If Benjamin Franklin were alive today, he could make a heap of money as a keynote speaker at business-building seminars. A quick survey of this founding father’s wise words reveals today’s motivational speakers as pretenders to the podium.
For quotable quotes, few hold a candle to Franklin, whose one-liners can prove hilarious as well as profitable. Sure, everyone can have a chuckle over these:
• “Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.”
• “Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”
• “Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.”
• “He that displays too often his wife and his wallet is in danger of having both of them borrowed.”
But for the small-business owner, Franklin had a lot to say more than 200 years ago that remains sound advice today. In fact, if more people had paid attention to Franklin’s words, we may have sidestepped the recent bank collapse and recession.
Though many small-business owners have scratched and clawed back to prosperity over the past year, it’s never too late for a reminder of the genius of perhaps the cleverest of our Colonial statesmen. Here is some of Franklin’s best small-business advice drawn from hundreds of his most famous quotes. Heed these words and, like old Ben, you might harness electric energy – for your company:
“Energy and persistence conquer all things.”
One of Franklin’s messages from his early days as an entrepreneurial printer was that hard work is the dominant ingredient for success. He couldn’t abide laziness or time-wasting, and he implored business owners to watch out for both in themselves and their employees. Everyone knows his line: “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” But how hard a person works during the waking hours is even more important. As Franklin said: “Fatigue is the best pillow.”
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
Remember this bit of advice next time you’re tempted to complain about continuing education requirements. Franklin clearly believed in lifelong learning and not getting stuck in a rut in the way you approach business challenges.
Through his editorials in Poor Richard’s Almanack, he often advised readers to seek and heed good advice. “He that won’t be counseled can’t be helped,” Franklin said. He could be speaking directly to today’s small-business owners, who face growing government regulation and intense competition. “To succeed,” he said, “jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions.”
“Beware of small expenses. A small leak can sink a great ship.”
In Franklin’s day – as he sailed back and forth across the Atlantic to promote the American ideal – the second part of this tip could be taken literally. For people who run small businesses, as he did for many years, Franklin stressed paying attention to details.
Are you charging what you should to turn a profit on every job? Are you watching costs as closely as revenues? Are you keeping up with routine maintenance to preserve your expensive equipment? Is your accounting system working well? Many small drains on resources can imperil your company.
“If you want something done, ask a busy person.”
How many times do you go back to your top-performing employee when a job has to be done right and on time? Franklin reminds owners to both reward their best employees and demand more of the rest. This means regularly praising the efforts of great workers, offering them more money and greater responsibilities. His advice also calls on you to motivate the rest to raise their efforts to match the standard-bearer.
“Anger is never without a reason but seldom a good one.”
Simply put, don’t blow your top when dealing with an employee, a difficult customer, or anyone you encounter in business. Let a cool head prevail in an argument. If you approach a conflict with a positive attitude, you may turn around a customer service disaster or a problem employee. Butting heads will usually get you nowhere fast. Franklin warned: “If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins.”
“There are three great friends: an old wife, an old dog and ready money.”
Franklin clearly wasn’t concerned about political correctness. For today, this bit of advice isn’t about an “old wife” or an “old dog.” It’s about “ready money,” and the time-tested importance of positive cash flow and careful spending.
Which companies were best suited to ride out the recession? The ones determined to collect on their bills in a timely fashion, watch borrowing, and salt some profits away for a rainy day. And when we read this line from Franklin, we can be certain he faced deadbeat customers just as you do: “If you can’t pay for a thing, don’t buy it. If you can’t get paid for it, don’t sell it. Do this, and you will have calm and drowsy nights, with all of the good business you have now and none of the bad.”
“The best investment is in the tools of one’s own trade.”
There weren’t many drains to clean in Franklin’s day, but he knew that to print newspapers, build furniture or farm the land, the best tools available made the work easier and the results better. Franklin often preached about efficiency, reminding that “Time is money,” and that “You may delay, but time will not, and lost time is never found again.” Today, Franklin would advise business owners to keep an open mind to new trends, and maintain a reliable inventory of equipment.
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
The buzzword used today is “systematizing.” Break down every task in your business so you know how much time it should take to complete and so anyone can be trained to do a job to the same quality and efficiency. Franklin was sending the same message on getting organized in Colonial America.
You don’t need a fancy life coach or a business consultant to get things together. Just listen to Ben when he says, “Drive thy business or it will drive thee,” and “A place for everything, everything in its place!”
