Growing Your Business Like a Billionaire

Robert Jordan was browsing some titles in the SeaTac airport’s bookstore when he picked up a book of quotes. “I had a thought –- wouldn’t it be great to read a book of quotes from entrepreneurs who had hit home runs -– and learn how they did it?” That idea turned into Jordan’s book, How They Did It: Billion Dollar Insights from the Heart of America.

In the book, Jordan talks to a variety of billionaires who had launched/grown/sold for $100mm or more or gone public for $300mm or more. His hope: To determine what it takes to succeed as a billionaire, and what a new business owner can do to grow a company in the same way.

After interviewing these professionals, Jordan found that those who hit massive successes were those who take the plunge.

“You have to take risk,” he writes. “This sounds obvious, but in reality, what most of us do is avoid failure.” This, he says, just doesn’t work. “They each have one or more points when there was a distinct decision to make a leap, and the results were not known upfront. Actually, I think overall these founders struck out far more than most business people. They just did something very different from most people with those failures.”

When asked to share some advice on the most common mistakes start-ups make, Jordan had a few.

First, trying to avoid failing is a mistake. Instead, look at the failure and see if that could be the source of the real home run. “Another big revelation,” he adds, “(is) most home runs were because of Plan B, not the original plan.”

For example, Bill Merchantz’s software company had a spectacular failure. Software crashed for a very large client. Though Merchantz lost the client, the company invented disaster recovery software, which ended up being the biggest hit.

I think of this with mothers who work at a home based business. Start up is tough, and the first year can be incredibly hard. If you have an idea about your business -– perhaps you are going to start an in-home daycare, or a graphic design company –- you need to go into the company understanding that, over the course of the year (or more), things may change. Be ready for this. For instance, you may begin thinking you want to specialize in Web design, only to find you are more interested in offering print design. You will need to go with these changes as you grow.

In my business, I began offering Web design only. Over the course of five years, we’ve done everything from logos to brochures to menus for companies. I also wrote less and designed more in the beginning; however, the recession hit, Web design jobs decreased, and I found more work doing business writing.

Be flexible. Create more than one plan. This, Jordan says, will help with the idea that as soon the going get tough, you will get going.

Another problem Jordan discovered during his research was entrepreneurs who are unwilling to give up some control. “This is NOT the same thing as giving up equity,” says Jordan.

This means if you are considering going into business on your own, think about your weak spots and get help with those. Many work at home mothers attempt to do it all –- customer service, Web design, answering phones, sales pitches, article writing, hosting parties, marketing, advertising, bookkeeping.

The problem with all of this multitasking is, of course, there are only a few hours in the day. If you attempt to control every aspect of the business, eventually you’ll run out of minutes. You will have to choose: do the other tasks, or focus on the job itself.

Hiring help can alleviate some of these issues. Find someone who can do the tasks that take you the most time, or that you stumble over. For instance, I am not a "numbers" kind of girl. I have someone to help with bookkeeping as needed. Additionally, I am not a graphic designer, and I don’t know Adobe Illustrator. I have a contract graphic designer who does what she does best. This frees me up to do the jobs that I do best. Working together, we can provide the best product.

I learned a great tip long ago, when interviewing someone about starting a company. He told me his best advice was to hire the best people there are. Jordan found this, too, as he interviewed billionaires. “Big success is never a solo act,” Jordan says. “Great founders develop partners and/or great management teams without fail.”

If you have been a business owner for a year or more, what have you found that helps the best in growing your business? What tips would you share with a new business owner?