Creating a Business You'll Love: Top Entrepreneurs Share Their Secrets

QHB's 10 Points of Focus and Summaries

Creating a Business You'll Love 10 Points:

1. Passion and Vision: Success in entrepreneurship requires extreme passion and a clear vision. Passion helps you persevere through challenges, while vision drives you to achieve your goals.

2. Stepping Out of Comfort Zones: Growth often happens outside of your comfort zone. Embrace challenges that stretch your abilities and learn from these experiences.

3. Customer Connection and Feedback: Understanding and connecting with your customers is crucial. Use customer feedback to refine and improve your products and services.

4. Innovation and Adaptability: Continuously innovate and evolve your products to stay competitive. Being agile and open to new opportunities is key to long-term success.

5. Building a Strong Network: Develop a powerful network of supporters, mentors, and advisors. A strong network can provide valuable guidance and opportunities.

6. Effective Business Planning: Create detailed and realistic business plans. An investment-grade business plan should address every potential question from investors and clearly outline your strategy.

7. Quality and Consistency: Strive for high-quality products and services. Consistent improvement and adherence to quality standards are essential for building a reputable brand.

8. Empathy and Team Building: Empathy is a vital trait in business. Surround yourself with a team that complements your strengths and weaknesses, and lead by example.

9. Resilience and Perseverance: Be prepared for setbacks and failures. Resilience and the ability to persist through tough times are critical for long-term success.

10. Balanced Life and Continuous Learning: Maintain a balance between work and personal life to foster creativity and prevent burnout. Always seek to learn and improve, both personally and professionally.

QHB's Selected Book Quotes and Summaries

# " Successful entrepreneurship is driven by the right combination of extreme passion and the ability of the founder, coupled with the right ideas at the right time. " - Trip Hawkins (Founder of EA)

# " One question i like to ask prospective employees is, "Tell me about a time you tried something that stretched you way past your comfort zone". Almost always, i have to keep probing beyond people's easy, obvious answers: "when i had to go work for this really tough boss" or " when i had to work late for a week to get this project done". These responses are not going to do. What i wanna know is: what stretched you? How did it make you feel? What happened as a result of this experience? How did you learn from it? Did it hurt? How?" - Chris Paradysz (Founder of digital marketing agency, PM Digital which has clients such as The Financial Times and The North Face)

# " Its the why and what that does. We want to see and feel passion. We want to see people light up. " - Chris Paradysz

# "You're going to have to learn to use what you've got. And since you don't have big breast, why don't you tie some ribbons on your pigtails and just be sweet as you are. " - Barbara Corcoran (Millionaire who sold her Real Estate Business for $66 Million and is now famously known to be part of a Reality tv show, Shark Tank.

# "Our Business model is pretty simple, basically we figure that doing well for our community is also good business." - Craig Newmark (Founder of Craigslist with a Net Worth of $1.3 Billion)

# " There are moments in our lives when we summon the courage to make choices that go against reason, against common sense and the wise counsel of people we trust. But we lean forward nonetheless because, despite all risks and rational arguments, we believe that the path we are choosing is the right and best thing to do. We refuse to be bystanders, even if we do not know exactly where our actions will lead. " - Howard Schultz (CEO of the Starbucks Coffee Company with a Net Worth of $3.1 Billion)

# "No matter how hard the day is, slumber will come at the end of it. Sleep happens and revives my body for the next day. " - Warren Brown (Former Lawyer and Founder of Cakelove, who has 7 Outlets in Washington D.C.)

# "It's okay to switch tables if you discover its too hard to win at your table. "

# " Learn by doing. Theory is nice, but nothing replaces actual experience. "

# "You've gotta love the game. To become really good, you need to live it and sleep it. - Tony Hsieh (Cofounded LinkExchange and sold it for $265 Million to Microsoft at the age of 24. Currently CEO of Zappos which was acquired by Amazon for $1.2 Billion in 2009.)

# "Staying innovative and continuing to evolve our product is very important in terms of succeeding in our space - and, frankly, it opens up more opportunities to us. " - Victoria Ransom (Founder of Wildfire Interactive which was sold to Google for $450 Million and is now a Director of Products at Google)

"Tina's Top 10 Tips for Young Entrepreneurs: 1. Know your market. (The more you know about something, the further your business will go and grow) 2. Create a Plan. (If you fail to plan, you plan to fail) 3. Create your professional tool kit 4. Build your network. (You need a powerful network of people to support you) 5. Connect with your customers. (Once you know what customers are looking for, it will be easier to figure out how to connect with them) 6. Set realistic timelines. (What are you going to accomplish in 3 months? 3 weeks?) 7. Always be innovating. (Your products and services need to quickly adapt as well. 8. Develop your fab five. (Group of entrepreneurs or thought leaders you rely on personally on advice. 9. Set realistic expectations. (Keep in mind that the relationship must go both ways). 10. Create Balance in your life. (When we quite ourselves, sometimes we're blessed with brilliant ideas) " - Tina Wells (Founder of Buzz Marketing Group which has clients including Sony BMG)

# "What's the lesson to learn? Build a company for the market, instead of marketing what you build." - Rob McGovern (Founder of Careerbuilder.com)

# "My management philosophy is: always lead from the front, set a good example and never forget the people that helped you achieve your goals"

# "My rules in creating a Business you'll love: Work hard, Finding the right people, Discover your niche, Innovation is good, Constantly search for new opportunities , Remain agile, Aggressively pursue Quality Management System (QMS) Standards, Continues improvement is more than a headline, Use diversity as an advantage and Give back to the community "

# "Passion is the ultimate key to success to creating a business you'll love. Passion gets you out of the bed in the morning, offers you a second wind when its been a long say and helps you close the deal when you need it most. It allows you to be authentic, purposeful and committed. It helps build trust with both internal and external audiences. Most important, it allows you to obtain the critical element in creating a successful business - People." - Tony Jimenez (CEO of MicroTech)

# "A lot of people are starting business because they think its an opportunity to make some money. You occasionally get lucky, but that doesn't really work. You have to be passionate about it." - Steve Case (Chairman of America Online with a Net Worth of $1.4 Billion)

# " Smart entrepreneurs use customer feedback to refine and improve their products, its features, pricing, distribution and more so that when the product launches, people want to buy it." - Steve Blank (Developer of The Customer Development Methodology)

# "Vision is Contagious. Those who see genuine vision can't help but be moved and even transformed themselves. Vision gets you out of bed in the morning when everything within you wants to give up. Vision drives you to overcome when all else fails."

# "Some Humble advice on creating your own Business you'll love: Test the strength of the Vision, Tap into a network of investors, Pitch potential investors who fund ventures similar to yours and ignore other funding options in the beginning, Do your homework and know what you're talking about. Never ever give up." - Jake Harriman (Founder of Nuru International)

# "Just because there's another product on the market like yours, doesn't mean you can't be a player. Just create a better product."

# "Here's some more important advice. I never let my detractors deter me - and neither should you." - Liz Lange (Founder of Liz Lange Maternity, which has licensing deals with Nike and Target)

# "Historically, most business don't make it past two years. It usually takes a business approximately five years to break out and be on the road to success." - Bart Potenza (Founder of Candle 79, one of the best Vegetarian dining establishments in the US)

# "My advice to anyone starting a company is to make sure that you love whatever it is you are selling, making, or promoting. Expect to experience failure and insecurity and days when you have to drag yourself to work to face your staff and clients. And, if you're like me, you will rarely feel like you've done enough or made it... but you will most certainly never be bored. Most important, you will always be able to say that you created something that matters to you." - Elizabeth Harrison (Cofounded Harrison & Shriftman, a PR Company that has Clients including Jimmy Choo)

# "Ten Tips For An Investment-Grade Business Plan: Define the Problem. Solution and Benefits. Industry & Market Sizing. Explain the Business Model. Competition and Sustainable Advantage. Marketing, Sales and Partners. Executive Team. Funding Requirements Financial Forecast and Metrics. Exit Strategy."

# "An investment-grade business plan is a professionally prepared document, preferably about 20 pages, to satisfy both angel investors and venture capitalists."

# "The Best plans are not usually the fanciest or the longest. They are not measured by the quantity of impressive graphics or the size of the revenue projections. Investment-grade business plans attempt to answer every question an investor could possibly ask, except maybe "Where do I Sign?"." - Martin Zwilling (Founder of Startup Professionals)

# "Things to have completed and polished before you got to a venture capitalist (VC) for financing: Executive summary and business plan are written. Financial model and projections are tested. Thirty second and three minute pitches are polished. You've had a referral to that particular VC.Very strong senior management team or founding members. Starting to gain traction with your customers. (You are known) You are starting to appear in the press or have been written on about. You've raised seed of at least $1M by family/friends. Your business is for Profit and has large exit opportunities. The market you're entering has a large enough market that can support a $100M company. Has customer testimonials and references. Your founding team and management has no skeletons in the closet. Your books and files are organized so can easily move. Have an outline of the geographical area that you would like to approach. Checked wether the VC that you wish to approach is actually interested or not. Done your research on your VC if they are suitable with you or not. Your team can interact together easily and not be conflicted. You can do your presentation from the back off your head and answer any questions that is shouted at you." - Darren Herman (Founder of IGA Worldwide, which has clients including Armani Exchange, MTV, Viacom, Panasonic and Sony)

# "Keep on Trucking - Always execute vertically and move towards your goal. Running backs in the NFL never run horizontally, because you can only score a touchdown when you run straight ahead. Keep that in mind." - Jerry Garcia (Singer and Musician who was listed 13th in Rolling Stone's Top 100 Greatest Guitarist of All Time)

# "You only make yourself stronger by surrounding yourself with a team of people who are stronger than you, be it through experience or sheer intellect." - Seth Sternberg (CEO & Co founder of Meebo, which has more than 170 Million users)

# "Sums up the single most important piece of advice i always give to aspiring business owners: make sure you love your business!" - Mia Bauer (Former Lawyer and Founder of local Bakery, CRUMBS)

# "First, you have to find your own unique path. Second, there is nothing as important as offering value. Third, the most important trait in business is empathy and finally, you have to be able to live with mistakes." Tim Berry (Founder of Palo Alto Software)

# " So, you want to be an entrepreneur? First and foremost, think very carefully about whether you want to be an entrepreneur in the first place. Second, you need to realize being an entrepreneur and working for yourself is addictive. Third, before you take the entrepreneurial route, you must also do a careful assessment of your strength and weaknesses. Fourth, you will need a good idea or concept for your business and then you will need to develop a well thought strategy. Finally, develop a strategy that doesn't require a great deal of capital up front." - Jack Perkowski (Founder of JFP Holdings)

# "Lessons I've learned from starting two companies: Provide consumers with a tremendous benefit. (Consumer Benefit), Provide Business partners with a tremendous benefit. (Business Benefit) and Participate in a large market. (Market Benefit)" - Spencer Rascoff (CEO of Zillow.com)

# "Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the people doing it." - Seth Goldman (President of Honest Tea, in which a stake minority was bought by Coca Cola)

# "Man is made bad as a bucket is filled, one drop at a time; man is made good as a bucket is filled, one drop at a time." - Peter Carlisle (Managing Director of Action Sports Division)

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