Hi
Have you noticed how many people have an opinion without any idea what they are talking about?
I remember when I part-owned a taxi business (don't ask!) and when I invested in a restaurant, how everyone suddenly became
an expert in running taxi firms and restaurants, most of whom had never even run a whelk stall.
Brendan Behan, the Irish author put it best when he said "Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how its done, they've seen it done every day, but they are unable to do it themselves."
I
meet lots of eunuchs - and so do you - who think they know how to be an entrepreneur and run a successful small business. Politicians and academics are the worst. Most are full of theories - and are happy to feast on the fruits of the labours of others - but have a stubborn refusal to act and have never taken part.
I have written before about the importance of the people your
hang out with (and therefore listen to). Paying attention to who you spend time with, and in particular who you choose to listen to, matters to your success.
You need people who you can look up to, who inspire you, enthuse you and support you.
My mentor Nigel Botterill, who knows a thing
or two about running a successful business (which is why I listen to him) says this:
None of us are islands. We’re human beings and we can’t function in isolation. Not for any period of time anyway. That’s why it’s so important that you consciously have the right support networks in place for when you need them. There will be tough times ahead in the coming twelve months. Things will go
wrong. Shit will happen. And when it does, you need to be talking and listening to people who have been there, who have overcome similar challenges and situations and who properly understand what you are trying to achieve and why. Because then they’ll help you prevail.
So make sure you’re spending enough time with the right people and not getting sucked away from your dreams and your goals,
however innocently, by people much smaller and less significant than you. This may include your family and friends if none of them are entrepreneurs or have ever run businesses.
Too often it is the critics and the commentators who dominate, rather than those of us who roll up our sleeves and get on with the job.
I know who I'd rather listen to.
To your success.
Noel Guilford
PS Last week's Sunday Supplement contained a grammatical mistake for which I apologise. Attention to detail and getting the little things right matter to me, as I know they do to you. We have systems in place to stop these things happening; these have been tightened.
Noel Guilford is the principal of Guilford Accounting a small business accountancy practice specialising in advising owner-managed businesses on current accounting, finance, and tax matters. You can reach him via email at noel@guilfordaccounting.co.uk or
by phone at 01244 660866. He is the author of the best selling book 'Figure it out - an entrepreneurs guide to understanding your business numbers' which you can obtain by visiting http://guilfordaccounting.co.uk/figureit out.