If you could give your past self one piece of advice before starting.....

[Minion]

...your business, what would it be?   I could definitely name off a few, but I think for me the biggest one would be to find the Accountant that is not only good at their job, but the one that that is not to busy to return emails/phone calls or setup appointments.  

What's your one piece of advice that you would give yourself?

[ryanwanner]

@Minion  Oh I'm right there with you on the accountants. A great accountant is worth its weight in gold, and that's the one part of the business you don't want to skimp on. 

For me, it would be to get everything in writing. From lease agreements to contractor time projections to assurances of warranties. I've been burned more than once by trusting the handshake agreement. 

[Minion]

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@ryanwanner wrote:

@Minion  Oh I'm right there with you on the accountants. A great accountant is worth its weight in gold, and that's the one part of the business you don't want to skimp on. 

For me, it would be to get everything in writing. From lease agreements to contractor time projections to assurances of warranties. I've been burned more than once by trusting the handshake agreement. 

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Oh Yea, my old accountant would always push me to October or maybe it was end of September before my business taxes were done, the first couple years I was like okay no big deal, then the last 2 years I was just over it.  It's a bit tough to make any smart decisions when your taxes don't get finished up in a timely manner. 

[rtfulk]

Our accountant is the best and now that he is getting older we worry about him retiring. We can ask him “anything” and he helped guide us through our business over the past 38 years. We will never find another like him.

[Lovewell]

Probably a reminder that it’s okay to be proud of the position you’re in as a leader. OWN IT. Own who you are and what your business vision/mission are. Don’t shy away from uncomfortable things because those things will shape you to become an even better business owner, boss, leader, and creative. 

*thankfully we started off with a great book keeper and accountant!* 

[Minion]

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@Lovewell wrote:

Probably a reminder that it’s okay to be proud of the position you’re in as a leader. OWN IT. Own who you are and what your business vision/mission are. Don’t shy away from uncomfortable things because those things will shape you to become an even better business owner, boss, leader, and creative. 

*thankfully we started off with a great book keeper and accountant!* 

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I never thought that I was actually good at talking with customers mainly if it was a confrontation thing.  I find that most people read or hear things and then just run with it.  When I explain my process sometimes it goes in one ear and out the other.  I really try to spend a lot of time now talking with the customer before and after on what the process is and what to expect afterwards.

[DinaLRosenberg]

Great advice! I think my advice would be to not tolerate employees that are poisonous toward moral for 1 second and to make sure infractions are documented. We've been through the wringer with a couple of employees that were the rotting apple and when they were gone we really saw how much they were tarnishing the environment.

[CareyJo]

That is so good!

[Minion]

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@DinaLRosenberg wrote:

Great advice! I think my advice would be to not tolerate employees that are poisonous toward moral for 1 second and to make sure infractions are documented. We've been through the wringer with a couple of employees that were the rotting apple and when they were gone we really saw how much they were tarnishing the environment.

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Ahh I remember working with a few people who were just so darn negative it made going to work that much worse for the 8 plus house i was there. 

[VanKalkerFarms]

That is great advice, but hard for a lot of people as a leader and in marketing the business.  Trying not to sound like you are bragging vs being proud of the fact your company has grown and thrived X number of years or become a certain size.

Our tagline is ...

Family Owned
  Locally Grown
    Since 1961

So I guess that we are proud of at least 3 things 😀. I try to make sure that I am leading my employees into these things by trying to treat people more like family and less like a number in a machine, Hiring as many people as we can from the area we are serving, and we aren't a fly by night type business and we want our customers to succed and come back because we will be here.

[Minion]

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@Lovewell wrote:

Probably a reminder that it’s okay to be proud of the position you’re in as a leader. OWN IT. Own who you are and what your business vision/mission are. Don’t shy away from uncomfortable things because those things will shape you to become an even better business owner, boss, leader, and creative. 

*thankfully we started off with a great book keeper and accountant!* 

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Definitely some great advice.  I know I tend not to pat myself on the back as much as I probably should.  

[Lovewell]

I spend the first 3 years not owning it! It showed. So it's been really awesome stepping into it more! Better on the mental health. 

[johnvick]

For me, the biggest challenge in my business has definitely been finding reliable partners—especially an accountant who’s both skilled and accessible. It’s amazing how much smoother everything runs when you actually get timely responses and clear communication.

As for advice I’d give myself: I’d remind myself to prioritize building strong relationships early on. Whether it’s clients, partners, or vendors, having that trust and open line of communication makes all the difference when things get hectic.

How about you? What’s your biggest challenge and advice for yourself?

[VanKalkerFarms]

It is one of those things that gets to me is when I am trying to pay someone to do something and it is like I am the one reminding them that hey I asked you this 4 days ago or I sent you an email 2 weeks ago.

So far we have been lucky with our accountant of last 15 years.  It is generally the insurance agents and sales people tat seem to be the worst for me.

[Minion]

I agree with the building strong relationships.  I work with a handful of dealerships while I wouldn't say I necessarily cater to them, I will squeeze them in sooner than a regular customer.

[VanKalkerFarms]

Think big.

The little business you are starting won't be little forever and things you do now may bottleneck your business down the road costing you tons of money to fix.

[DinaLRosenberg]

Sage advice

I also wish we entered our inventory in correct from the get go LOL

[VanKalkerFarms]

Well another piece of advice is don't be afraid to charge what it is worth.  The fight to the bottom is real in completion, but you do not need to be in that fight if you can have a better product with better service.

[Minion]

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@VanKalkerFarms wrote:

Well another piece of advice is don't be afraid to charge what it is worth.  The fight to the bottom is real in completion, but you do not need to be in that fight if you can have a better product with better service.

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Solid piece of advice.  I know when I first started out, (and still had a regular job) I wasn't charging what I should at the time.  I think it was a lack of confidence and or wanting to draw attention to gain some business.  Now, I simply turn down things because it isn't worth my time. Not in an arrogant way, some people come to me for a rock guard (bed liner) down the side of their vehicle to help prevent rock chips etc.  When the metal is already rotted, there is nothing that will save it other than replacing it at that point. 

[Lovewell]

100% agree! 

[rtfulk]

The one thing I would change would be watching our finances. When we quit our public jobs in the late 80’s and went 100% in, we were in our 20’s and didn’t really have a grasp of running a business. Our business has been mobile ever since we started it, with no Brick & Mortar store things were harder then, we wasn’t really considered a business. We couldn’t find a bank that would approve us to accept credit cards, it took us 5 years and a good friend that was the president of the local bank to help us. 

Credit card debt is the worse possible thing a business starting out can use, but like I said banks didn’t consider us a business because we were mobile and we relied on credit cards, so much we accumulated a massive debt at a high interest rates. In our 30’s we wised up, made some tough financial decisions, buckled down and paid off the credit card debt. We started saving more money and now we run our business debt free.