Listen to Jane Miller talk about 'Starting a business and seeking business advice'
Jane Miller on what it takes to succeed in business...
"You’ve got to have either a skill or a passion for something, and you’ve got to want it. I also think you have to have tenacity, it’s such a long uphill struggle, setting up a business isn’t something that happens over night. So if you’re going to give up quickly and loose heart or faith, or decide it wasn’t something you wanted to do in the first place, then you won’t make it."
You have to have tenacity, it’s such a long uphill struggle, setting up a business isn’t something that happens over night
"It’s also about having a good enough reason to want to do it, for example if your family are dependant on the income or if you've found yourself redundant. For me it was about not wanting to enter the later stage of my life without having something new to look forward to. Those are really good reasons to make you want to succeed, they're all powerful motivators."
On asking for help...
"Don’t do the typical man thing of ‘I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m not going to stop and ask for directions’. In business if you need help just stop and ask someone. Or pay someone to do things if you don’t want to learn to do it yourself. You don’t have to learn and do everything, but you do have to acknowledge when help is needed.
"I find it’s really important to make sure you have the right people around you, whether that’ s a coach, mentor or a mastermind group, and also your friends and family. If you’re working against the people who are around you, that is such a drain on energy. Just take yourself away from the negative energy, but listen to negative criticism when it’s for a purpose. Use your own integrity to recognise the difference between someone saying something negative from their point of view, or when it’s genuine help."
