Startup Advice From 7 Successful Entrepreneurs

Starting a business can be exhausting, exciting and exhilarating--all at the same time. This is precisely why it's refreshing to hear words of encouragement from those who have done it before--and succeeded. We spoke with entrepreneurs we admire to cull the single best bit of startup advice they could muster--and the experiences that led to it. They're simple mottoes, to be sure, but their impact can be tremendous.

"Don't think, do."

So said a stranger to Jeff Curran, founder and CEO of Curran Catalog, a high-end home furnishings company in Seattle, more than 20 years ago.

Action hero: Curran Catalog's Jeff Curran.

Photo© Lindsay Buzzo

The two men were sitting next to each other on a cross-country flight, and Curran, then 25, had just broken into the catalog business. They got to talking, and Curran spilled his idea for a startup while his neighbor interjected with devil's-advocate questions. When the plane landed and the two rose to claim their bags from the overhead bins, the stranger finally opened up his can of insight. Those three words inspired Curran to pour $15,000 of his own cash into launching his company, which has grown into a profitable B2B and B2C brand.

"After that plane flight, I'm sitting in the bathroom at my parents' house and I pick up [a financial] magazine, and this guy was on the cover," remembers Curran, now 47. Turns out the man was mutual-fund maven Mario Gabelli.

Curran still lives by Gabelli's advice. Earlier this year, after learning about profit margins in the high-end car-accessories business, Curran Catalog launched a new product line: designer flooring for collector and European automobiles. "There is such a thing as overthinking a big decision," Curran says. "Sometimes you just have to get it done."

"Let your customers lead the way."

Anupy Singla never intended to build her business around this philosophy, but the more she looks back on the history of Indian as Apple Pie, her Chicago-based Indian food-products business, the more she credits customers with driving her strategy.

Seasoned pro: Anupy Singla of Indian as Apple Pie.

Photo© Brave New Pictures

Exhibit A: When Facebook followers complained they were having trouble finding certain Indian spices, Singla equipped her company to buy those spices from manufacturers and offer them for sale. Exhibit B: After friends and neighbors asked her to show them around Chicago's Little India, Singla began hosting intimate tours of the shops on Devon Avenue for $50 per person. Even her Spice Tiffin, a modernized version of a traditional Indian storage container for spices, went to market at the behest of customers.

"The point of view for this company is to make Indian food easy and accessible," says Singla, who was born in Chandigarh, India, and immigrated to the U.S. with her parents when she was a child. "If customers are saying they want certain things, it's up to me to give them what they want."

Singla's ultimate goal is to sell her products in retail stores across the country. Until then, however, she plans to leverage her responsive customer base to test-market products and see what sticks. "If something isn't right," she says, "they'll let me know."

Corey T. Nyman of Labor Wines

"It's all about passion."

On some level, especially on the ledger sheets, Corey T. Nyman's fledgling wine label, Labor Wines, is about dollars and cents. But the Las Vegas resident prefers to focus on a more powerful force driving his business: his love for the work.

For Nyman, Labor Wines is the culmination of 20 years in his family's hospitality and food-and-beverage consulting business, and of more than a decade fantasizing about making and selling his own Oregon wine.

"I experienced Oregon wine country on numerous visits in 2002, and the place touched me in a way nothing else ever has," he says. "Since then all I've wanted was to give something back."

"I'm starting an Oregon winery living in Las Vegas. If that doesn't scream passion, I'm not sure what does."

--Corey T. Nyman

To bring his dream to life, Nyman turned the traditional winemaking model on its head. Instead of investing in land--a move that would have required a huge capital investment--he and a business partner work with growers to buy grapes from specific sections of specific vineyards, then pay those same growers to make wine. Production is small, but thanks to Nyman's connections with restaurateurs and distributors nationwide, Labor wine is available in more than 35 states.

"I'm starting an Oregon winery living in Las Vegas," Nyman says. "If that doesn't scream passion, I'm not sure what does."

"No simply isn't a choice."

Above all else, this was the mantra that got Leo Rocco through his toughest times on the way to founding GoPago, a San Francisco-based mobile payment company that last year received millions of dollars in funding from JPMorgan Chase. Before the big deal, Rocco had dumped $500,000 of his own money into the company, maxed out his credit cards, endured three years without a paycheck, fielded numerous eviction notices and pivoted his business three times.

Leo Rocco of GoPago

"I was on fumes," admits Rocco, who spent years working for IBM's Rational Software group before striking out on his own. "It takes an amazing amount of resolve and mental strength to continue doing what you're doing and fight the self-doubt that inevitably creeps in, but when you truly believe in the business you're creating, there's just no other way to do it."

Rocco boasts that his penchant for perseverance likely came from his parents, Italian immigrants who came to the U.S. with nothing and built a successful tailoring business in Buffalo, N.Y.

"They taught me that if you get knocked down, you get back up; if someone stops you from driving forward, you find another way to get to where you want to go," he says. "When failure isn't an option, you promise yourself you won't fail. It's not crazy. It's hard work."

"Seek fleeting competitive advantages."

Mike Masnick, founder and CEO of Floor 64, an insight and consulting company based in Sunnyvale, Calif., admits this advice might be a bit "wonky" for certain circles. But for Masnick, whose company has nearly a dozen revenue streams, it speaks volumes.

Mike Masnick, founder and CEO of Floor 64

Floor 64 manages two insight platforms: Techdirt, a technology and business analysis blog, and the Insight Community, a marketplace for connecting companies with a diverse community of expertise. Add to the mix competitive market analysis for businesses in a variety of industries and an effort toward improving government policy on privacy and intellectual property, and the firm dabbles in a bit of everything.

"There's no reason why any particular business can't have half a dozen business models all working together simultaneously," he says. "Think of it like an investment portfolio: You wouldn't put all of your money into a single stock, so why on earth would you do that with your own company?"

The crux of Masnick's advice: No matter what, keep innovating. Generally speaking, this requires a fundamental understanding of what benefits your market is seeking, and a commanding grasp of technology and technological change.

"By innovating and providing increasing benefits to your customers," he says, "you no longer have to worry about competitors 'catching up,' since you're always leading."

"Business relationships need work, too."

As founders and CEOs of San Francisco-based Little Passports, an educational monthly subscription company for kids, Amy Norman and Stella Ma remind themselves of this often.

Amy Norman and Stella Ma, founders and CEOs of Little Passports

Photo courtesy of dandelionmoms.com

The two met in 2004 while working high-powered jobs at eBay and became best friends. When they left to launch Little Passports in 2009, they recognized that they were in for a new challenge--one that could potentially shake the friendship to its core. Since then, however, they have managed to succeed through a commitment to candor.

"We have found it important to be honest with each other and communicate," Ma says.

Adds Norman: "Before we started the company, we talked about how we'd handle certain disagreements; this way, when we have them, we get our perspectives out in the open, talk them through and move on."

Trust also helps, which is why Norman and Ma opted to share the CEO title. Each woman has the power to act on behalf of Little Passports individually; if one needs to tend to her family during an important business meeting, the other can represent the company solo. They like to think of themselves as interchangeable. "Without trust," Norman says, "that would never fly."

"Be open to anything."

Without this line of thinking, it's hard to imagine where Wicked+ would be today. For years, it was a typical marketing and branding agency, operating out of a 500-square-foot storefront on the main drag in Hermosa Beach, Calif.

Up for anything: brothers Brian (left) and Colin Cooley of Wicked+.

Photo© Marc Royce

Passersby, thinking the space was a shop, often would come in to inquire about buying things they saw through the window. Gradually it occurred to founding brothers Brian and Colin Cooley that they should expand their operations to include retail.

Today the agency's modest store carries a handful of products from local businesses, including commuter bicycles, safety razors, Chemex coffeemakers and T-shirts. At any given moment, the brothers might go from writing a video script to selling a bag of coffee.

"I never imagined we'd evolve Wicked+ into a retail brand," Brian says. "But we saw the opportunity and made it happen."

He describes the strategy as a "small bet," noting that he and Colin could have invested big in tricking out a retail operation but instead opted to test the waters gradually. Now that the duo has seen that the shop can be successful, they're contemplating a bigger wager: expanding to a larger space. "We want to grow," he says, "but we want to do it organically."

Source: Forbes.com

Increasing Business with Strategic Partners

By Laura Lake

In business, it's important to align yourself with strategic alliances. For example, this week I received a call in my office of someone seeking marketing advice. "Laura, I have a company that has a small mailing list of approximately 2000 people. This list is broken out into two groups - one being those that have purchased our product and the other are those who have not yet purchased but have interest in a contest that we were running. What can I do with this list?"

While the company carries an interesting product, it is only one product. So how can we market to this list? More than likely the people that have purchased the item and they are not in need of an additional one at this time.
Many small businesses are in this same situation they offer one product or perhaps one service and do not the have or time to create new offers - so what do you do with those lists that you've accumulated?
The answer is easier than you think, you find other companies that cater to the same audience that you do, but are not direct competitors. For example, let's say that you are specializing in renting wedding gowns - your list has grown and you get fantastic referral business but how can you drive revenue from past customers. You find another supplier or merchant that is catering to your same target market. Take for example a photographer or catering service. Your list would of interest to them and their list could be of interest to you. Although, timing would be the key factor in this situation.
Let's take a look at another scenario. You specialize in selling art. The artwork that you sell has a specific target market. They are professionals with an income range of $150,000 to $300,000 per year. The pieces you sell are very rare therefore carry a steep price tag. While you continually market to your clients and enjoy repeat business, you'd like some fresh prospects. How about finding an interior decorating that is interested in joint venturing with you. It's a win-win. You both exchange lists and send out a special offering to the interior decorator's clients and she does the same. You could also just create a special offering and split the advertising and marketing costs.
The key is knowing who your target market is. Learn who they are:

• How old are they?
• What is their income range?
• What are their occupations?
• What other interests do they have?

If you don't have the answers to these questions it's time to create a market survey and find out this information. By not having it you are wasting opportunities that could increase your revenue and drive you new business at minimal cost.
When you've gathered the information above it's time to so some brainstorming. Who else markets to these people? What other businesses around me have the same target market?
Then pick up the phone and get in touch with these companies. Ask them if they would be interested in joint venturing with you and creating a win-win business situation. If they say no, time to move on to the next. There will be some who are not interested - but to be honest you find more that are.

http://marketing.about.com/od/relationshipmarketing/a/mktpartnerships.htm

Inside the Successful Leader's Mindset

BY Nadia Goodman | September 24, 2012|

As a business leader, you are mired in the everyday details of your company's success. You're worried about your bottom line, your sales goals, or your next board meeting. Amid the chaos, it's easy to forget that intangibles -- like your beliefs -- play an important role in your success.

The most successful entrepreneurs share a set of core beliefs that help them persevere as they grow their businesses. These four tips will promote a positive mindset and increase your chances of success:

1. Trust that you'll adapt to new challenges. Successful entrepreneurs approach uncertainty with confidence. When faced with an unfamiliar challenge, they think of similar situations they've handled before or skills sets that might apply. "Focus on the abilities you do have and apply your general knowledge to whatever comes your way," says Matthew Della Porta, a positive psychologist and organizational consultant.

If you focus on your current skills and your ability to learn new ones, you'll be less likely to feel overwhelmed. "Trust your ability to adapt," Della Porta says.

2. Attribute your success to hard work, not luck. Successful leaders believe their achievements are due to hard work, not just lucky circumstance. "That's a result of self-efficacy," Della Porta says, meaning that people who believe they've worked hard trust their ability to master new or unfamiliar skills.

Leaders who are confident in their ability to learn are more likely to seek out and persevere through tough challenges, increasing their chances of success.

3. Believe that you are unique. Every great entrepreneur stands on the shoulders of giants, but successful leaders champion their individuality. In other words, they don't try to become "the next Steve Jobs." To be successful, learn from the people you admire but don't try to emulate them.

"You need to focus on being the first you, not the next someone else," Della Porta says. If you foster the unique strengths that you bring to the table, then you will be far more likely to stand out in a crowded industry. 

4. Challenge your negative beliefs. If you want to succeed, stamp out negative beliefs that might be holding you back. "People have a tendency to self-handicap," Della Porta says. For example, an executive who believes he won't meet his sales goals is more likely to prioritize other tasks, giving him a preemptive excuse for a poor performance. His belief becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Notice the goals or tasks that you shy away from and articulate your beliefs about them. Challenge any negative thoughts by reminding yourself that you will succeed if you apply yourself. When your beliefs are confident and positive, your actions will promote success.  




Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/224475

3 Surprising Ways to Find New Clients

By Erika Napoletano

People tell me the weirdest stories. Some are tales of drunken escapades, brushes with law enforcement or photos inadvertently distributed on the internet. Others are more surprising: They star astonishingly sober folks hellbent on playing by their own business rules. One of my favorite themes of the second group: People who employ unconventional methods for connecting with new customers. Get ready to put their oddball antics to work for your business.

Make house calls.
Andy Dunn, founder and CEO of New York City-based Bonobos, wanted to sell a better brand of britches directly to men online, without stocking the product in stores. To build a customer base, he loaded up his car with samples and hosted private events in homes around New York. Gents could try the pants on and experience Bonobos' better fit and better service model, then have the product shipped directly to their homes. His customers became his evangelists, and Dunn's schedule filled up with in-home events. Bonobos reached its first $1 million in revenue without spending a dollar on customer acquisition (aside from the cost of gas). Today Bonobos boasts sales in the multimillions -- and it all started by going directly to the customer.

Offer unlimited service.
Domain registrar Name.com is known for its exceptional customer service -- and that's not business as usual in the domain-name game. But how many businesses do you know that actively provide service to non-customers? In early 2011 that's exactly what Name.com did. Via Twitter, the team caught wind of a software developer whose domain name had been hijacked. (This can occur when your domain registrar mistakenly allows your name to be transferred without the proper authorization.) Name.com reached out to the non-customer and subsequently tracked down the hijacker -- all the way to Ukraine. The company's outstanding efforts (and the good PR they generated) earned it a slew of domain transfers from other consumers.

Differentiate your direct mail.
Business consultant Ashley Ambirge is nothing if not unconventional. The mind behind The Middle Finger Project, which pushes people to "get your ass off the warm-up bench," Ambirge encourages clients to take unconventional and sometimes rocky paths to achieve hell, yeah status in their businesses. A copywriter by trade, Ambirge decided to create a very targeted direct-mail campaign aimed at companies she wanted as clients -- but she skipped out on traditional collateral materials. Instead, she went to a roofing supply company. Yes, a roofing supply company. She sent 30 companies (new home builders) a single roofing shingle inscribed with the words "My Company + Your Company = sales through the roof." The result? A 100 percent response rate, with nearly every one of the responders becoming a client over the following year.

The key to unconventional customer acquisition is to remember to keep it about the customers. Think about their needs. Go where they are. Make them laugh. Help them. And, once you have them, provide exceptional service so they stick around and help you bag new customers.
Don't worry if your competitors think you're all about using shenanigans to bring folks to your door. We know that it's all about your dedication to your current and future customers' needs.

Ideas for Generating New Business

by Kate Smalley

One of the biggest challenges for small business owners is finding a fast, effective way to bring in new customers. That’s because most owners must wear several hats – bookkeeper, technical support representative, human resources manager and marketer. And, of course, owners must provide quality goods or services. Finding the time to market can be especially difficult if you are a one- or two-person operation.
The reality is that spending the time to market is essential to maintaining or growing a business. It helps you avoid one of the biggest pitfalls in small business: relying on a big client or two for the lion’s share of your company’s revenue.
Two things often happen in this scenario. First, business tend to provide preferential treatment to the older, bigger client rather than to smaller, new client, which may cost some business. Secondly, businesses find themselves in a tenuous position by putting most of their eggs in one basket. If the primary client leaves, the company could be economically devastated.
A healthy company always has new clients coming in the door as well as happy existing clients. You can rely on word of mouth to get those new clients on board, but usually it’s not enough. Here are three tips to help you stay on top of marketing efforts.
Get organized. Hire someone to create a database of that huge stack of business cards that you’ve been keeping in your top desk drawer. Make sure it’s a database you can easily use for emails or mailings – like your Microsoft Outlook contacts or ACT! Having all your potential customers at your fingertips is money well spent.
Once you have all your contacts input, you can send targeted e-mails or letters to your potential clients. Make the messages short and sweet, as well as informative. People look forward to getting valuable information, so give it to them. Follow up with a phone call to find out if the information was helpful and if your company can provide goods or services.
Even the busiest entrepreneur can send 20 e-mails each month and follow up with them. Schedule the time on your calendar to do it.
Create an “elevator pitch.” Try to pare down your company’s products and services to a sentence or two. Start by writing down what you do and then edit. This is a great exercise, especially if you offer a wide variety of goods and services, to help you clarify your top priorities.
Most people want to try to throw in everything they do. For example, if you’re a landscape designer, you may be tempted to talk about turf, bedding plants and terracing. Instead, tell people “I’m a landscape designer. I help people create their own backyard oasis.”
If at all possible, get specific. If you are a graphic designer, be sure to add your specialties. Don’t just say, “I’m a graphic designer.” Do say, “I’m a graphic designer specializing in e-newsletters and interactive web sites.”
Cultivate your current clients. It’s much easier and cost-effective to sell an existing customer additional services than to go out looking for new ones. That’s what makes the pitfall of having one big client so insidious – the smaller clients that you are tempted to shove to the side may actually bring in more business than your current big client if you give them the same stellar products and services.
Schedule monthly meetings with your clients to find out how you are doing and to learn what they see on the horizon for their own business. Show them how you can help fill their goals and dreams. You’ll be amazed at how much a couple of hours of your time will pay off.
Contact is the most important element of marketing. If you don’t have time to do anything else, make sure you contact at least 10-20 potential or current clients each month. Doing so will help keep that business coming in and your company healthy. 

http://www.infoservemedia.com/support/articles/generating_new_business.html

7 Steps for Generating New Business Opportunities Pt. 1

Entrepreneurs often live with the hope that if they build it, customers will come. But in today's economy, it takes a lot more than hope to get people to purchase your products or services: New business-building practices are a must if you want to expand.

Another necessary element is a clear-cut plan for growth. But many entrepreneurs get obsessed with creating the perfect plan. Or they never get around to putting one together. Crafting a plan is necessary, quick and effective. And we can show you how to do it. The following seven steps should take you no more than four hours to complete-a small price to pay for a tremendous upside. The result? A road map that will infuse new energy, enthusiasm and vision into your company's growth plans. So let's get started.

Step 1: Focus on your core product. A very successful e-newsletter entrepreneur has built his business around this mantra: "Prospects buy when they trust your value is applicable to them and believe your company is stable." This strong position allows him to constantly check up on the services and value he's providing his customers. Keep this statement in mind as we go through the rest of the seven steps, because internalizing this mantra is the key to a solid plan.

It's common in small, service businesses that the entrepreneur feels he or she must do everything the "big guys" do to compete. The truth is, small-business owners can really never compete in the same way. So it's essential for small businesses to differentiate themselves by focusing on the unique capabilities and core products they bring to prospects. Specialization is the entrepreneur's greatest asset.

Step 2: Keep your pitch simple. The last time you asked someone at a party what their company does, did you get a clear, concise response? Or did your eyes glaze over by the time they got to the end of their explanation? My guess is, it was probably the latter. Now imagine that same pitch being presented to prospects who don't have a glass of wine in their hands to distract them! It's not a pretty picture.

What every company needs is a simple "elevator pitch." That's a short, concise message that can communicate your message to a prospect in 30 seconds or less. It explains the value your product or service provides so the prospect understands why it's applicable to them.
Try this little exercise to test your pitch clarity quotient. Ask someone who doesn't know what you do to listen to your pitch. Explain what your company does, and watch for signs of fatigue-eyes watering, lids getting heavy, and so on. Of course, you may have the perfect pitch. But if you don't, you'll recognize it right away from verbal and physical responses.

Step 3: Stay true to who you are. Knowing who you are and what gets you excited (and bores you to tears) will help you reach your goals. Nothing can derail a growth plan more than discomfort and procrastination-it's simply human nature to procrastinate over things that cause discomfort. And there are dozens of daily business requirements that every business owner detests. If you're finding yourself putting things off, it's time to start delegating.

Stay true to who you are and what you do best: Hand off those tasks that will blow you off course because you don't like doing them, so you don't! Stretch and grow your capabilities in alignment with your interests and expertise. If accounting is your nemesis, hire a bookkeeper. If your personal organization is out of control, hire a temp to set up a new filing system. Always make sure that you're focused on your priority "A" tasks and delegate your Bs and Cs.

Stay tuned for more....

3 Strategies for Prioritizing Tasks Pt. 2

Behold, The Trinity: Cost, Scope, and Time

When I was a project manager, one of the first things I learned to help me judge which projects were most important or needed the most attention is the "triple constraint," or a triangle with three equilateral sides. Each side represents the cost of the project, the scope of the project, and the time required to complete the project. None of the sides can be adjusted without making changes to the other two sides. The sides you're weakest in help determine the projects that need special attention. This holds true for all things, not just projects and project managers: If someone heaps more work onto you (scope), but insists that you finish in the same amount of time (time), you'll need more resources (cost) to get the job done.

For example, if you want to paint the spare room in time for out-of-town guests to stay over, you can't change the size of the job (scope), but you can control whether you buckle down and do it yourself overnight (time), or get someone else to do it for you while you do something else (cost). Here's how you can use these three principles to organize your everyday to-dos.

• Time: Work Backwards From Your Deadlines. Time is usually the one variable most of us can't change. Deadlines are deadlines, and often we're not the ones who set them. This is where working backwards from due dates is crucial. Start a spreadsheet, and mark down when each project or task on your plate needs to be finished. Then work backwards to the present day, taking into account everything each specific to-do that needs to be done to get from here to there, and how long it takes to complete. When you're finished, you'll likely see a bunch of tasks that should have started already and others that hopefully won't start for a while if you're going to make the deadline. That list, by itself, is a good indicator of what your priorities are, what you should be working on right now, what you should work on next, and perhaps most importantly, what you should get help with—especially if they're tasks that should have started a week ago.
• Cost: Get Help from Family, Friends, and Coworkers. Cost means more than just dollars. It also means people who can help you, or services you can call to give you a hand or take the load off. Could you finish faster if someone else worked on it for you? What if a teammate could take part of the job off your hands and you could pick it up later? Perhaps there's a program or application that can automate the process for you, and it's pretty cheap. It may be worth spending money or dragging in friends to help you finish renovating the kitchen before you run out of vacation days, or calling someone to install your new washing machine so you don't have to take time off to do it.
• Scope: Don't Be Afraid to Make Compromises. If your to-dos have to be done by a certain time and you can't get help, it's time to sit down with the people waiting on you and start making some deals. Let them know what you can deliver by when, and then go on to explain what you can give them later. This is important, because it sends the message that you're not trying to avoid the work you have to do, but you're trying to give them something now that they can use while you keep working in the background to get them everything else on their wish list. The sooner you stop thinking of your to-dos in terms of all-or-nothing, the sooner you'll have the flexibility to say "I'll give you this tomorrow if you give me a week to give you the rest."

 Delegate, Delegate, Delegate

It's easy for us to toil away in obscurity, quietly hating our lives and our jobs and growing more frustrated with every passing minute. All the while, there may be a friend who's willing to help if we had only asked, or a boss who would be willing to help you out if you asked the right questions or gave them the right information.

We've talked about how difficult it can be to delegate, and how to delegate effectively in the past, but however you go about it, it's important to remember that you need to be assertive, not aggressive when asking for help, and you need to make your case with all of the data you have available. By now, you should have your priorities laid out and you have a good idea what you need. Use that information to ask for help and prove you need it, and remember, don't be upset if your friends, boss, or coworkers say no.

Buckle Up, It's Going to be a Bumpy Ride

Using this method to set your own priorities and keep track of your own responsibilities isn't just something you should do when you're starting to feel overwhelmed. If the walls are closing in on you, yes, it's definitely time to take a good, hard look at what's on your plate, what can come off, and what has to give, but waiting until you're already busy and stressed out will make it especially difficult to make the changes you need to get your head above water. Even so, it's essential, and once you do it you'll never look back. Hopefully, you can apply these tricks to your work, at home, and in your day-to-day life. Once you really understand what you have to work on and how long it takes, you'll be able to make smart decisions about whether you can take on that big new project at work, or help your best friend plan their bachelor party.

4 Leadership Lessons From Abraham Lincoln

Posted by Stephanie Vozza | December 17, 2012

URL: http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/225284

In a scene from the Steven Spielberg movie Lincoln, Mary Todd Lincoln tells her husband: "No one is loved as much as you by the people. Don't waste that power." Spoiler alert: He doesn't.

While the movie focuses on the passing of the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, it also gives a lot of insight to Lincoln's strong leadership skills -- those things that have made him so admired.

While you may not be leading revolutionary change in the country, here are four leadership lessons from our 16th president on how to lead revolutionary change at your startup or small business.

1. Say no to 'Yes Men.' At a time in history when the United States was at war with itself, Lincoln surprisingly chose to fill his cabinet with a team of his rivals. These were men he considered to be the best and brightest minds in the country, and they were unafraid to challenge Lincoln and assert their opposition. A self-confident man, Lincoln welcomed strong opinions as it provoked thoughtful debate as well as inner reflection. It proved to be an important tactic during his presidency. 

Rick Lepsinger, president of the New York City-based leadership consulting firm OnPoint, agrees: "Don't hire in your own image," he says. "Get comfortable with conflict and learn how to manage differences productively."

Lepsinger suggests that leaders not allow conflicts to fester, but bring them to the surface as soon as possible. He also recommends avoiding the overuse of compromise, looking instead for common ground and alternatives.

2. Be decisive. While it's helpful to get more than one opinion, strong leaders know when and how to make decisions. Cabinet members could have argued forever, but Lincoln had the ability to know when he had all of the information he needed. Walking away to seek solitude, he was able to determine the best solution and make a decision without wavering.

Good leaders clarify their decision criteria, says Lepsinger, identifying musts and wants, and using that as a guide to compare options. "Assess the risk of each option as well as the benefits," he says. "These practices will increase confidence that you've selected the alternative that is the best balance of risk and reward."

3. Look for inspiration in unlikely places. As a member of Congress, Lincoln studied mathematics to gain wisdom in reasoning. In the movie, Lincoln shares some of this wisdom with two young clerks at the telegraph office: “Euclid's first common notion is this: 'Things which are equal to the same thing are equal to each other.'"

Lepsinger says leaders are continuous learners and look outside their industry for ideas and innovation.

4. Connect with people on a personal level. We know "Honest Abe" was fair, but Lincoln was also known for his jokes and storytelling. It's how he broke the ice and blazed a trail to common ground. Lincoln also made himself accessible. As president of the United States, he kept regular office hours and citizens were allowed to see him.

"It's not how smart you are -- strong personal relationships and high levels of trust are the foundation of effective leadership," says Lepsinger. "[Good leaders] demonstrate empathy, take an interest in others and find out details about them."