Wealthy Bag Lady Blog

Top 10 Myths about Small Business

1. I Need Megabucks.
   Sara Blakely, CEO of Spanx, couldn't find footless pantyhose and thought it would make a great business. She didn't know the first thing about the pantyhose industry (except that she hated wearing most pantyhose). Relying on her gut instincts, she started Spanx with only $5,000 in savings and a lot of friends. Now her company grosses more than $150 million a year.
   

2. I Need a Lot of Experience
   Dotsie Bregel was a stay at home mom until all of her kids were in college. Then, at 44, she started the National Assn. of Baby Boomer Women (NABBW) for other women who wanted connections and inspiration. Now NABBW is the # 1 web site for baby boomer women. She has been a featured expert on the CBS Early Show and the NBC Nightly News.
   

3. I Don't Need to Learn Sales and Marketing Skills.
   No matter what business you're in, you're running a sales and marketing company. Marketing is an investment in your business. If you're doing it right, your business will grow quickly. Nothing happens until a sale is made, so sales skills are also a must. At the upcoming Women's Small Business Expo, we'll teach you the top 3 sales strategies for this economy.
   

4. I Don't Have to Continually Learn and Invest in Myself.
   School is never out for the pros. In today's business climate, you need to invest in your education and sharpen your business skills. Competition in business today is fierce. If you don't learn, you don't grow.
   

5. I Can Do It All On My Own.
   The reason my first 2 businesses failed was that I had no success team in place. I was young and rebellious and thought I could do it all on my own. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you want to be successful, you need to hang out with successful people. Surround yourself with great mentors and consultants. One of the people that I interviewed for my upcoming book, Women Hold the Purse Strings, said that without her success team, she would "probably be flipping burgers somewhere".
   

6. I'm too young.
   At age 10, Leanna Archer became the owner and CEO of her own company, Leanna's Hair Products. After completing her homework she packs the orders she gets everyday. She has been featured on NBC and Fox Business and became the youngest person to ring the opening bell for the NASDAQ stock market.
   
   
7. I'm too old.
   Jack Weil founded the Rockmount Ranch Wear clothing company and keeps the customers coming in droves. Did I mention he's 106? He's one of the oldest entrepreneurs in America. Rockmount shirts have been worn by countless celebrities and musicians dating back to Elvis Presley and Clark Gable, and even the rock band, The Killers. Rockmount apparel was notably used to outfit the actors in the Academy Award-winning movie, Brokeback Mountain.
   
   
8. My product or service will sell itself.
   There's a scene in the new movie, He's Just Not That into You, where a young woman is staring at the phone, waiting for her love interest to call. Unfortunately, this describes many business owners. They build a business, sit back and wait for the phone to ring off the hook. In this economy, you need to be pro-active and touch your prospects with different forms of "Octopus Marketing".
   
   
9. I need a fancy schmancy office.
   With the home business boom, many entrepreneurs are using their homes as their offices, building their businesses and spending time with their families. Technology and the internet have freed us to work at home or remotely.
   
   
10. It's a bad time to start a business because of the economy.
    One of my greatest gifts was starting my business in the recession of 1988 when there was double digit interest rates and runaway inflation. I learned to run my business lean and mean. I was constantly educating myself. People called me the Seminar Queen. When the economy rebounded, my business was still around, while some of my competitors bit the dust. Remember that tough times don't last, but tough people do.

Entrepreneur and Hero

The US Airways pilot, Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who masterfully guided the plane and it's terrified, but grateful, passengers to safety in New York's Hudson River is a pilot and an entrepreneur.

The pilot of the miracle landing on the Hudson has a company called Safety Reliability Methods, a consulting firm about risk-evaluation and safety. His clients are in business, government and health care. Needless to say his phone is ringing off the hook and we wish him all the success in the world.