Poor Richard, the Home Business Guru!
Pamela Cole Harris
Copyright: 2004
Poor Richard, the Home Business Guru!
I must admit, I didn’t think of Poor Richard’s Almanac as a
guide to home business. In fact, every time someone dragged out
that old “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” business,
I cringed! But a friend pointed me to a website which listed the
Almanac’s advice (do you think they were trying to tell me
something?). And I discovered, to my surprise, that old Richard
was a pretty good business guru! Don’t believe me? Here are some
examples of his business maxims (with a little embellishment
from yours truly!):
1. Diligence is the mother of good luck.
No affiliate marketing package, no “make $100K in 6 months”
opportunity (did you fall for that???), and no Google spider can
do for your business what sheer diligence will do. Working your
business every day – making calls to contacts daily, searching
for inexpensive advertising opportunities daily, doing one piece
of marketing daily, delivering great customer service daily –
done week after week will ensure that your business is
successful year after year. In other words, do the grunt work!
2. Have you something to do tomorrow? Do it today.
But that diligence starts by working your business today. We
all make plans to do great things, but few of us actually begin
with the small things which are at hand. And it is those small
things – done one after the other – that are the foundation
which becomes great things! That being said, sometimes great
things can come out of sunny days spent lounging in the sun!
(Thinking time, right?)
3. Necessity never made a good bargain.
Have you ever known people who only seem to deal with the
moment? Every decision is made under the “tyranny of the
urgent?” Some business people love the adrenaline rush of those
spur of the moment decisions, but I can almost guarantee that
somewhere at the core of that company is a long range plan. Long
range planning is especially important in a home business. Plan
now what you will do if business slows, insurance rates rise,
and tax rates skyrocket (aside from pulling your hair out and
shaking your fist at the government!).
4. Want of care does us more damage than want of knowledge.
You may know everything there is to know about home business,
having read everything that print and internet has to offer! You
may be a biz whiz, but if you don’t have a passion for your
business, why should anybody else? And if you don’t care, and
your potential customers don’t care, then you are out of
business, buddy!
There is one more maxim I want to share with you – “love your
enemies, for they will tell you your faults.” Now, who loves ya,
baby?
Pamela Cole Harris is a writer, editor and web entrepreneur. Her
new website: http://www.pajamabusinesses.com is full of
information on starting your own home business – perfect for
every person who dreams of working from home
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