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29 Business Lessons from the Entrepreneur’s Bookshelf

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You’ve heard you are what you eat, well we believe that you are what you read. Teach a CEO presents lessons from our bookshelf on how you can improve and grow your venture. We have taken nuggets from our library and provide them for entrepreneurs and business owners.

  1. Just outside of the comfort zone sits the learning zone. You'll want to recognize the learning zone. This is where you want to live. It's not just learning in the educational sense, but it encompasses learning with regard sot everything we do — from shooting baskets to communication with others to meditation. Beyond the learning zone is the anxiety zone. It's just as important to know when we're stuck in the comfort zone and not challenging ourselves as it is to know when we're in the anxiety zone and pushing ourselves a little too hard. (Connected to Goodness)
  2. Great things are in store for you. Realize and live the fact that you have unconditional, unquestioned worth. (Embrace Your Magnificence)
  3. The primary reason I'm stressing selecting a niche has to do with the fact that there are two basic steps to acquiring a new client: attracting their initial attention and then moving them to do business with you. It may come as a bit of surprise, but of these two, getting a prospect's initial attention is often the most challenging part of the whole process. The world is so noisy, with so many marketing messages, it's tough to break through the clutter. (The One Week Marketing Plan)
  4. Bet on “A” people with “B” ideas, rather than “B” people with “A” ideas. (Dust Tea, Dingoes & Dragons)
  5. All businesses start at Level One (start-ups), feeling their way forward to launch their new venture. Those that survive reach Level Two (owner reliant). It's here that most companies get stuck. (Scale)
  6. Be thorough. Don't leave any stone unturned. Go searching for your passions wherever you think they might be, and be willing to make a few wrong turns along the way. There are many Cinderella CEOs who thought they wanted to do one thing and wound up discovering that they were meant for something else entirely. (Fairy Tale Success)
  7. The end of the year is usually a good time to announce a price increase for the new year. (Accounting for the Numberphobic)
  8. Please don't lose sleep or waste your energy in regards to money. Don't let it drive you. Let your driving force be clarity, balance, focus and confidence based on your personal experience and humanitarian values because the money will come based on what you want to manifest as long as your remain ready to receive it. (Connected to Goodness)
  9. The more authentic you are, the more clean energy you put forth. People feel that on an intuitive level. You attract others who are clean in their own energy. The more authentic you allow yourself to be, and the more cautiously vulnerable you are (in a good way), the more attractive you become to others. (Embrace Your Magnificence)
  10. Your blog should read like you're having a one-to-one conversation with a prospect or a customer you already like. (The One Week Marketing Plan)
  11. This isn't something that “hard work” alone is going to solve. Blindly working hard is part of the problem. The more your growth is based on your personal production, the more dependent your business becomes on you for that production. You've got to make sure that even in the midst of meeting the daily demands of your business, you take some of your energy and invest in the systems, team, and internal controls that will allow you to scale your business beyond just you. (Scale)
  12. The break even point is the first major triumph on the road to profitability. Reaching this point of self-sufficiency is a major feat for most small businesses. (Accounting for the Numberphobic)
  13. Despite your best efforts, 7 out of 10 of your investments will fail completely. (Dust Tea, Dingoes & Dragons)
  14. Whenever you are networking with others in and out of your field, remember that this is an opportunity to broaden your thinking, to discover new target markets and new clients, and to think about your business in ways that hadn't occurred to you before. (Fairy-Tale Success) 
  15. You create your life with every action you take and with every action you don't take…. So if you aren't living the life that you want, it isn't a product of your circumstances, but a product of your actions. (Embrace Your Magnificence)
  16. The ideal Joint Venture partners are people selling complementary (as opposed to directly competitive) products or services to the same customer base as you. (The One Week Marketing Plan)
  17. Perspective is Everything! Appreciation is the DNA for your perspective. (Connected to Goodness)
  18. Perhaps the most obvious way to protect your cash flow is avoid doing business, whenever possible, with clients who are unlikely to pay their bills. (Accounting for the Numberphobic)
  19. Be clear about your company's environment. It's very important to make sure that whoever you hire has the right chemistry for you, the other people associated with the business, and the brand you are launching. (Fairy-Tale Success) 
  20. The place to start is with your customer. Let your customer's needs, desires, fears, and aspirations deeply impact how you run your business. (Scale)
  21. Usually, when someone works hard, but does not accomplish their goal, accuracy is a major problem. (Connected to Goodness)
  22. Your business's biggest Limiting Factor is the single biggest constraint currently limiting your growth. It's the one ingredient that, if only you had more of it, would all ow your business to grow instantly. The more precisely you can identify your Limiting Factor, the easier it is to effectively push it back. (Scale)
  23. Those who are truly successful in their lives take responsibility for everything, and I mean everything. (Embrace Your Magnificence)
  24. Once a crisis has happened, you can't dive under the covers and hide until conditions improve. The key to successful crisis management is to respond, and quickly. (Fairy-Tale Success) 
  25. Many entrepreneurs I've met feel about business as I initially did about driving. They see only the promise ad none of the risks. Or if they do see the risks, they minimize them through faulty assumptions. But if you can read your financial dashboard, you are in a position to make better business decisions beforehand, no mater what the economic conditions. (Accounting for the Numberphobic)
  26. No leads, no sales. No sales, no business. It's that simple. The Sales/Marketing pillar finds clients, makes sales, and generates revenue. (Scale)
  27. In order to access the kind of clarity and energy that is required to build a successful business, you have to remember to take care of your body as well as your brand. Get enough sleep, eat right, take time to exercise, meditate–and above all, discover ways to relax and release stress that you will inevitably encounter as a growing new brand. (Fairy-Tale Success)
  28. All business plans lie. The entrepreneurs don't try to lie, it's just that everybody knows the rules, and besides they're making statements about the future, a devilishly difficult area in which to exercise the science of prediction.  (Dust Tea, Dingoes & Dragons)
  29. Keeping your focus on what's new and good, as well as on what you have accomplished, is important because it gives you a feeling of confidence. (Embrace Your Magnificence)
See also  23 Business Tips & Lessons from the Entrepreneur’s Bookshelf

 

The Bookshelf

Book descriptions via Amazon.com

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