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59 Responses to “What’s the best business advice you’ve ever received?”

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you heard something that really stuck with you.

Take a minute and think about the last time

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Something that made a lasting impression

and changed your outlook.

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What was it?

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Where did it come from?

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How did it impact your life?

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How did it impact your business?

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We recently reached out to a collection of people whose advice we really admire,

with one simple question.

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We spoke to founders, CEOs, authors, entrepreneurs, and small business

experts to ask...

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What’s the best business advice you’ve ever received?

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Here’s what they had to say...

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Denise Attwood Founder, Ganesh Himal Trading @ganeshhimal

Wake up every morning and remember why you started your business, not what you do but why you do it. If you remember every day why you started you will stay focused on the bigger picture and make it through all of the tough times, the times people doubt you, and the times you feel you've made a mistake.

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Matt Ward President/CEO, inConcert Web Solutions @webresults

Make quick decisions... right or wrong.

Being agile is a requirement for small business!

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Peg Fitzpatrick Co-author of The Art of Social Media, speaker, social media strategist @PegFitzpatrick

Focus on your core. Learn how to outsource the tasks that you need to so you can do the things that make you money. Hire talent to do the things you can't, like email marketing, design, or web work.

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You have two ears and one mouth for a reason –

listen twice as much as you speak. I've always kept this in mind when meeting new prospects or dealing with clients, and it's helped

me grow BJC Branding to where it is today.

Bryan Caplan Owner, BJC Branding

@bjcbranding

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When someone makes a mistake or if you have a disagreement and the other person is backed into a corner

try to give them an out.

Julie Niehoff Constant Contact Director,

Education & Field Enablement @julieniehoff

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Start where you are. Use what you have.

Do what you can.

Heather Jackson Constant Contact Regional Development Director

New England @heatherkjackson

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Vanessa Cabrera Founder, Your Social Media Mentor @vanessacabrera

Work Less and Make More. Most people have a tendency to work more and make more, however this philosophy is not good for family life and your mental or physical health. Delegate your tasks and responsibilities.

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Do what you do and do it well ... always follow your own vision of

what your business should be.

Dawn Noble Owner, La Provence

@LaProv

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Chris Litster SVP, Sales and Marketing, Constant Contact @cmlitster

Success comes from running to, not from, your next great challenge or opportunity.

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Jennifer Smiga

Owner, inBLOOM Communications @inBLOOMbuzz

Businesses focus on acquisition more than customer retention, even though it can cost 7x more to acquire new customers.

It's crucial to maintain good customer relations, and even more important to exceed a customer's expectations.

Referral marketing is gold.

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Maria Elena Duron Constant Contact Authorized Local Expert

@mariaduron

Focus on your strengths. It's a mistake to focus on your weak areas. It distracts from your strengths and makes

you a mediocre person.

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Even when you’re starting out and are still very small...give the appearance of mass.

If you pay attention to detail and look big/professional, your business will grow into the space you’ve created.

Ron Cates Constant Contact Director, New Market Development & Southwest Region @roncates

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People do business with people they know and trust.

Allen Smith, IOM, CCE, President and CEO, Spartanburg Chamber of Commerce, SC

@spartanchamber

Know them. Build their trust.

Win their business.

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The key to building relationships is:

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Eric Groves Founder and CEO, Alignable, Inc. @E_Groves

Listen, Observe, Listen — then Speak

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The only way to get better and be the best is through failures, lots of failures.

Arlet Koseian Owner, extendYoga @extendYoga

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When Celia and I launched Dudley & Nunez Communications, my mother advised us to always

under-promise and over-deliver.

We've helped dozens of clients since then, and I attribute much of our success to that wise tip.

Maureen Dudley Owner, Dudley & Nunez Communications

@MaureenDudley

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Fake it 'til you make it! Barry Eichner Owner, Barry Eichner Consulting @BarryEichner

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I think about that often when I’m kind of tired and thinking of skipping an event.

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Marianne Virgili IOM, CCE, President and CEO, Glenwood Springs Chamber, Colorado @gwschamber

Tom Alee, former Director of Sales for Frontier Airlines, once told me...

“Don’t ever miss a cocktail party. You never know who you might meet.”

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Happy customers are the key to a successful business. Be honest and fair, and make sure the customer’s opinion is always heard and honoured.

Cynthia Lee Community Manager at Dominelli School of Music @dominellimusic

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Gail Goodman CEO, Constant Contact

@Gail_Goodman

Listen to your customers. Feedback is a gift.

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Matt Pivarnik Executive Vice President & COO, Tulsa Regional Chamber

@TulsaChamber

The unexamined life is not worth living,

the unexamined career is not worth having,

and the unexamined business is not worth running.

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I received advice early on to pick work I loved and felt passionate about. With the amount of time spent on a career or job, you’ll burn out and hate your life if you don’t do something you care about. Staying true to that and gaining the necessary skills required to do what you love will guide you to the right thing.

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Corissa St. Laurent Regional Development Director - Pacific Northwest @Corissastl

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Have a business plan and keep it updated, but don’t obsess on making it perfect.

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Hal Shelton Author The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan

http://www.secretsofbusinessplans.com/

It is about direction and not absolutes.

Your business continually changes and so will your plans; seek advice and counsel from others.

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“Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin

but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” Some of the most successful businesses followed that model, ignored the naysayers, took a leap of faith, and are all the better for it! Jeremy Arthur IOM, President and CEO, Business Council of Alabama @bcatoday 35

Small business owners and entrepreneurs are some of the bravest folks I know. It takes courage to forge your own path. It reminds me of a quote from To Kill A Mockingbird...

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Never ask anyone to do what you won’t do yourself.

Terri Schulz President, Waupaca Area Chamber, WI http://www.waupacaareachamber.org/

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Sue B Zimmerman Founder, Insta-Results

@SueBZimmerman

“Be hyper-focused in your market niche so you can stand out and give value.”

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In your marketing strategy, it is absolutely imperative that you forget about your dreams, forget about your visions, forget about your interests, forget about what you want… forget about everything but your customer! It’s what your customer wants that matters. And what your customer wants is probably significantly different from what you THINK they want.

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Danny Hearn IOM, CCE, President and CEO, Catawba County Chamber, NC

@catawbachamber

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Do your homework and find out where the gap in the marketplace is

and understand the unique selling proposition that your business will bring to the table.

Dan Plouffe and Julie Card Founders, SuiGeneris Marketing and mycollingwood.ca

@MYCOLLINGWOODca

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The key to success is to follow up.

Tate Hill President and CEO, Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce

@fresnometrobcc

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“Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.” –Andy Warhol

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Kit Cramer President & CEO, Asheville Chamber, NC @kitcramer

This isn’t really advice, but I have it pinned up on my cork board in front of my face at work and try to remember it:

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Beth Kanter Co-author The Networked Nonprofit and

Measuring the Networked Nonprofit @kanter

“Follow your curiosity and the money will follow.”

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A bit of old-style sales advice: Never end your day before it is completely over.

Marlene Panoyan Director of Communications/Social Media, Hollywood Chamber @hollywoodarea

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Pamela Wilson Vice President of Educational Content at Copyblogger Media, Owner Big Brand System @pamelaiwilson

"Patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.” –Napoleon Hill

That boils down to: don’t expect immediate results;

don’t give up; and be willing to work hard for

what you want to achieve. That approach has served

me well through many career transitions. 44

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You can't be everything to everyone - PRIORITIZE!

Ryan Evans,

VP of Business and Community Relations, Salt Lake Chamber, Utah @ryan_t_evans

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The best business advice I received is to invest in help before I thought I

could afford it. Hiring someone to help me with my website and

newsletter freed me to create the content that grew my business

rapidly.

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Alyson B Stanfield Owner, ArtBizCoach.com @abstanfield

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I was fortunate enough to have Jr. Cellucci, Governor Cellucci's Dad, work in my office for 3 years. Two pieces of simple advice that he gave,

that I adhere to are:

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Sarah Cressy President & CEO, Assabet Valley Chamber, MA

@AsVaCc

1. Always return phone calls and emails within 48 hours.

2. Always be nice!

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I learned this from the Dale Carnegie course:

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Thomas Jennings President, Barrow County Chamber, GA @barrowcountycc

"The sweetest words to any person's ears are the sounds of their own name."

That has served me well.

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Sean D'Souza Owner, PsychoTactics @seandsouza

follow-up. follow-up. follow-up. follow-up. follow-up and follow-up.

The best business advice I have got is this...

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Treat every person like they are the first

call of the day!

Kimi Gobi Administrative Assistant, Hardin County Chamber, TN

http://www.hardincountychamber.com/

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The best marketing advice I ever received is simple:

Henry Florsheim President/CEO, Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce & Industry

@chamberWF

Don’t be boring.

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As business owners and entrepreneurs, you have a lot of people tugging at you. Everyone has "just one question" or needs "one minute of your time." It's easy to get caught up in people pleasing mode as you're building your business. But the reality is, a yes person (someone who agrees to everything) will never scale their business. Stop saying yes and realize that "NO," when said in a polite manner, is a complete sentence.

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Rebekah Radice Digital Marketing | Social Media Business Consultant, Rebekah Radice LLC @RebekahRadice

"No.” is a complete sentence.

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John Paul Aguiar Pro Blogger and Social Media Trainer,

JohnPaulAguiar.com @JohnAguiar

“Just because you love it, doesn't mean you should execute it.”

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Donna Moritz Founder, Socially Sorted

@SociallySorted

The best business advice I ever received was to start a blog and to blog consistently (you don't need to blog every day as long as it's

consistent). I blog weekly, and it has changed my business. In fact, my blog is no longer a

marketing tool for my business, it's the core of my business - underpinning everything else I do.

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If something isn't being done, do it yourself! Create your own career.

"Write your own part." - Mindy Kaling

Julia Campbell Founder, J Campbell Social Marketing

@JuliaCSocial

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Tamsin Fox-Davies Constant Contact Senior Manager UK Development @tamsinfd

Be yourself, as the clients that want to work with you will be attracted by your personality and business brand – and those that you won't like anyway will be dissuaded.

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It's okay to have too much fun.

Lani and Allen Voivod Owners, Epiphanies, Inc. and Founders of A-Ha! Summit

@EpiphaniesInc

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Luke Brynley-Jones Founder, Our Social Times @lbrynleyjones

“The world won’t stop turning if you take

a day off.” When you’re super busy you

imagine your business will collapse if you take a holiday. In

reality what you’ll find is nothing much changes, people will wait for replies to emails, and you can pick

up refreshed when you get back.

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Dean Montandon Digital Marketing Manager for Red Website Design @Red_Web_Design

Do something you love to do... it makes the hard work and sacrifice worthwhile.

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Emma Davidson Co-founder Gecko Clothing @Emma_TheGecko

Be persistent! It's not the same as nagging. If someone hasn't told you they're not interested, they more than likely just haven't heard your message yet. The world is full of busy people and you have to be tenacious to get your idea out there.

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Always agree on a price in advance. Never do the work first and then give a client the price.

Vee Smith Constant Contact Authorized Local Expert

@biztechwiz

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Always provide value.

Rebecca Coleman Owner, Rebecca Coleman, Marketing and Media Relations

@rebeccacoleman

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Know your numbers. From your website metrics to your finances. But more importantly do something with them. Understand how your website is performing… having large volumes of visitors doesn’t mean anything unless they convert into leads and sales. Equally the saying “turnover is vanity, profit is sanity, cash is reality” is so true and the number one reason why many businesses fail.

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Lilach Bullock Co-founder of Comms Axis @lilachbullock

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The best advice I was given was to make sure that I was truly

passionate about my business and to do what I love.

Evelyn Senyi Owner, Recurve Marketing

@EvelynSenyi

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Clients that value your expertise will ask you what they need more often than telling you what they want.

Marc Gordon Founder, Fourword Marketing @MarcGordonDotCA

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Start as you mean to go, have boundaries in your "work" times, it's too easy to work all hours when you are an entrepreneur, you have to have stop times when you won't take a call or answer email so you can feed your soul and do something else.

Sherri-Lee Woycik Facebook Marketing Expert, Trainer and Coach

@socialmediamndr

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Mari Smith Facebook Marketing Expert Author & Trainer

@MariSmith

"If I were to buy everything you offer, how much would it cost me and what would I get for my money?"

A mentor of mine once asked me about 15 years ago,

My answer to this question has helped to shape my entire business and revenue model time and again.

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Set big, scary, challenging goals. You'll never grow if you set goals that you are

guaranteed to achieve.

Heather Anderson Director of Marketing, The Little Gym

@TheLittleGym

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Make business decisions from the

point of view of the owner of your business.

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Bonnie Sainsbury Founder, Social Media Smarter @bsainsbury

It should be able to function without you.

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Running a business can be all consuming, especially in the first few years. When we realised that we could create the kind of business that we could enjoy going into every day, everything changed for the better. We still work hard but we make sure we have fun along the way.

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Luke Hodson Director, Awesome Merchandise

@AwesomeMerch

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