THE SMALL BUSINESS

STRUGGLES

OF SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE

From Rachel Zoe to Steve Blank,

here's how successful people triumphed in

SMALL BUSINESS.

"Treat your team like a family (even when things are tough) and be quick to help someone out whenever you can. Be polite and cordial always. The fashion

industry, like all industries, is a very small world, so you never know who you are going to work with again down the line."

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Rachel Zoe CEO, Rachel Zoe, Inc.

"In the long run, the entrepreneurial journey is more rewarding than any particular

milestone. Enjoy each day as it comes. Build some fun into your work schedule. Also,

the quality of the people you hire and partner with is the most important indicator of

whether your business will succeed. Hire smart and treat your team right."

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Angie Hicks Founder and CMO, Angie’s List

"Most Etsy businesses start out as one person with a dream, but they grow in powerful ways. Sixty-eight percent of Etsy sellers report that the money they earn

matters to their families, and the American Independent Business Alliance reports that — compared to chain stores — independent businesses return more than three times the money into local economies. In a very real way, how you

choose to shop has the power to change the world."

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Chad Dickerson CEO at Etsy

"There are some strong parallels between

failing a business venture and failing to lose

weight. Startups need to better look at the

numbers, carefully monitoring profit margins,

cash flow and customer feedback."

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Bernard Marr

Best-Selling Author and

Enterprise Performance Expert

Jonah Berger

Marketing Professor, Wharton

"If your customers like you, why not ask

them to refer a friend? I’m not

recommending big asks — just using your

customers as the marketing team you

can’t afford. Not only will they say yes,

they’ll be excited to help. Because you

didn’t just ask them to help, you invited

them to become something more than

just a customer. Part of something bigger

than themselves. And that is something

everyone can get behind."

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"When I started RedBalloon, I would start

thinking about Christmas in late July.

What I have learned is there will be another Christmas.

Do the best with what you have, and enjoy the journey."

Read More Naomi Simson Founder, RedBalloon

”Quality is really in the eye of the beholder. For a for-profit company, quality is defined by what the customer wants. So if we are misaligned with what the

customer wants, then all the extra time we take to polish all the edges and get everything right is actually wasted time."

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Eric Ries Author of The Lean Startup

Jennifer Dulski

President & CEO

Change.org

"When I was running a startup, I

introduced the ‘bat phone’ — a red cell

phone that rang with the theme song

from Batman every time someone

called in with a question or complaint.

The premise was that if customers

were our most important priority, we

should treat calls from them as critical

— like Batman would when his bat

phone rang."

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Jennifer Dulski

President & COO Change.org

"The 'Startup Hotel' was the hole-in-the-wall that we stayed in to pinch pennies in

those beginning months of a startup company. They were great because they were a

tangible adventure in the early stages — and it was also a living example to investors

and others that you were making sacrifices to make your company work."

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Chris Seper CEO, MedCity Media

"I love my job, but it sometimes troubles me how little empathy or sympathy small

business owners get in return. Contrary to hired CEOs, small business owners have

no choice but to stay aboard their own ship and keep sailing, whether the weather is

excellent or a huge storm is at the horizon.

Yet there’s a huge difference in salary."

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Inge Geerdens Entrepreneur

"For the rest of my career when things got tough in a startup (being yelled at, working

until I dropped, running out of money, being on both ends of stupid decisions, pushing

people to their limits, etc.), I would vividly remember seeing that empty spot on the

flight line. It put everything in perspective."

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Steve Blank Co-Author, The Startup Owner’s Manual

"Every small business in our town, and everywhere, is owned by someone with a

family that needs support. When you shop small, you support families in your own

town... This year, shop small for Uncle Leo, Frankie, Dvora, Cousin Julie, and Allie.”

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Dave Kerpen CEO, Likeable Local