9 Pieces of Advice for Entrepreneurs
(from Welcome W. Wilson, Sr.)
The
following excerpt is from the keynote speech that Mr. Welcome W. Wilson, Sr. delivered on September 24,
2013 at the
Prison Entrepreneurship Program‘s 2013 eSchool Graduation presented
by Amerisource Funding.
This is
your graduation, so I am going to give some advice to you new
entrepreneurs.
Number 1.
If the term had been invented in the 1940’s, I would’ve been known
as a schmoozer.
So my first word of advice to this graduating class is to learn how to schmooze people that can help you. Sometimes this can be hard work, but let me promise you it
is worth the time and effort.
Number 2.
As an entrepreneur, don’t
ever go against your instincts, if an
expert gives you advice; don’t act on it unless you agree with it. When I say
experts I mean; lawyers, accountants, architects, engineers. These were the
experts that I relied on in my early days and for the first few years I would
always follow their advice religiously. Even if I felt they were wrong in my
gut. That is a mistake. Never go against your gut feeling.
Number 3:
After you have a modest amount of success, you will begin to feel that you are
invincible. It happened to me. When Lyndon Johnson was president the economy
was booming, every business was succeeding. I gave all the credit to myself. I
thought I was smart enough, fast enough, to get out of any situation. I was
wrong. There are certain things of which you have no control of, particularly
the economy. So don’t
think you are invincible because
you are not.
Number 4:
If you have a setback or a failure, large or small, don’t suck your thumb about
it. Analyze the failure, develop your next plan, and forget about the failure.
Number 5:
Never burn a bridge, and never lose your temper. Lyndon Johnson used to tell me
that, “You can tell a man to go to hell, but you can’t make him go.” The person
who hates you today is likely to be your good friend and supporter five years
from now.
Number 6:
Be persistent. Don’t give up, have faith and persevere. After World War
II Winston Churchill addressed the military academy at WestPoint. He was given
an elaborate introduction that last two minutes and he walked to the podium and
after a pause he said, “Never give up, never give up. Never, never give up”.
And he walked back to his seat and sat down.
Number 7:
Never argue with a stranger. Save your arguments for people you love. The idea of
getting emotionally upset with someone you have never met before in your life
and will unlikely ever see again makes no sense. Just smile and walk away.
Number 8:
Remember people’s names. When you meet someone, tell yourself that, in the next
minutes, you’re going to have to stand up in front of 50 people and introduce
them. Anybody can remember names If they take the trouble to do so. A trick I
use is when I meet Sam; I will start the next 5 sentences with his name. Sam,
XYZ, Sam, PDQ. Remember
the most beautiful sound in the world is a person’s own name.
Number 9:
Don’t under-dress. Dress like you
are an important person. When I was a student at the University of Houston I
learned that by wearing a necktie with a dress shirt, everyone on campus
assumed that I was an employee of the university. I could go to the head of the
line in the cafeteria; I could go behind the counter in the bookstore. If you
wore a tie on campus, they assumed you were somebody important.
Still learning,
Honey
InterAction Training
20826 Sweet Violet Court
Humble, TX 77346
281-812-0211
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