Top 10 Myths about Small Business
I Need Megabucks.
Sara Blakely, CEO of Spanx, couldn't find footless
pantyhose and thought it would make a great business. She didn't know the first
thing about the pantyhose industry (except that she hated wearing most
pantyhose). Relying on her gut instincts, she started Spanx with only $5,000 in
savings and a lot of friends. Now her company grosses more than $150 million a
year.
-
I Need a Lot of Experience
Dotsie Bregel was a stay at home mom until all of her
kids were in college. Then, at 44, she started the National Assn. of Baby
Boomer Women (NABBW) for other women who wanted connections and inspiration.
Now NABBW is the # 1 web site for baby boomer women. She has been a featured
expert on the CBS Early Show and the NBC Nightly News. -
I
and Marketing Skills.
No matter what business
you're in, you're running a sales and marketing company. Marketing is an
investment in your business. If you're doing it right, your business will grow
quickly. Nothing happens until a sale is made, so sales skills are also a must.
At the upcoming Women's Small Business Expo, we'll teach you the top 3 sales
strategies for this economy. -
I Don't Have to Continually Learn and Invest in Myself.
School is never out for the pros. In today's business
climate, you need to invest in your education and sharpen your business skills.
Competition in business today is fierce. If you don't learn, you don't grow. -
I Can Do It All On My Own.
The reason my first 2 businesses failed was that I had
no success team in place. I was young and rebellious and thought I could do it
all on my own. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you want to be
successful, you need to hang out with successful people. Surround yourself with
great mentors and consultants. One of the people that I interviewed for my
upcoming book, Women Hold the Purse Strings, said that without her success
team, she would "probably be flipping burgers somewhere".
I'm too young.
At age 10, Leanna Archer became the owner and
CEO of her own company, Leanna's Hair Products. After completing her homework
she packs the orders she gets everyday. She has been featured on NBC and Fox
Business and became the youngest person to ring the opening bell for the NASDAQ
stock market.- I'm too old.
Jack Weil founded the Rockmount Ranch Wear
clothing company and keeps the customers coming in droves. Did I mention he's
106? He's one of the oldest entrepreneurs in America
worn by countless celebrities and musicians dating back to Elvis Presley and
Clark Gable, and even the rock band, The Killers. Rockmount apparel was notably
used to outfit the actors in the Academy Award-winning movie, Brokeback Mountain. - My product or service will sell itself.
There's a scene in the new movie, He's Just Not That into You, where a young woman
is staring at the phone, waiting for her love interest to call. Unfortunately,
this describes many business owners. They build a business, sit back and wait
for the phone to ring off the hook. In this economy, you need to be pro-active
and touch your prospects with different forms of "Octopus Marketing". - I need a fancy schmancy office.
With the home business boom, many
entrepreneurs are using their homes as their offices, building their businesses
and spending time with their families. Technology and the internet have freed
us to work at home or remotely. - It's a bad time to start a business because
of the economy.
One of my greatest gifts was starting my
business in the recession of 1988 when there was double digit interest rates
and runaway inflation. I learned to run my business lean and mean. I was
constantly educating myself. People called me the Seminar Queen. When the
economy rebounded, my business was still around, while some of my competitors
bit the dust. Remember that tough times don't last, but tough people do.
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