Small-business consultant extraordinaire Barry Moltz has penned a list of 10 commandments that all businesses should heed to grow their business for American Express Open Forum. So, it’s kinda the sorta thing you should read as an entrepreneur because companies like Microsoft, GE, Dell, CapitalOne and many others have sought him out for advice before. Also, for what it’s worth, our very own Jabez LeBret also chatted with him earlier this year about why you, as an entrepreneur, should be blogging.
Anyway. This list he wrote is great, great stuff. Most of them reinforce the notion that you should take your time growing your business and not go for broke: “many entrepreneurs try to grow their companies too fast [but] they don’t have the cash, people, systems or infrastructure to do it effectively. As a result, they eventually go for broke.”
As your clichéd momma always said: slow and steady wins the race. But also, life, and business, isn’t a race. So take your time.
Another good point Moltz makes is to focus on the customers you have right now and not the customers you might someday have:
So many entrepreneurs are so busy chasing new customers into their front doors, they can’t see the existing customers escaping out the back door. Happy customers will always want to buy more from your business. This is Amazon’s strategy. Many consumers shop elsewhere and then buy on Amazon because of their outstanding customer service.
Check out the full list here.
David Wolinsky is a freelance writer and a lifelong Chicagoan. In addition to currently serving as an interviewer-writer for Adult Swim, he's also a comedy-writing instructor for Second City. He was the Chicago city editor for The Onion A.V. Club where he provided in-depth daily coverage of this city's bustling arts/entertainment scene for half a decade. When not playing video games for work he's thinking of dashing out to Chicago Diner, Pizano's, or Yummy Yummy. His first career aspirations were to be a game-show host.
