The word "uncertainty" captures the essence of beginning a new business. From the ever-changing--and growing--hours to the trials of marketing, new businesses work in a world of variables and unknowns. There is no room for misplaced pride.
The weight of running a start-up gestates humility, which is why entrepreneur
Eric Ries stresses that humility becomes start-up owners. In an interview with BusinessNewsDaily, Ries
said an owner should believe in his idea, but not at the expense of becoming a modern-day
Narcissus.
"It took me several failures to figure it out," Ries said.
Of course, no business owner should desire failure, but he should never puff himself up with his company's self-worth. To
play on a song lyric, the main thing for small business owners is to keep the client the main thing.
Ries says that's a principle to live by.
"But if you don't know who the customer is, you don't know what quality means," he said.