"The best advice we ever received..." Article by Steve Marsten

In the last few months we at Sothertons, have been encouraged by those business men and women who are looking to invest and establish new businesses to hopefully enrich their lives and provide a sustainable income and a reasonable return on their investment. While working with one such couple I was asked what was the best business advice I ever received.

I started to give the question some consideration before answering. Clearly when you have been around business owners all your life you hear a considerable amount of advice yourself even when you are the business adviser. Now I often keep a “Black Book” for things I hear or read and I write them down so I can read back over them when ever I get a chance. I have used many black books over the years.  So I sat down and noted that I had written many gems of advice down in several books. Here are my top 7 gems of Business advice that I think all business owners should remember.

1.      My father once said “People may not always like the decisions you make, but if you strive to be fair, they will respect you.”

2.      If you don’t own a business, then atleast care enough about your job to work like it is YOUR business.

3.      Don’t do what others on your team are capable of – ever! Get the right people in place and RUN the business.

4.      Never take “no” from someone who doesn’t have the authority to say yes. If you want it, go get it.

5.      If you are not fit then get good health insurance, because if you can’t take care of yourself, how can you possibly take care of a healthy business!

6.      Confidence is half the battle. Believe in yourself, and others will too.

7.      Measure twice, cut once!

Advice is great however it’s pointless unless it’s followed by action. At Sothertons we work with Business Owners to use action sheets, commitment dates and deliverables and strive to achieve these where ever possible. Communicate when it’s not possible to your customers and your suppliers if need be. Call Steve and Tina to discuss your business ventures now on 07 4972 1300.