10 Things You Should Never Say To An Entrepreneur
January 26, 2008
People who want to start a business often seek the advice of an experienced entrepreneur. But make sure you think before you speak. There are some things you should never say to an entrepreneur. And here are 10 of the dumbest ones I ever heard:
1) I wish I was as lucky as you.
2) I want to start a business - when I get time.
3) So, what would you have done instead, if you’d worked hard at school?
4) Just think how much better your business would be if you had an MBA.
5) It’s easy for you - you can do it full-time; I still have my day job.
6) I thought about doing that. But, I decided to do something more mentally challenging instead.
7) It’s ok for you - it was easier when you started out.
So, what’s the quickest way to get rich? I’m aiming at 3 to 4 months.
9) I’d like to own a business but I’m not ruthless enough.
10) I want to do what you did. Lend me a million to get me started.
Has anyone said any of these to you? Can you think of any more dumb things you should never say to an entrepreneur?
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21 Responses to “10 Things You Should Never Say To An Entrepreneur”
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#7 is the one I like, as well as its cousin “You were always lucky!”
Wowo you have been busy, huh! I like the new look, more open.
I need to change my URL and ditch the blogger piece, but afraid I would muck up the move!
Good job!
RacerX’s last blog post..Top Personal Finance Necessities
Don’t be too impressed. This is my old theme. I accidentally deleted something on the new one and it was easier to use this than fix it!
It honestly isn’t too bad switching from blogger to wordpress. And there’s a button which you press to import all your posts. I just found some instructions on the internet and followed them. And if I can do it, anyone can.
Two dumb things people said (and still say to me):
“Better have that resume ready!” (How encouraging.)
“I hope you have a plan B.” (How supportive.)
You mean 3-4 months is too long a time frame? Ok, I’m shooting for 1-2.
Can’t say I’ve heard any of them as I’m not really an entrepreneur, just trying to figure out how to make a little bit of extra money online to augment my income when I’m not working.
Here and I was going to comment on how nice your “new” look was.
Mike Goad’s last blog post..Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho? (not yet!)
Thanks Mike. I’m not keen on the entrepreneur word either. A friend of mine introduced me to friends as an entrepreur. I was embarrassed because their boss is Richard Branson. And I was thinking - I hope they realise she means small entrepreneur!
Hi Catherine,
I think when someone says,
“Good luck, but others have tried the same thing, and they failed”, is very discouraging.
Entrepreneurs need encouragement, not negativity. Let’s face it, we all react better, in all aspects of our lives, to praise.
With that being said, even though you have reactivated an old theme, I think it looks great.
Barbara’s last blog post..What if Google Added “This†To Determine Page Rank
Hi Barbara - I accidentally deleted some of the files of the old one so this was easier!
Now, that is another one to add to the list. And so many people say it.
Why do people say these negative things to entrepreneurs and do they realise how damaging it can be?
Catherine Lawson’s last blog post..10 Things You Should Never Say To An Entrepreneur
People never get tired to ask me if I’m not bored, being at home all day.
OK, I’m not getting rich (yet), but hey, I am busy.
I think, the next time somebody asks me, I jump in their face
Some people just never learn to think out of the box.
There’s some pretty tough stuff on that list, I can’t believe people even mention anything like that.
Just rude.
:S
The sad thing about the question:
“2) I want to start a business - when I get time.”
…is that most people who say things like this will probably never be able to start a business because they’re always worried about it being the “perfect time”. To me the perfect time is when you start complaining about your employment! I myself got tired of waiting for the good things to come to me so I went to them.
#9 really gets up my nose.
Where does being ruthless guarantee success?
You don’t have to be ruthless at all. I realise many successful people are, but what sort of a life do they have?
It’s a myth anyway. You can be successful with positivity, supporting people that join you on the ride.
Monsters aren’t really successful anyway - most people like to be loved. Although I suspect there are some monsters who revel in the hatred.
Ian Denny’s last blog post..Want A Better Business? Build A Better Mousetrap
Dwayne - that is so true. It’s a bit like having a baby isn’t it? There’s never going to be a perfect time.
Ian - I knew that one would annoy you. But why do so many people believe you have to be ruthless to be successful? It is so insulting to those of us who aren’t one bit ruthless.
I don’t think some of these reality shows help.
A few of my favorites are…
“You have it easy compared to me!” (Yeah running your own business is “easy”.)
“The only people that make money online are the ones that sell their soul.” (Another one of my favorites! Of course, this was said by someone who wasn’t making money online.)
How hard is writing? You are just put words on a page. (You have to think about what you write in order for it to be effective and at times that can be challenging.)
And I don’t understand how people could think that writing is easy. It’s those blooming hairhead celebs that are to blame - the ones that pretend they don’t use ghostwriters.
yea one person asked me to set them up a couple websites for them to make a couple hundred a month for them. I just laughed.
Guitar Hero 4’s last blog post..Guitar Hero and Rock Band Drive Music Sales
Catherine,
LOL yeah well that person puts down any person that does well making money. They haven’t done great in the make money online department so I think envy might factor in somewhere. I don’t visit them anymore. Too much negativity mixed into the positive posts they write. Their readership has dropped significantly, and I would be willing to bet those negative posts that keep raising their ugly head has a lot to do with it.
I didn’t know how many ghostwriters were used until I started freelance writing. It boggles the mind.
Hi Opal - I try to avoid most of the make money online sites. Most of them haven’t made much money online anyway - yet they still spin the rubbish they learned from some “guru”.
You know something - I have two bad reviews on here on make money online ebooks. One is so bad that the author has banned my IP from their site. Yet, some people still buy those books, so it just goes to show how desperate some people are to get rich quick.
Yes - ghostwriting is a massive business. I wouldn’t do it. If I was going to put all that effort into writing a book, I’d want to see my name on the cover, not Victoria Beckhams’ or Jordan’s!
I stopped visiting the MMO websites soon after I found out about them. From a business standpoint, I thought they gave very bad advice. When I visit some of my blog pals occasionally I’ll point out the inaccuracies with some of the statements I hear people make. They will spout that nonsense and blindly accept it as truth because some self proclaimed “guru” said it was so. A lot of the information is flawed. I still have a way to go before I reach my goals regarding online monetization, but I suspect I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I have if I listened to the “advice” of some of those “experts”.
Banned for being honest, eh? I’ll have to read the review.
I should say most of the ones I visited gave very bad advice.
I have emailed you the link to the review.