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Street Smarts Archives
August 3, 2007
Where Do You Learn How to Run a Business?
Posted at 10:47 AM
Here’s the kind of question I get all the time. It comes from a young man named Tony Wagner: “I am just starting out and would like to know, Where would I get the best business knowledge? What books? What seminars? What schools? I want to be the best I can be.”
Tony, I really don’t believe that books, seminars, or even school can be your most useful tool. That’s not to say that education isn’t important. I’m a big believer in education. While you’re going to school, you should get as much as you can. But that’s not really what’s going to help you the most. If you’re just starting out and looking for general business advice, there’s no better way than to start in the trenches.
When I was looking to get into a service business and knew nothing at all, I first thought maybe I’d go into the car wash business, so I applied for a job at a local car wash. I started off as a vacuumer, which was one of the best jobs because when the taxi cabs pulled in and you vacuumed out the back seat, you usually found a lot of change. I eventually managed three locations. The most important thing I learned was that I didn’t want to go into the car wash business. I didn’t like that the car wash was open 24/7 or that it was a cash business. I wanted lots of people working for me, and I didn’t want to have to worry about watching the cash every day. Even so, what I learned about business was invaluable. I learned how important customer service is. I learned that the best business is repeat business. I learned how to buy supplies properly.
Then I tried a delivery business that I worked at for three years. When I left, I started my own delivery business. Here’s the thing: When people come to me and say they don’t have any knowledge, I ask them what they’ve been doing. They always have more knowledge than they think.
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Did you just admit to stealing change out of the back of a taxi cab??
I agree, experience is the best teacher. I've found that knowing what to do in business has to do with how you analyze a situation, and also how advice/guidance is applied from professional consultants (accountants, attorneys, etc.), and of course just plain old experience. Situations in business often repeat themselves, especially when establishing multiple businesses.
Norm,
This is sound advice indeed. There is a big difference between learning and education. It's sad that education doesn't encourage risk, failure, and being wrong. We learn by doing. Fail often and fail fast is a way of gaining and understanding of our environment and ourselves.
The problem with education, as practiced, is that is assumes a static world. But everything is changing all the time. And such skills, as critical thinking, and the encouragement of curiosity are sadly lacking.
I would like to see the apprentice system embraced by parents. There are well-paid jobs in the trades. Skilled workers are needed, but for many middle-class parents there is a stigma attached to such work. We need to get over this. Current thinking suggests all should go to college.
Our education system's first loyalty is to itself, and like any bureaucratic institution it often turns out institutional minds.
Small business owners need to be flexible, creative, and open to change.
An action-oriented approach to business is better. We learn by doing.
I've just been reading an essay about the Japanese
philosopher, Nishida Kitaro. Nishida has the concept of action-intuition which describes a dynamic structure of creativity.
"When a sculptor carves a statue, he sees its form anew with each attack of the chisel. The seeing of form thus induces him to further chiselling."
It's a reciprocal process of acting and seeing. This works the same for business. You try something out. Only by being at that point, as you were in your car wash, could you have clear vision and see what the problems were.
Operations may be functional or mechanical, but business is a creative act.
Norm, I agree with the learning in the trenches. There is nothing like making a mistake or actually being an owner and realizing that this is not what you signed up for. I did find that being an entrepreneur was a lonely place so I joined a local "mastermind" group.
I eventually after building my company to several million dollars in revenue started my own. Best thing I ever did for growing my business because I got to ask other business owners questions and learn from their mistakes.
Plus I learned that what worked in their businesses would work in mine.
What you said is correct. But what do you have to say about the executives that are produced by the greate institutions like The Harvards, The London Schools, etc. Do you mean that they are not as good as the ones who have the experince themselves?? Do you mean they are not worth what they have?? or we should prefer hiring people who have more experience?
Well I think it is not so...we can study on our own we can do the case studies on businesses learn about them without getting into them. We can be smart not wasting our time and energy. We can listen about them & learn what to do and what not to do instead of ""EXPERIENCING"" them. Why waste our good time ""EXPERIENCING"" them when you can see how they are run & what mistkes are made by them, what good things they hane done, how they got the contracts and all. And if you can not run the business, get out of it, you be on board and let the executives run the business for you...you just pay them if you don't know how to do it...they might take the business to places which you may probably not just becuase you didn't know how to do it and wasting your own precious time getting experience...huh! I mean common be smart you really don't have to enter the businesses to know them...you can get that NEWS FROM THE INSIDE even if you may be out...all you need to do is to get in contact with these businesses...and so you need the NETWORK...which you must need when you need to ""RUN"" the business.
Thank You.
Regards.
Universities also grade you for the result, not minding the actual process. We had a project where the result was graded without us realizing that the process of creating a business is much more important than the actual result. I hope i made sense there, but you get the point :)
Don't let schooling interfere with your education - Mark Twain
well, a very inspiring and educative comments and the article was 2 good for a starter like me whos jus started with business venture n is learning each day . Good work !!!
Norm:
You are right! Nothing is better than hands on experience. Find out what you like and get some exposure to it. The most exciting classrooms will never prepare you for what you will encounter in the real world.
When I hire people, education is a minimum expectation. The question is what talents, abilities, and experience to you bring to the organization now? The experience usually speaks louder to me than the education.
I have found that reading business, marketing and sales books from the early to mid 20th century has been helpful. I just visit 'rare book' store websites and search for business books from a certain time frame, not necessarily by title. And if I read about some practice or technique that was used 50, 70 years ago and it is still years ago and it is still being used today...indeed it is proven.
I am already stuck on the fact that you stole money from cars. What a world
Experience is the ultimate teaching/learning tool. Along with that though goes having and open mind, listening to trusted advisors and then making decisions - and experiencing the results.
uummmmmmmm
I guess people have not understood my comment that properly!
I wanted to point out that why should we get in & get that experience??? we can watch others take the experience & learn from over there....we can watch them get experience & learn but we don't have to waste time there.
We can learn from other peoples mistakes & learn from their experiences...
what say?
Nachiket - It was heard. One can learn from others indeed and it always helps provide some initial direction but nothing compares to learning from your own experience. Part of it is that everyone has their own methodologies on how to plan, act, and react to situations. When owning or managing your own business many things come at you unexpectedly, most of which you'll never have prepared for no matter how much education. How you react and what happens after the reaction is experience that creates you, intrinsically, with continal improvement
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