouble once or twice a year. Let this be your choice, not something that happens to you.

2. Be curious!

Poking around, experimenting, and breaking things is the way you learn where the limits are and which lines you can cross. Many of the big scientific breakthroughs came about due to grownups being curious about the things most lose interest in. Why is the sky blue? What happens when you move at the speed of light and turn on a flashlight?

Entrepreneurs like scientists need to experiment and fiddle with their projects. Only then can you expect exceptional results.

3. Don‘t direct! Guide!!!

Smaller kids don’t have the authority, and they can’t direct their companions to do things. Instead, they guide them. Kids do things together, and they play together.

Entrepreneurs should be guides who work with their team and get results by setting an example of what to do and how to behave. You will build a culture in your business by being a guide, and the mentality will spread.

4. Pay attention to the little things

Notice the bug crossing the path, and not stepping on it. When you are full of wonder, even the smallest things seem interesting and important. When you work on a project as an entrepreneur, make it your goal to pay attention even to the smallest details. Do that consistently, and you will get results others only dream of.

5. Ask questions!

If you don’t know something, find out. You get to answers by asking questions Entrepreneurs have to be curious to find the answers no one else has found yet.

I little while ago, I was in a meeting where people discussed the terms of an investment agreement. Most of the terms they used were unfamiliar to me. But there were about 20 other people, and no one asked anything. So, I became the guy how put up his hand and said, “I don’t understand” every time something was unclear. I could tell that many people were relieved that I asked the questions.

6. Be social! Talk to people!

My kid is very sociable, says almost every parent. That’s because most kids are! Kids haven’t been burned yet by critique and ridicule that we tend to fear when we get older. But the fear you have of talking to people is baseless. Most people are willing to talk to you because they are secretly afraid to talk to you, too.

When you are an entrepreneur, you need to open doors. The only way to do that is to talk to people. Build your network, as this is the most important tool to grow your business.

7. Show appreciation!

Kids rarely have the means to get the things they want. They need help to get a new phone or a cool toy. A while back, when my boy was three years old, he wanted to get the Thomas the Train set.

Then when he opened the present on Christmas and saw the train set, the reaction was ecstatic. Just that reaction was thanks enough. Thank everybody! Show that you are grateful for small favors and kind gestures. People like to help those who make them feel good, and thanking others makes them happy. As an entrepreneur, you need all the help you can get. So, thank everybody, always.

8. Use things differently!

In the distant past, there was a time when there were no remote controls. I figured that turning the TV on and off with my toes was a much more effective way than doing it with my hands. For kids, pots can be helmets, and pillows make great castle walls. Look at things from a different perspective and find ways to become more effective.

9. Make every penny count!

When you don’t make any money yourself, then all the money you get is much more valuable to you. Kids don’t usually have much money, and the items they want cost a lot. Every penny is important. Bootstrapping a business is pretty much the same. You are racing against the clock to generate revenue before you run out of money. Cut everywhere you can get only the essential equipment you need.

10. Get rid of prejudice!

Everyone is prejudiced in one way or the other. Children are simply less so as there hasn’t been enough time to fix their thought processes. Prejudice is like concrete. You have an opinion that is fixed in your mind, and you are not able to see outside of that box. Prejudice creates blind spots that are hard to get rid of because you don’t know you have them. Seek feedback from your colleagues and friends to see what you are missing. Always try to see things from a different perspective.

The Top 10 Mistakes of Entrepreneurs, Guy Kawasaki [VIDEO]

One of my favorite authors, Guy Kawasaki, lists the top 10 of the mistakes entrepreneurs and startups make when building their business. He covers all stages of a business from inception to exit. The video was recorded at the UC Berkeley Startup Competition (Bplan). Guy Kawasaki is the former chief evangelist of Apple and co-founder of Garage Technology Ventures.

Guy Kawasaki’s presentation starts at 1:46.

Top Ten Mistakes of Entrepreneurs

1. Multiplying big numbers by 1 percent
2. Scaling too soon
3. Partnering
4. Pitching instead of prototyping
5. Using too many slides and too small a font
6. Doing things serially
7. Believing 51% = control
8. Believing patents = defensibility
9. Hiring in your own image
10. Befriending your VCs
11. Thinking VCs can add value

Most important point: under-promise and over-deliver!

The Essence of an Entrepreneur by Uthim Hatari

In whatever you do, you need to set your goals high to get the results that you deserve. Uthim Hatari has distilled the essence of people who do into one neat presentation.

Learn to think big and embrace the ‘Entrepreneurial Spirit’, so that you see the sky as the floor and not the limit! This slide show is designed to provoke thought. It won’t solve all your problems, but for many it will be a helpful and inspiring place to start.

Here are some of the highlights of the slide deck:

• An entrepreneur knows what will be.
• Even the risks are not a maybe. The risks will be.
• When was the last time… You took a risk?
• The entrepreneur never quits. Every challenge increases determination.
• The entrepreneurial spirit applies to everything.
• See the sky as the “floor.” Not the limit.
• Deliver con-sis-tent-ly.

_________________________
Marvin Meyer

Share with your friend!