Good advice is like good music, you should listen to it. We here at Fargo INC! have been fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of a lot of good advice from some of the best minds in our business community. There is rarely an interview where we don’t ask ‘what advice do you have for other business owners?’ In celebration of this, here is some of the best business advice we received in 2022.
“If the only time you contact your customers is to ask them to buy something, they’re going to stop picking up the phone and quit opening their emails. If you are a nonprofit, you have to be genuinely interested in why a person donates to you, as your ability to customize the message and match a supporter’s passion with a program is critical. Similarly, for profits should be genuinely interested in why a customer is a customer.”
Patrick Kirby
Founder, Do Good Better Consulting
“Show up smart—we’re not talking about books smarts, we’re talking about emotional intelligence. By having self-awareness and being able to read and recognize other’s emotions in the room, as well as recognizing your own self-worth, builds on how we can give and receive mutual respect.”
Katie Ehlis
Founder/Owner, The Vanity Bar
“Ask better questions, get better answers. Notice the difference when you ask this question to yourself, ‘Why can’t I figure this out?’ versus ‘What are all of the steps I can take as I figure this out?’ Our brain wants to be helpful so when we ask it a question, it’s going to try to answer it. Ask questions that put it to work creating solutions.”
Chris Thompson
Founder/Owner, Chris Thompson LLC
“We realy like to analyze our employees and make sure we’re putting them in the ‘right seats on the bus.’ I think that’s one way we’ve kept employees here is by putting them in the roles they’re supposed to be in and allowing them to grow and flourish in their roles. If they’re not succeeding, it’s kind of my fault. It means I haven’t given them the right tools or put them in the right spot.”
Kirk Anton
Founder, Heat Transfer Warehouse
“We really embraces failure around here. We encourage new employees that are a couple of months in to start trying new things. We want them to take risks, make mistakes and understand that we are giving them a lot of latitude to fail.”
Co-Founder, CoSchedule
“Focus on continuous improvement. Think about the first time you did an activity (eg. riding a bicycle, playing an instrument, etc.) Chances are that you weren’t as good the first time, but after multiple attempts, you improved. Becoming a good manager can feel like a trial-and-error period that includes lots of ups and downs. The advice here is to strive to become better each day. This would include reading books, attending workshops or finding a coach/mentor to help one to improve their managerial skills.”
Shontarius D. Aikens, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Management at Offutt School of Business at Concordia College
“There are many advantages to hiring early talent, and I think sometimes it’s easy to miss the mark with this. ‘Early talent’ consists of individuals starting out in their careers, with professional experience that could range from 0-3 years. Being proactive and connecting with our future workforce is a key element to building a pipeline and your brand. Build strong partnerships within your community, colleges and universities by speaking to classes, attending career fairs and hosting events. Marvin provides hands-on training for people who are new to manufacturing and are interesting in pursuing a career within the industry.”
Brianna Nistler
Talent Acquisition, Marvin
