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152 quotes, page 4 of 6Starting something of your own
For the van owner, the sole trader, the first employee hired and anybody building a business from a spare room. About customers and effort, never easy money.
We say who really said each one, and where the credit is uncertain we tell you. Every card is ours to share.
“Success represents the 1% of your work which results only from the 99% that is called failure.”
Soichiro Honda, as quoted in Paul Callister, What Creates Jobs? (1989)
For every contract you win there will be quotes that went nowhere. Count them as part of the price of the one that came off.
“Don't be afraid to make a mistake. But make sure you don't make the same mistake twice.”
Akio Morita, co-founder of Sony
Underquoted a job? Fine, once. Write down why, and build it into the next quote.
“I believe people work for satisfaction.”
Akio Morita, Made in Japan (1986). He wrote it after saying that people do not work just for money.
Pay your staff fairly first. Then give them work they can be proud of; that is what keeps good people in small firms.
“A company will get nowhere if all of the thinking is left to management.”
Akio Morita
Ask the person who cleans the offices every night how the job could run better. They have thought about it more than you.
“You can be totally rational with a machine. But if you work with people, sometimes logic often has to take a backseat to understanding.”
Akio Morita, Made in Japan (1986)
A good worker going through a hard time at home needs some give. Small employers who offer it tend to keep people for years.
“The most important mission for a Japanese manager is to develop a healthy relationship with his employees.”
Akio Morita, Made in Japan (1986)
The first time you employ someone, the relationship is the job: clear pay, clear hours, a written statement from day one, and a straight word.
“Everyone has an invisible sign hanging from their neck saying, 'Make me feel important.'”
Mary Kay Ash, as widely quoted
Learn your customers' names and your crew's names. In a small firm that is half of customer service and staff care.
“Aerodynamically the bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway.”
Mary Kay Ash, as widely quoted. The bumblebee myth is older than her; scientists have long since explained how it flies.
Somebody will tell you a one person firm cannot win that contract. Put in a careful quote anyway.
“I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South. From there I was promoted to the washtub.”
Madam C. J. Walker, speech to the National Negro Business League convention (1912). She went on: then to the cook kitchen, and from there she promoted herself into manufacturing, with her own factory.
Plenty of firms began with someone who cleaned, cooked or drove for others and then did it for themselves.
“I got my start by giving myself a start.”
Madam C. J. Walker, as widely quoted. The New York Times Magazine printed it in 1917 as "I got myself a start by giving myself a start".
Nobody hands out a first contract. Register with HMRC, print the cards, knock on the first door: the start is yours to give.
“There is no royal flower-strewn path to success.”
Madam C. J. Walker, as widely quoted
The first year of any small firm has early starts, late invoices and a few customers who will not pay. That is normal, not a sign to quit.
“Don't sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.”
Madam C. J. Walker, as widely quoted
Quiet week? Visit the estate agents, letting agents and offices nearby. Work for small firms is mostly found, not waited for.
“Try never to be the smartest person in the room. And if you are, I suggest you invite smarter people or find a different room.”
Michael Dell, University of Texas commencement address (2003). He started his computer firm in his university room in Austin in 1984.
Join the local business group, the trade association, the evening course. Hiring people better than you at something is a strength.
“You don't need to be a genius or visionary or college graduate to succeed. You need a framework and a dream.”
Michael Dell, as widely quoted
No degree needed to run a good cleaning or haulage firm. A simple plan, a cash forecast and steady habits will do more.
“Only while sleeping one makes no mistakes.”
Ingvar Kamprad, The Testament of a Furniture Dealer (1976). He started IKEA in 1943, aged 17, selling pens and wallets in his home district of Småland, Sweden.
If you made no mistakes this month, you probably tried nothing new. Own the small ones and put them right quickly.
“Making mistakes is the privilege of the active, of those who can correct their mistakes and put them right.”
Ingvar Kamprad, The Testament of a Furniture Dealer (1976)
Your new starter will get things wrong. What matters is that they tell you and fix it. Make that safe to do.
“The fear of making mistakes is the root of bureaucracy and the enemy of development.”
Ingvar Kamprad, The Testament of a Furniture Dealer (1976)
A five person firm does not need sign-off forms for everything. Trust people with small decisions and watch them grow.
“The right to make mistakes does not give you the right to do a bad job.”
Ingvar Kamprad, The Testament of a Furniture Dealer (1976)
Trying new things is welcome; skipping the checks is not. Say both to every new hire, in that order.
“Expensive solutions to any kind of problem are usually the work of mediocrity.”
Ingvar Kamprad, The Testament of a Furniture Dealer (1976)
Before buying new software or a bigger van, ask whether a better routine or a simpler rota would solve the problem for free.
“Time after time we have proved that we can get good results with small means or very limited resources.”
Ingvar Kamprad, The Testament of a Furniture Dealer (1976)
A second hand van, a phone and a good reputation have started more firms than any loan.
“Ten minutes, once gone, are gone for good.”
Ingvar Kamprad, The Testament of a Furniture Dealer (1976). Just before it he wrote: you can do so much in 10 minutes.
Ten minutes between jobs is enough to send an invoice or confirm tomorrow's booking. Small firms run on those gaps.
“Most things still remain to be done.”
Ingvar Kamprad, The Testament of a Furniture Dealer (1976). The last of his nine points; he added "A glorious future!"
Whatever stage your firm is at, there is more to do: more customers to serve better. That is good news, not a burden.
“What is good for our customers is also, in the long run, good for us.”
Ingvar Kamprad, The Testament of a Furniture Dealer (1976)
A fair price, an honest quote, a job done properly: what helps the customer today helps your diary next year.
“Taking responsibility has nothing to do with education, financial position or rank.”
Ingvar Kamprad, The Testament of a Furniture Dealer (1976)
When hiring, look for the person who owned up to something at their last job. Qualifications can be learned; that cannot.
“Explaining why things go wrong is a waste of time, so instead we just put them right.”
Ingvar Kamprad, The Testament of a Furniture Dealer (1976). The sentence continues: and then, if need be, we make more changes later on.
A customer with a problem wants it fixed, not explained. Fix first, find the cause after.
“No one can be happy or do a good job unless they like the place where they work.”
Ingvar Kamprad, The Testament of a Furniture Dealer (1976)
Even a small unit or a van can be a decent workplace: heating that works, a kettle, tools that are not broken.
“Being humble means admitting your mistakes, not blaming others.”
Ingvar Kamprad, The Testament of a Furniture Dealer (1976)
When the job goes wrong, say "that was my call" in front of your team. They will own their mistakes too.
“Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose.”
Bill Gates, The Road Ahead (1995)
A great first year is the moment to check your costs and contracts, not to stop checking them.
“How you gather, manage, and use information will determine whether you win or lose.”
Bill Gates, Business @ the Speed of Thought (1999)
A spreadsheet of jobs, prices and hours, updated weekly, tells a sole trader more than any gut feeling.
“Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.”
Charlie Munger, as he often said
Pay drivers per drop and you get fast drops; pay per hour and you get careful ones. Decide what you want before you set the pay.
Other sections
- Work and keeping going (189)
- Starting a business (152)
- For leaders (41)
- Working with people (22)
- Mindset and habits (144)
- True stories of people who started small