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These Entrepreneurial Myths Need to Be Busted

Are there “truisms” you live your entrepreneurial life by? I spoke recently with Gini Dietrich, owner of the PR firm Arment Dietrich and a fellow AllBusiness contributor, about the things we’ve found to be true about owning a business, and how some of them fly in the face of what’s passing for “conventional wisdom” these days.

There are an increasing number of entrepreneurial myths out there that need busting, and Gini made me promise to take on the task here in my column. I realize it would be hypocritical of me to suggest that what follows are absolutes. Rather, I believe that every one of us needs to discover our own truths — so here are my realities:

Myth: You don’t really need a website. An online presence on Facebook or Yelp or “fill in the blank” site will suffice.

Reality: This is a fairly new bit of lore being touted, but it’s quickly spreading. Augmenting your online profile with pages on Facebook, Yelp, Twitter, and various other sites is smart business. Thinking any one of those — or even a combination of several — can supplant having your own site is foolish and short-sighted. The numbers vary slightly but by most counts nearly half of all small business owners still don’t have a website. This is inexcusable, people. It’s the 21st century. The Web is how increasing numbers of consumers look for information, shop, compare products or services, make connections, and perform countless other activities that are crucial to business survival.

If you can’t build a site yourself, there are plenty of places that can build (and host) it for you– all within your budget. It’s your business. You need to create the foundation, build your brand, and own what you do. Think of other sites like Yelp and Facebook as “vitamins” to supplement your regular diet. Together they work to create a smarter, more energetic, and powerful business.

Myth: Follow your passion and build a business around that. Or, do what you love and the money will follow.

Reality: I am not advocating doing something you don’t enjoy. In fact, considering how many hours you spend building a business, you better like what you’re doing. But I don’t think you can build a business on passion. Entrepreneur Victoria Turner, founder of baby product site Pippalily, disagrees with me. She contends the opposite, that “you can’t build a business without passion.” And indeed Victoria has started a coaching business (her third company) because her true passion is helping people.

Does this make one of us right, and the other wrong? I don’t think so. But business success is built on creating or selling products or offering services that people want, at a price they’re willing to pay, and marketing the hell out of them. Remember, business is not a selfish proposition. It’s not about you; it’s about them — your customers. In the end maybe it’s not about following your passion, but more about being passionate about whatever it is you’re doing.

Myth: Your employees are lucky to have a job, especially in a tough economy like this one.

Reality:This might be the one myth-buster that is an absolute. Employees are not expendable, replaceable commodities. They are crucial to your growth. It costs exponentially more money to find and train new employees than to treat the ones you have with respect and fairness.

Myth: Having tens or hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitter or friends on Facebook means you must know what you’re talking about.

Reality: There is a lot to be gained from engaging with people via social media networks. But just because someone has accumulated tons of friends or followers does not mean they are an expert. Beware of people who make broad pronouncements on social media (or anywhere else for that matter). There are a lot of people out there pushing their so-called secret systems that “guarantee” success. Hopefully, you know enough to stay away.

Remember social media is a two-way street. It’s supposed to be a conversation. There’s nothing two-way about people telling you they’re too busy to help you, and then turning around and asking you to buy their books or subscribe to their offerings.

Myth: The customer is always right.

Reality: If you find yourself saying this when dealing with certain individuals, perhaps they’re the wrong customers for you. Stay away from customers that sap your energy or take precious time away from serving other clients, or cultivating new ones.

I’m sure there are dozens of other myths I’ve missed that deserved to be busted. Send in your suggestions and we can explore them in a future column.

Follow Rieva on Twitter @Rieva and read more of her insights on SmallBizDaily.com.