February Business Survey

1. The first question, “What's the best business advice you've ever received?” got us a lot of comments – everything from the short but wise (“There’s no one thing to making it happen; just lots of little things”) to the scary (“Fake it ‘till you make it”) to the financial (“Triple your estimate for start-up expenses”, “keep an eye on your cash position”, “Watch your tax position”).

The two most frequently cited words were “honest” and “listen”. There were a couple of responses that were sent in all caps – like they were posted on their walls as absolute rules (“BE HONEST – TREAT EVERYONE THE SAME WAY YOU WANT TO BE TREATED” and “BUILD CASH RESERVES FOR THE LEAN TIMES; PERSISTANCE AND DETERMINATION ALONE ARE OMNIPOTENT”).

By far most of the responses were either personal in nature (“Decide who you are and let every decision be based on that”, “To stop worrying about what I can’t control”, “Do something you enjoy and it will not feel like a job”), or were customer-focused (“Focus on the customer’s needs, not yours”, “Be honest and treat people fairly”, “Sell what people want to buy”, “Selling is about getting people what they want”).

2. The second question was “Who's the best local business consultant (or consultant team) you or your business has used?” Fortunately “1SI” got 3 votes. While few firms or individuals received more than one vote, several respondents (7) listed their CPA or accounting firm. This question received the lowest total responses, and 7 responded that they “never have used one”.

3. The third question asked, “Where do you pick up the best tips for running your business or doing your job?” This question received the largest response (70). The most prevalent responses were related to “networking”, “trade conferences and association publications”, and the “print media” (business news, magazines, and books). Two respondents gave credit to themselves (40-year experience, 57 years of experience), more than a few cited “their customers” and one noted “I meet with a 5-member advisory board 3 times a year.” Again, 1SI was cited three times (not the same three people).

4. The final question asked specifically, “What's the best business book you've read?” While at least one admitted that he never has time to read, there were 63 who listed at least one book. “Good to Great” by Jim Collins got the most votes (6), followed by Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” (5) with “The E-Myth” by Michael Gerber coming in third with four votes. It was interesting to see some people love one book, followed by another respondent who made a particular point to note that it was a bad book. That’s why it’s called an “opinion survey”.