From The Publisher

One of my favorite questions to ask the business owners that I interview is, “What advice would you give new and aspiring entrepreneurs?” I always find the responses inspiring, motivating and honest, and I wanted to share a few of the recent ones:

“Never become complacent. Complacency will be the death of a company. When you stop trying to grow and create and be the absolute best that you can, you’ll get beat.”
- Neal Spencer, Ernest-Spencer, Inc.

“Sometime you just have to throw the hat over the fence… you’ll figure out a way to get it. Take those giant risks.”
- Tammy Thiessen, Thiessen Design Co.

“Go into it with an open mind and know the culture that you want to create.”
- Abbey Brown, The Brownstone

“Faith is first. Faith. Family. Business. And, don’t give up when you face those uphill battles.”
- Lyndsey Adams, Owls Nest Antique Mall & Flea Market

“Have a good support system at home, but one that also wants you to come home—it keeps you grounded.”
- Kurtis Wells, West Side Stamp & Awards, Inc.

“You just have to have faith in yourself and take that leap of faith.”
- Mike Conlin, Jayhawk Pharmacy & Patient Supply

“Never give up on your dream. If you are passionate about something, find a way. There are times when it is going to seem like you are not going to be successful, but you just have to keep plugging away and it works out.”
- Angel McGhee, The Firehouse—Topeka’s DIY Workshop

As I thought of how to sum up all the advice I have heard from the various business owners over the years, Theodore Roosevelt said it best:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

But if Theodore Roosevelt is not your cup of tea, join me in a little Chumbawamba: “I get knock down, but I get up again. You are never gonna keep me down.”

Photos by Emma Highfill, Rose Wheat Photography