If you’re like me, you’ve probably said this statement many times: “If I had only known then what I know now.” I understand that mistakes are part of the process, but do I have to make so many of them!?! Experience has made me a fast learner and now, more than ever, I pay attention to those who have gone ahead of me so I can learn from their mistakes and hopefully not make so many on my own. Maybe you do too.

To gain some more insight, I asked business owners who have been in business five years or more the same question, “If you would have known then what you know now, what would you have done differently and why?” Their answers were not only insightful, but inspiring and I think you will really appreciate what they had to say.

So here you go; 29 (plus one) insights from business owners like us on what they would have done differently had they known.

We would love to hear your answers too, please leave a comment and let us know, “What would you have done differently in your business if you would have known then what you know now.”

Enjoy!

1. Hire Slowly, Fire Quickly

Oh man, I wish I would have remembered this one every day when I woke up. There is little of greater importance than having the right people on your team(s) and when you find out an apple has gone bad or you have found a worm in a seemingly perfect apple, get rid of it ASAP! The old adage is often true, ’some dogs can’t hunt’.

Thanks to Ben Sayers, VoIP Supply, LLC.,VoIP phone systems, in business 8 years

2. Be More Open to ChangeTechnology and trends are constantly evolving: one day you are set in your Facebook ways and the next day Pinterest is the new phenomenon. Social media has changed the way we do business and how startups utilize it is integral to your success. However, if someone told me this during social media’s infancy, I would have called them crazy. I let all my years in business bias my first impression of social media and thought it was simply a fad. I couldn’t have been more wrong! Social media has changed the way we do business and has set the bar for the way we measure success. If companies are not willing to adapt, they will never become an industry leader or experience great successes.

Thanks to Jim Joyal,, SHIFT Communications, PR and social media agency, in business 9 years

3. Be the Boss Not the Buddy

Don’t be friends with employees. When you try to be too nice it makes it easy for others to take advantage of you, and that’s been true of about 80 percent of everyone I hired in the past. There was a time when I would give a job to almost anyone who asked, regardless if they were qualified or not, because back then I had the capital and I did not want to be the person who turned them down. Most of the money I lost when I started out was due to being overly tolerant of inefficient employees. It’s fine to be friendly with your staff, but you have to set boundaries and be willing to be a firm boss — whether you have three or 300 people working for you.

Thanks to Cathy Ward, BridesVillage.com, wedding accessories e-commerce retailer, 11 years in business

4. Lock in Your Location

Had I known then what I know now, I would have done everything possible to purchase my own business property. Last year, the rent for my original office, located in the Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn doubled, necessitating my having to move during my income tax preparation season.  If I had to rent a property, the lease would have included a “lease to own” clause and have a termination date during my slow season.

Thanks to Eustace L. Greaves Jr., Greaves Financial Services, Insurance and Income Tax Preparation Services, 17 years in business

5.  Start with Sustainably in Mind

In hind sight I would have focused much more deeply on a sustainable way to generate deal flow and new leads. No matter how large you think your network is (mine is large) it is not large enough and although power networking/word of mouth is the best source of leads of all the advisor/coach /consultant/soloprenuers I know almost none are reaching their personal income goals. What I am doing differently is focusing on the internet. I have just launched an e-commerce site and hope to launch a content site in the next 90 days. Historically my advisory services were delivered on site at companies located regional. I will continue with my advisory work with about 1/3 of my time, but focus on national and to a lesser extent international clientele via phone or Skype.

Thanks to Ajax Greene, On Belay Business Advisors Inc., business advising, 7 years in business

6. Know the Value of Vision

I would have placed an earlier emphasis to define the vision, mission and values of our company. It is important for the value of our employees to be aligned with my vision for our Company.

Thanks to Jason Maxwell, MassPay Payroll Services, payroll services company, in business for 8 years

7. Eliminate Distractions

Having owned several companies, I would have eliminated my distractions sooner than I did, e.g. real estate investments (rentals), buying and selling a laundromat, renovating homes, etc. While all the ventures were profitable they took away from focusing on building a brand that ultimately would have had more value than the combined profits of each transaction not related to directly building that brand.

Thanks to Joseph Carvelli, Retail Ingenuity, retail inventory and sales forecasting, in business for 12 years

8. Set Aside Significant Saving

I assumed if I built a good product, they would come! I had no idea how costly being in business would be, the amount of money I needed to succeed, or the toll the financial strain would take.

I am blessed that I had the tenacity and the strength to succeed despite overwhelming odds. If I could go back to the beginning, I would make sure I had significant savings set aside, or capital from another source. I cannot overstate the importance of being properly funded!

Thanks to Regina McRae, Grandma’s Secrets, dessert delivery, in business for 18 years

9. Put More Emphasis on Processes

If I had known then what I did now I would have put a lot more time into creating processes.  I find that with the majority of businesses these fundamentals often get overlooked and sometimes ignored completely. To me this is utter madness! A company can succeed or fail just by their processes. We find that we avoid 99% of mistakes because we process them out. This not only avoids unnecessary errors and client issues, but actually makes the company as a whole more efficient.

Thanks to Ben Norman, Koozai Ltd., UK based digital marketing agency , in business for 6 years

10. Delegate, Delegate, Delegate

I would have delegated more and not tried to do everything myself. Although it does take time to build relationships with your staff, I waited too long to delegate certain responsibilities that could have been done by someone else. Giving responsibilities does much to validate a staff member’s gifts and also demonstrates a deeper level of trust in the employer / employee relationship. Letting go of certain tasks has been difficult for me but I have come to realize that the more responsibilities I entrust to others in their areas of expertise, the lighter I feel, the more confident a staff member becomes and greater things are achieved by their efforts than could have been done otherwise.

Thanks to Stephanie Ciccarelli, Voices.com, online voiceover talent marketplace, in business for 8 years

11. Let Go and Let it Grow

For many years I had to know everything and do everything. I have discovered that other people and organizations can do things better and at a lower cost than doing it myself.  Letting go has enabled my business to grow and prosper and made my life much easier.

Thanks to Bob Shirilla, Keepsakes Etc. and Simply Bags in business for 30 years

12. Avoid Delaying Difficult Decisions

My biggest lesson over the years was learning that sometimes decisions had to be made for the good of the company, which sometimes meant disciplining or dismissing employees. In particular, when the economy started going into recession, I had to fire one of my closest friends in order to keep the company going. I should have done it sooner. As a result of my delay, it took a while to regain the company’s financial stability. Making difficult decisions is part of owning a business. Owners have to be willing to do it.

Thanks to Susan Southerland, Just Marry, Just Right DM and The Susan Southerland Secret, event planning, destination management, and small business consulting, in business for 20 years

13. Start with a Solid Team

I would have started with a solid business plan, hired an account, and started with a solid team around me.  There are not many businesses that are successful with one person wearing so many hats. Do what you do best and allow others to contribute what they do best to help your business grow.

Thanks to Amore Leighton Black, Apples & Oranges Public Relations, public relations and marketing, in business 7 years

14. Charge What I am Worth

I would have charged more! I was so excited to be working for myself doing something I loved. I’ve never been a person who chased profits -that’s not why I do what I do. But I didn’t do my homework and when I started, I charged pretty close to what I was making hourly at the jobs I’d left behind. That was all fine dandy except when working for myself, that wasn’t enough to cover things like taxes, health insurance, and so on. And also, I was definitely undervaluing my services. I was booked ALL the time, yet I could never seem to get ahead. Even though my clients all loved me and thanked me for my work, I doubted my value, and that was definitely reflected in my pricing.

Thanks to Alaia Williams, One Organized Business, professional organizing and small business systems consulting, in business 5 years

15. Focus on Building Relationships

We spent a fortune of money on advertising when we started out (with unimpressive results). We then changed our focus on relationship building with existing clients and organic search maximization vs. paid ads.  Now we see incredible returns in the form of referrals, and new business at a cost that is a fraction of what we used to spend. We needed to learn the hard way but if I knew then…

Thanks to Ben Schusterman, ElJet Aviation Services - private jet charter service, in business for 5 years

16. Start with More Money, Less Friends

I would start with about three-times as much cash as I thought I needed. I’d also be cautious around hiring friends/family.

Thanks to Heidi Ganahl, Camp Bow Wow, doggy day & overnight care, in business for 12 years

17. Use a Better Business Model

If we knew then what we know now, we would have started with the business model that we changed to about two years ago. Before the recession hit, we charged $39.95 for an annual membership with no free trial, and no automatic rebilling at the end of their membership term. During the recession, the rate in which we generated new members waned and we reached a growth plateau. To combat our stagnation we decided to change our revenue model to a free trial and a monthly rebilling combination. We implemented a three-day free trial and then a recurring $18.95 monthly fee after the three days expired. We are doing very well as a company now, but in retrospect, we should have thought about rebilling from the get go.

Thanks to Ian Aronovich, GovernmentAuctions.org, providing information about government auctions of seized and surplus merchandise

18. Hire Employees Sooner

One thing I would do differently if I were starting my training business today would be to make my first hire sooner. Operating on shoestring (and a broken one at that), I originally had to do everything myself. The thrift that made it possible for me to survive and then thrive in the beginning quickly became a hindrance when I delayed hiring people who could do any number of specific tasks easier, cheaper and far better than I could.

Thanks to Barry Maher, Barry Maher & Associates, motivational speaker, leadership trainer

19. Dream Bigger

I would have dreamed bigger from the start. In the beginning, my focus was on serving clients in my own Puget Sound backyard, even though successful people who were familiar with my publicity expertise and storytelling gifts were telling me to think nationally or globally. If I had it to do over again, I would have put more emphasis on national and global reach of my message right from the start.  Lead with juicier, higher value, and leveraged offerings first. When I was just starting out, I put a lot of emphasis on creating the absolute best $10 product about do-it-yourself publicity that I could create. Yes, the Media-Savvy-to-Go Publicity Tips Booklets have sold by the thousands since debuting in August of 2006. However, it is so much easier to make a bigger impact for more people and my own balance sheet by leading with a juicer, higher value offering. Today, the Broadcast Your Brilliance Webinar Series and Bye-Bye Boring Bio PLUS! Programs deliver great value for many around the nation and the world at price points that make it a whole lot easier to make a good living. Whether you create an entry level product or something much more, you still have to create all the systems to support those offerings. By leading with a deeper offering, the rewards are greater for all.

Thanks to Nancy Juetten, Authentic Visibility, PR tools and training, in business 11 years

20. Approach Additional Services More Cautiously

I’ve been in business as a web designer for 18 years. The main thing I would have done differently knowing then what I’ve learned along the way is I would approach any add-on services very cautiously. I used to briefly check out add-on services such as hosting, domain name management, and others, and then I would jump in whole-heartedly. Most of the time, it worked out fine for me. However, the occasional missteps cost me dearly.  As I learned more about running a business, I also learned through hard knocks that it is much better to approach additional services methodically and cautiously. I don’t put a lot of funding and energy into them until I’m sure it is the right thing to offer. I’ve learned it is easier to resist the urge to jump at opportunities than it is to extract myself from the occasional quagmire!

Thanks to Jim Smith, Blarneystone, LLC web design, in business for 18 years

21. Give More Away Sooner and Speak More

Network a lot more in person (the Internet was in its commercial infancy) and hunt for in-person speaking engagements, even if they are not paid.  Good writing alone is not enough to convince clients to hire you. They want to hear you speak on your topic of expertise, and when you help business owners with their problems or concerns, they are more likely to hire you and/or to recommend you to others who hire you. I once helped a business owner write something for his church at no charge, and with another small assignment that paid very little. That led to a long-term writing assignment that exceeded $40,000 in fees. Sow seeds of good will and interest through your networking, speaking, and help. Continue to do this even after your business is successful because it leads to more success.

Thanks to Candace Talmadge, Talmadge Writing Services, writing services, in business for 29 years

22. Been More Focused on This Business

I wouldn’t have started it out of my apt.  I would have “cleared the decks better” by parsing other interests that I was juggling at the same time. I would have learned more about guarding a business (legal, insurance, LLC/Scorp/Inc).  I would not have spent so much money on a business plan.

Thanks to Todd Greene, HeadBlade men’s grooming, in business 12 years

23. Don’t Do It All Yourself

I would have gotten an assistant, accountant and web coder much earlier. I did it all myself for 8 years in my business and have only been hiring assistance for the last two years. I knew it would free up my time to hire people - and what I didn’t know was how much it would free up my mind and let me do better, more powerful work along the way. I’ve been able to create more products and do more thought leadership since getting those little tasks off my plate… and if I’d done it earlier, I can only imagine how amazing things would be.

Thanks to Erin Ferree, BrandStyle Design, branding for small businesses, in business for 10 years

24. Look Before Leaping

What I know now is the huge cost of marketing and promotion required to build demand. We started out expecting to sell retailers and distributors and attend trade shows and travel to customers and sell and spent two years on that path. Then we took a hard right and for past two years we have evolved into an Internet retailer running DRTV (Direct Response TV) infomercials with 85% of our business now direct to the consumer. Social media was never in the business plan either now it’s vital.

What would I do differently knowing what I know now? (1) Keep my old job as long as possible and not leapt off the cliff (but it was a nice feeling) (2) Anticipate 5 years to break-even, and set aside “don’t touch” money.

Do I regret jumping off the cliff? No way. As I tell my wife- don’t look down, keep looking up!

Thanks to Brad Barrett, GrillGrate, LLC, grill surface for better food, in business 5 years

25. Pick More Profitable Partnerships

I would have used deeper discernment in picking partners/vendors/joint ventures, even markets. I picked some doozey’s AND after the fact, saw all the red flags.

Thanks to Shawne Duperon, ShawneTV, media coach and production company, in business 11 years

26. Focus on Face to Face Interactions and New Technology

We learned a lot of lessons in starting our company. For example, we would never produce four-color mailers that are sent to mass prospective clients. We’ve learned that face-to-face interaction and building the business relationship is key. (This was pre-Internet). We also learned that a lot of mailing lists are not updated. This endeavor was expensive and resulted in a poor ROI. When the Internet came around, we certainly would have jumped on this new technology much earlier — developing a website much sooner. It’s an amazing tool to get your message out to the world to sell products and services with visuals. We try to make it much easier for clients to find us rather than we search for a ‘needle in a haystack’ to find prospective clients.

Thanks to Greg Jenkins, Bravo Productions, event planning and production company, in business 25 years

27. Plan For Growth, Be More Discerning in Following Advice

As the owner of a driving school in New York City, my first big regret is that I did not get all other licenses (Motorcycle, Bus, Truck license) earlier in life. I just pass my truck road test Tuesday January 17 2012.  Now I have to wait two more years before I can expand to teach Truck Lessons thanks to NYS requirement. Secondly, I was too naive and trusted many so called experts that convince me how to run my business only to find out they were wrong.  I wasted a lot of money trying ideas that did not work. 3.  In the real estate boom time I should have purchase commercial real estate to accommodate my growing business.  Now it’s impossible to get a loan.  I would have preferred to spend a bit more money to secure a property.

Thanks to Rajendra Hariprashad, Ena’s Driving School, in business for 8 years

28. Leverage People, Build a System

If I knew then what I know now I would have invested in two areas. One, I would have developed other people and brought them into the business sooner. No one is good at everything. Even Michael Jordon had a coach and team mates. One of my friends started a business five years ago and has 700 people working for him today. The more you can leverage other people and create a ladder for them to achieve what they want to then the more successful you will be. Find people you can trust and learn to work effectively with them. My business is much stronger today because I have a strong team.

Secondly, every business needs a system to build a pipeline that is consistent and measurable. I have depended too much in my business on my farming method which is delivering exceptional value to people I meet and eventually they and their friends become clients. I wish I would have understood how to build visibility for my business in my target market like I do today. I am beginning to develop a hybrid model that is both farming and hunting which I believe in the long run will deliver greater growth to my business. My approach that involves taking a prospect from visibility, credibility, and trust is proving to be highly effective. When people work with me they become more than clients they become friends because I am invested in their success. Everyday owning a business is a learning experience. I am very happy it is what I have chosen to pursue in my life.

Thanks to John Paul Engle, Knowledge Capital Consulting in business 10 years

29. Focus on Building Relationships with Customers

When I first started out, like most new veterinarians, my prime concern was my patients and their care. What I failed to fully appreciate was that each patient had an owner (aka client) attached to it! Often I would not address the needs and concerns of the client as well as I was trying to practice medicine and over time, I likely lost clients who, if I had better built my relationship with them, would still be a client today.

Thanks to Dr. James Day, Glendale Animal Hospital, veterinary practice in Glendale, Arizona, in business for 27 years

Bonus Tip:

30. Establish Boundaries With Employees

I would certainly separate “church and state” and I would have been more of a leader than a friend. As an owner and an active President& CEO of a small business- I’m in constant contact with my employees. When hiring new employees, certain requirements and credentials are necessary including: experience, expertise, and industry knowledge. Additionally, I look for multiple interpersonal skills and qualifications. That said, I’ve managed to find and retain wonderful employees who work well and who work well with one another. Formulating good friendships with my employees is nice but maintaining and stepping up as more of a leader at times, has been challenging. Establishing boundaries early on with employees is key and I wish I had known the importance of this, earlier on.

Thanks to Georgette Pascale, Pascale Communications, LLC. a healthcare specific PR firm, in business 7 years

Want to get more inexpensive and practical small business marketing ideas, grab a free e-book called “Build Buzz for Your Biz, 23 Creative and Inexpensive Marketing Strategies That Will Get You Noticed” at http://23kazoos.com.

Wendy Kenney is the bestselling author of How to Build Buzz for Your Business available on Amazon.com, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Newsday.

A new project by California eco-urban design firm LJ Urban aims to make giving more concrete—quite literally—by matching its sales of homes domestically with funds to build homes in the impoverished African nation of Burkina Faso.

Urban has designed a new eco-urban community of 35 LEED ND Certified homes in the urban core of Sacramento, its home town. The community is suggestively named Good, and for each home within it that gets sold, LJ Urban has committed to funding the complete training of a West African mason to build sustainable homes for families in Burkina Faso. By partnering with the Association La Voûte Nubienne (AVN), which has already trained about 60 local masons to build durable homes out of earth bricks and mortar, LJ Urban aims to go beyond just providing homes to impart enduring skills and jobs to the local community. Taking the notion a step further, LJ Urban has also opted to skip the expensive marketing campaign to promote its Good community, and to use that money to train more African masons instead. So, for every 100,000 people who visit LJ Urban’s new, dedicated website by July 1st, the company will fund the complete training of another local Burkina Faso mason—up to 20 in all through this viral approach.

The Good project was inspired by Toms Shoes, a project that donates a pair of shoes for every one it sells. “[That] approach captivated us because it broke through the ‘charity fatigue’ all of us have felt at one time or another,” LJ Urban’s team explains. “The question then became: ‘What if we could do something like that with our houses?’…” The project is also reminiscent of One Laptop Per Child’s (OLPC’s) “Give One Get One” campaign last year through which consumers could donate a laptop and get one for their own use at the same time.

“As three women in a male-dominated industry, we took a risk by starting a company together. My partner Rae is a single mom of three children (one severely handicapped) and I have a speech disorder that makes it difficult for me to communicate, statistics say we probably should have kept day jobs.” — Lisa Barone

Starting a business during a recession is a risky thing to do, but also the optimal time for new ideas, better services and plucky folks to connect. Top of mind for this crew is empowering others to take smart risks. “We did it and we want others to know they can do that too.”

Behind The Scenes

Rae Hoffman	Rhea Drysdale	Lisa Barone
Rae Hoffman is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Outspoken Media, Inc. In 1997 Rae started a small website about her son and his medical condition that became one of the first international support groups on the topic. It earned national media coverage and helped further medical research in the field… More about Rae Hoffman	Rhea Drysdale is Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Outspoken Media, Inc. Since 2004 Rhea has grown her understanding of on-page optimization, online reputation management and social media with both in-house and agency positions. Rhea loves working with clients… More about Rhea Drysdale	Lisa Barone is Co-Founder and Chief Branding Officer of Outspoken Media, Inc. Lisa has been involved in the SEO community since 2006 and is widely known for her honest industry observations, her inability to not say exactly what she’s thinking, and her excessive on-the-clock Twittering… More about Lisa Barone

OutspokenMedia works with clients to develop marketing strategies that encourage them to do great things and to care about their niche communities. The Outspoken blog was developed to prompt action in the community as well as teach. Outspoken presents How Tos to small business owners helping them market their own businesses and get more from online.  The recession has given entrepreneurs an even larger opportunity to go out on their own and succeed. It hasn’t taken it away.

Here is a bit from my interview with Lisa from OutspokenMedia.com…

When did the idea for starting your business come to you?
Having my own business was never something I was aspiring to. I was very much content in the stability of being an employee and receiving a steady paycheck. However, in January I was three months into a new job (a job I had moved from CA to NY to take) and came to a point where I knew in my heart it wasn’t going to work out. So the decision was to stay in a job I wasn’t comfortable in to keep a paycheck or venture out on my own in a bad economy.  It may seem crazy to some but, I chose the latter option.

Luckily, it didn’t take more than a few chats with my then-friends, now business partners, Rae Hoffman and Rhea Drysdale to be confident that we could do something together. So really just like that, we formed Outspoken Media, a new kind of Internet marketing company.  Deciding to start the company was probably one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make. Committing to myself to something that huge was an enormous undertaking for me. But I’m very glad I did it.

What do you do?
My official role at Outspoken is that of Chief Branding Officer, which to me means that I’m responsible for starting conversations. Whether that’s for us or for clients, through the blog or on Twitter, or through any other medium, my job really is to build brands and conversation through communities on the Web.  I help people their evangelists and build bridges.

What’s the biggest challenges you’ve had to overcome to start your business?
Learning how to wear so many hats.  Before I’ve always had very specific job descriptions. When the business is your own, you find yourself taking on tasks you never imagined.  There’s a constant learning curve.

What’s the most satisfying thing about running your business?
The freedom to do what I feel is right.  I’m a blogger and a bit mouthy, so working for someone else always meant that I had to temper that. I had to watch what I wrote, watch what I said, pick my battles, etc.  Now I get to blog as me and for me, which I think makes my blogging more genuine and more engaging for readers. It probably doesn’t sound like that big of a change, but to me it’s been night and day and something I’m incredibly grateful for.  I can’t always say what I want to in real life due to my speech difficulties, so having total freedom of my written voice means everything to me.  It’s empowered me.

Has running your business been what you expected it would be? How?
There’s a lot more to it than I ever thought. I knew that it would be long hours and that it’d grueling at times…I just thought at some point that would stop and that I’d have a day to catch my breath. That day hasn’t hit yet. My biggest lesson has been that it just never stops. There’s always something to do, something more than needs tweaking, an email to respond to, a blog post to write, someone to reach out to, etc.  I’ve learned that running your own business really is a 247 job. I love it. It’s been great and incredibly rewarding, but there’s so much more to it than I ever knew.  Every so often a crisis will break out and I’ll turn to one of my partners and say, “someone should really take care of that!”, and then I remember that I’m that person. If I want something done, I’m the person to do it.

How did you fund your business in the beginning?
I think that’s the beauty of the Internet, you can start a business with very low capital.  Because we’re a service-based company, the only initial costs we had were those involved with skinning the Web site. The domain was already bought, we had hosting, etc. From there the “cost” really is time. It’s been working to build the brand, getting our name out, letting people know we exist, and taking on clients.

What is your passion?
Using my voice in a way that helps others.  I love that the blog allows me to share advice, concerns, issues, etc, with people and to have an impact on their day or to touch them in some way. There’s no greater feeling than that.

What makes you get up in the morning?
My business partners and knowing that we’re capable of doing great things for clients, in a style that’s true to us.  It’s nice believing in what you do and the way you do it.

I just moderated an expert panel on video as part of the Wells Fargo Webcast Series on this very topic and believe it’s a great way to get a snapshot of residential and commercial real estate realities and strategies. The program discusses how real estate can be a tool for reducing expenses as well as generating revenue. It also sheds light on the new rules of the road, including federal initiatives that impact us. Learn about:

• Lowering monthly payments by refinancing or renegotiating
• Mitigating commercial property tenant vacancies
• Reducing overall operating expenses and discovering true cost savings for your business
• Adapting to the current residential and commercial property markets

The site is one of the experiments I like to refer to as the “inverted news paper” - citizen journalism at its most raw. Every day, a wealth of local information is created — officials inspect restaurants, journalists cover fires and Web users post photographs — but who has time to sort through all of that? EveryBlock aims to collect all of the news and civic goings-on that have happened recently in your city, and make it simple for you to keep track of news in particular areas. They’re a geographic filter — a “news feed” for your neighborhood, or, yes, even your block.

If your business is local and serving the public, check out how you are being discussed in your communuty.

Traditionally, companies that “do good” are generally non profits, and when people find out that a traditional small business is also “doing good” they feel like somehow the company must be taking advantage of the community it is serving if it is also turning a profit. I do not believe this to be the case and formed my consulting company based on the premise that small businesses would contribute to a triple bottom line if they knew where to find it.

Creative Capitalism has been around for a while. Formerly known as social entrepreneurism, it is a concept newly labeled by Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and other market leaders and the premise is that “we should attempt to stretch the reach of market forces so that more companies can benefit from doing work that makes more people better off.” The book is available on Amazon (unsure of where the profits go). So far, it’s a pretty foreign concept to most bottom-line discussions. Having spent time reviewing the giving trends of big tycoons in the past (land trusts, libraries, parks), there is something different about the timing of this idea: the generation that is receiving it.  

The 30 and 20-somethings have grown disillusioned with where the 1980s consumption and 1990s holding on behavior have gotten us. Those that have the means to get out and travel, see the disparity in the world, come back and want to do something about it. With technology to reflect back their experiences they are twittering, facebooking, myspacing and texting what they are seeing to one another – and a small group are doing something about it.

Why profile TOMS?

Two reasons: 1) Anyone who has seen true the true spirit of leadership in play knows it is the eagerness to lose oneself in the group for the good of the group. This quality is best exemplified in Blake Mycoskie for the simple reason: that is where the heart of his business began. One for One, from day One. 2) Any size business should learn that a social model (something that takes into account the community in which it survives) thrives 10-fold compared to businesses that have tunnel-vision on bottom line sales. There is something to be said for karma.

About the Company

TOMS Shoes promises to give to children in need a pair of shoes for each pair it sells. The company  has given over 140,000 pairs of shoes and expects to give more than 300,000 pairs this year.

TOMS Shoes launched in Venice, California and sold 10,000 pairs during the first year in business. As a result, Blake returned to Argentina in October of 2006 with family and friends and unveiled the second phase of his business plan: the Shoe Drop Tour. To meet demand, TOMS now offers Shoe Drop Tours throughout diverse regions of Argentina. These are volunteer opportunities where TOMS Shoes supporters hand-deliver shoes to children. Since its beginning, TOMS has given over 140,000 shoes to children in need around the world. 

Here is a bit of my discussion with Blake:

Why shoes?
BLAKE: Walking is the primary mode of transportation in developing countries. Children walk miles just to get food and water, to make their way to school, or to reach medical help. In some communities, children can’t even attend school unless they have proper footwear. And the leading plague in these countries is soil-transmitted parasites. Shoes are such a simple answer to these problems children face every day.

See TOMS educational videos: One Day Without Shoes and Why Ethiopia (warning on the second video for graphic images)

Technology is required in today’s job market. Is TOMS Shoes looking to attract a blended workforce, or does the average age of the workers in the company reflect a standard .com?
BLAKE: For the first few years, our staff reflected the young, evolving company that we were. But as we grow, TOMS is definitely looking to attract a diverse workforce. We’ve become much more aware of our needs, and therefore able to hire individuals with specific skill sets, relevant experience, and worthy knowledge. I am still the CEO and Chief Shoe Giver, and I continue to immerse myself in TOMS because it’s my passion. I have creative ideas and feverish curiosity, and my team is receptive to that. But I definitely have trust in those who are facilitating the every day, drafting direction, and establishing strategies.

Your company is for-profit. What sort of profit sharing model exists for the employees and how did you arrive at the decision to not do a nonprofit?
BLAKE: My earnings from other businesses I had started before TOMS are what kept us afloat in the earlier days- TOMS was not funded by an outside 3rd party. I never had to present a business plan or get approval, I just had trust in myself and the One for One concept. Of course people laughed when I said TOMS would give a pair of shoes away for every pair we sold, but now TOMS is proving One for One as a viable business model. Our customers have been amazing supporters since day 1.

I created TOMS as a for-profit business to ensure a sustainable way of giving. We’re able to give shoes weekly in Ethiopia, and monthly in Argentina. I also wanted to prove that you can build giving into your business model from day one and still be profitable. We get a lot of inquiries from all types of organizations wanting to get involved with TOMS in one way or another. It’s a blessing, really, but we have to be careful in these first critical years of building our brand.

You are an example of an individual whose actions will help define the generation they are in. Your generation is described as both the “me generation” and the “giving generation.” How do you think your generation should be characterized?
BLAKE: This generation is one that thrives off of action. We don’t dream about change, we make it happen. We don’t imagine a way to incorporate giving in to our daily lives- we do it. TOMS has so many young supporters who are passionate about the One for One movement, and who share the story and inspire others every day they wear their TOMS. Seeing them support this business model is proof that this generation is ready and able to create a better tomorrow.

People connect with TOMS beyond just owning another pair of shoes. There’s something more every time you slip on a pair, every time you share the story, every time you suggest a pair of TOMS as a gift because no matter what brought you to purchasing a pair of TOMS, you are making an impact on a child’s life. Will there be saturation of cause-based marketing? Most likely, but TOMS has paved the way for other entrepreneurs to incorporate giving in to their businesses.

The One for One mission is sticking with this generation, and causing a new way of thinking. We grew up with parents who were taking those first small steps, and now we are just charging full speed ahead towards a better tomorrow. We have to. One for One is proving that you can bring closure to an issue by incorporating a conscious decision in to the actions you already take- whether its as a consumer purchasing a product, or a business looking for ways to inspire a better tomorrow. It makes consumerism and philanthropy come together full circle.

Carpe Diem!

To survive you’ll have to make the most of your time (which you likely have more of as a result of less customer activity) and take into account the impact of your business bolstering efforts today as well as in the long term.

Here are tried and true survival strategies used by successful entrepreneurs:

1. Cozy up with Customers. They’re your lifeblood. But much like you, your customers are under duress. Take them to lunch and commiserate. Provide a giveaway recognizing their past patronage using inventory that’s collecting dust. If you take the time to listen to customers’ needs and show them you genuinely care about their welfare and success, you’ll likely uncover immediate business opportunities as well as engender future loyalty.

2. Experiment. The worst thing to do during tough times is lose your entrepreneurial spirit. Use the extra time on hand to conduct otherwise too time-consuming ideas you’ve always wanted to explore. For example, it could be a strategic alliance with a complementary business or a special buy-one-get-one-free email marketing campaign (we recommend VerticalResponse), just about anything product-, operational- or marketing-related that you’ve simply never had the time to try because you were too busy.

3. Loop in Financiers. With the overall economy in a recession, it’s likely your business is taking a hit, too. Rather than recoiling into the shadows, proactively share exactly what’s happening and what your plan is with your banker or other capital sources. Ensuring that they understand your business and are well attuned to your future plans will help you avoid financial surprises that often occur when parties aren’t well informed.

4. Trim Hours Not Staff. If lower revenue is a reality, consider cutting hours of your employees rather than firing them outright. It not only shows you care about their welfare, but strategically it also helps you retain your most valuable asset – your people – for when the economy inevitably turns around and you need 100%+ hours from them. Firing is difficult, but hiring quality people and training them is a huge burden on a business you should avoid if you can.

5. Stretch Your Spend. To make every dollar go as far as possible, review all of your vendor contracts. Where reasonable ask for breaks on pricing. Everyone’s in this together and though your heroics have made you the leader of your company, and a shining example of an American entrepreneur, don’t let your pride keep you from taking advantage of these potential savings. Every dollar saved will be critical during the down year to come.

Quote to consider

No written word, no spoken plea Can teach our youth what they should be; Nor all the books on all the shelves It’s what the teachers are themselves. Given to John Wooden by his Father upon Graduation And now to You

He is, quite simply, the greatest basketball coach ever. The numbers speak for themselves: 10 NCAA championships in 12 years, including seven straight national championships, 38 straight tournament wins and 88 straight wins overall. You don’t build a record like that without being a great leader and without being able to mold and shape raw talent into cohesive teams that make winning a part of their very existence. A day after his 95th birthday, UCLA’s head basketball coach emeritus brought his leadership lessons to UCLA’s Alumni Weekend Conference, where he shared his thoughts on team spirit, teaching and — most important to him — poetry, during a conversation with author Steve Jamison and a group of business school graduates.

I don’t like to give advice. I’ll give opinions.

You’ve got to get across to each individual that what we are interested in is what is going to work for all. You have to think for the group and not just of yourself.

I once heard team spirit defined as a willingness to lose oneself in the group for the good of the group. I used that for a spell, but it wasn’t quite what I wanted somehow. Eventually, I decided that I would eliminate the word “willingness” and institute “eagerness” — an eagerness to lose one’s self in the group for the good of the group.

[A leader] is just part of the group. You have to be firm but not stubborn. Stubbornness we deprecate, firmness we condone. The former is my neighbor’s trait; the latter is my own.

We’re all different. The good Lord in his wisdom didn’t create us the same. Some players, for example, I had to pat on the back constantly, and there are others I had to pat a little lower and a little harder. You can’t treat everybody alike. You have to try to give everyone the treatment they earn and deserve under your supervision.

When you have to discipline, do it privately and not before others. Don’t embarrass them before their peers.

• Complete Interview
• Coach Wood web site (warning he has audio on his web site)
• His books

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But there’s one thing I love more: Inspiring people to start and grow successful businesses.

That’s why I passionately accepted an invitation from Franchise India, Asia’s largest small business publisher and coordinator for entrepreneurship events, to chair their conference on entrepreneurship this year and to share all that I can about American style entrepreneurship, what works, what doesn’t, how to do it, why to do it, and who it’s for.

Yes, that’s me you see through the dust on that billboard.

The two-day event spans November 28-29 and will be host to an international audience of people wishing to catch the spark of business ownership and successful business growth. While you’re eating turkey with cranberry sauce, I’ll be scrambling for a Tandoori variation on a theme wherever I can find it!

Here’s the event website.

Yes, the global economy is going to belly smack in the months ahead, and the sting may not go away for a while, but one thing is for sure: Entrepreneurship will not slow. In fact, we believe it will speed up. As more and more people are turned away from large employers, they will have to turn to themselves.

And the beauty is, it’s easier than ever to do so. The tools–websites, software, devices, etc.–are there. The culture is there. In fact, working for yourself and working from home are “in”. The outsourcing resources–accountants, web designers, virtual assistants, etc.–are there. Entrepreneurship is tee’d up like never before.

StartupNation community members - the people who LIVE THE DREAM every day - I promise to take your spirit with me to inspire your peers in India and TURN THEM ON to what’s possible. And don’t be surprised if you start seeing a groundswell of them probing for help in our entrepreneur forums in the near future.

Mixing in her observations on both Presidents and their extraordinary leadership skills, she recently wrote an article that was published in Parade about the essential ingredients of great leadership.

As an aid for anyone running a business, I thought it might be valuable to list what Goodwin identifies as the 10 outstanding qualities that Lincoln and Roosevelt exhibited and to see if these same qualities could help you be more successful in leading your business to success.

Here’s the list, including my interpretations/paraphrasing plus direct business applications:

1. The courage to stay strong – both Lincoln and Roosevelt overcame extreme adversity, refusing to succumb, staying steadfast in their roles. Business application:  Businesses, new or old, inevitably face moments when the challenge is extreme. Your mettle during these times will likely determine whether your business succeeds or fails.
2. Self confidence – the Presidents’ personal strength allowed them to surround themselves with strong-willed, capable people who were never shy nor short on advice whether in agreement with their leader or not. Business application: The more qualified, engaged and vocal your key team members are, the more likely you are to be able to incorporate the best strategies into your action plans. This applies to partners, employees, key vendors and contractors and even vocal customers. It’s often said that the smartest business owners surround themselves with people who are even smarter.
3. An ability to learn from errors – acknowledging missteps is critical in order for anyone to improve and enhance what they deliver as a leader. Both Lincoln and FDR paid attention to what didn’t work so they could avoid such errors going forward. Business application: What you do wrong when running your business is the proving ground for doing it right next time around. Business is an iterative activity. Try this, try that, see what works and what doesn’t, and ultimately, you’ll find that your failures guide you to your successes.
4. A willingness to change – momentum is dangerous as a primary cause for next actions. If the environment or circumstances changed, both Presidents were willing to revise their views and plans. Business application: Business plans are never set in stone. They should be dynamic documents that allow you to rev up or down certain initiatives or even abandon some plans and embark on completely new ones if the marketplace realities demand it. Don’t ever hesitate to derail an old plan if it’s no longer in sync with your best business opportunity.
5. Emotional intelligence – both Presidents respected their staff members and the realities confronting their constituents. This allowed them to be able to act compassionately. Business application:  Your business is made of people – those who run it, service it, finance it, buy from it. Be respectful of the needs and realities of your people and you’ll have the human factor as wind in your sails instead of something that foils your efforts.
6. Self control – Rather than letting anger or impulses dictate their actions, Lincoln and Roosevelt exercised extraordinary restraint. They were deliberate in allowing themselves to cool off before reacting and stayed cool in the midst of extreme challenge. Business application: Mix a little “methodical” in with your “maniacal” passion and you’ll have a great combo. This approach will help you react to major events in the most clear-headed, effective way. Most of the time, there’s a solution that’s available as long as you’re calm and deliberate.
7. A popular touch – these leaders had extraordinary senses of timing, enabling them to pursue their boldest initiatives only when public sentiment would enable the initiatives to have a chance to come to fruition. Business application: The more you endear yourself with your community, the more likely you are to enjoy new and growing business opportunities. Be involved and be a positive force in your physical or virtual community such as within the StartupNation online community and it will pay dividends.
8. A moral compass – neither leader was willing to forego their sense of “right.” In spite of threats and guaranteed difficulty, Lincoln and Roosevelt stuck to what they believed in. Business application: As a leader of your business, you have the opportunity to make your work meaningful. The more you stick to what you believe is right and is consistent with your personal moral fabric, the more likely you’ll be able to maintain your passion for the business. It becomes an expression of you. This doesn’t mean you have to proselytize others, but instead simply stay true to yourself.
9. A capacity to relax – Both leaders knew how important it was to become refreshed in order to lead vigorously. Relaxing, removing themselves from the fray with regularity was fundamental to their abilities to have energy, creativity, perspective and to be effective. Business application: To stay “on” you have to be able to turn it “off.”  Nobody can sustain an innovative, vibrant business if they themselves are personally exhausted and sapped of fresh thinking. Forcing yourself to get away, unwind and recharge is imperative.
10. A gift for inspiring others – their tenures as Presidents saw some of this country’s most tumultuous moments. North-South conflict, economic desperation, global war – in each scenario, Lincoln and Roosevelt were each able to galvanize their countrymen and give voice and hope to a broad spectrum of the population. Business application: The more you can take your customers and team members to a higher level, the more you can add meaning, loyalty, positive word-of-mouth and patronage to your business. Lead by example, demonstrate your principles, go the extra mile and it will always pay off.