Below each proverb I offer a brief explanation of a how you can apply this ancient wisdom to your entrepreneurial aspirations.
Chinese Proverbs
1. “In every crisis, there is opportunity.”
Most entrepreneurial ventures arise from a solving a problem. If you are faced with a problem, craft a solution and sell that solution to others. As an interesting side note, it’s a common misconception that the word crisis and opportunity mean the same thing in the ancient Chinese language. This misconception initially gained momentum when John F. Kennedy incorrectly cited it in a speech in 1959. (source: smallbusiness411.org)
2. “Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.”
Entrepreneurship starts with an idea and ends with a destiny. You craft your destiny with your actions, habits and character. You make your destiny, it doesn’t make you.
3. “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
Aside from 20 years ago, there is no better time to start a business than today.
4. “If you want one year of prosperity, grow grain. If you want ten years of prosperity, grow trees. If you want one hundred years of prosperity, grow people.”
The goal of every entrepreneur should be to start a business and find capable people to run the business so that they don’t have to.
5. “A bad workman blames his tools.”
A bad entrepreneur places blame on someone or something else when things go bad. First and foremost, you should hold yourself accountable for a negative outcome of your business.
6. “A closed mind is like a closed book; just a block of wood.”
As an entrepreneur you always have to be open to new opportunities. If you aren’t actively looking for new ways to make your business more innovative, you won’t be very successful as an entrepreneur.
7. “A fall into a ditch makes you wiser.”
When bad things happen, a good entrepreneur learns from them.
8. “A fly before his own eye is bigger than an elephant in the next field.”
When you focus only on the opportunities that are right in front of you, you might miss the larger ones that take effort to find.
9. “A jade stone is useless before it is processed; a man is good-for-nothing until he is educated.”
A strong education is often the foundation of a strong business. The more you know about entrepreneurship, the more equipped you will be to face its various challenges.
10. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Every entrepreneur in the history of the world started their business with a single action.
11. “A person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the man doing it.”
As an entrepreneur, you will undoubtedly encounter people who will doubt you. Don’t let those people get in your way. Instead, use their doubt as motivation.
12. “A single conversation with a wise man is better than ten years of study.”
You can learn a lot from talking to experienced entrepreneurs. They have been through the process and can teach you more than most any book.
13. “All cats love fish but fear to wet their paws.”
All people love to make money but few people pursue entrepreneurship because it’s full of challenges and uncomfortable risks.
14. “Cheap things are not good, good things are not cheap.”
As a small business owner, always focus on providing quality.
15. “Customers are jade; merchandise is grass.”
What good is a business without customers? You should value your customers more than any other aspect of your business.
16. “Defeat isn’t bitter if you don’t swallow it.”
You will encounter setbacks, but don’t let those setbacks defeat you.
17. “Defer not till to-morrow what may be done to-day.”
One of the most challenging things for an entrepreneur is simply getting things done. According to numerous entrepreneurs I have spoken with, procrastination is one of the largest causes of failure in new businesses.
18. “Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched.”
Though a good entrepreneur isn’t afraid to take risks, never rely too heavily on projections of profitability, success in a certain market, etc. A good entrepreneur always considers, and has a plan for, the worst-case scenario.
19. “Don’t stand by the water and long for fish; go home and weave a net.”
Instead of complaining about how you aren’t making much money, find new ways to earn it.
20. “Easy to run downhill, much puffing to run up.”
It’s easy to run a business when the going is good, but the true test of an entrepreneur is how he or she behaves when faced with challenges. As the current economic climate makes overwhelmingly clear, every market has its ups and downs.
21. “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”
This one is so clear, it requires no explanation.
22. “Falling hurts least those who fly low.”
The less amount of money you spend, the less it will hurt if your business fails. It’s common for entrepreneurs to bootstrap the initial costs of their business. Bootstrapping means doing whatever you can to spend as little as possible.
23. “If a thing’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.”
If you’re going to put effort into starting a business, then make sure you put 100% effort into every aspect of your business.
24. “If you get up one more time than you fall you will make it through.”
When you get knocked down, get back up. If you don’t get back up, your business will fail.
25. “If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.”
When you get to the point of hiring employees; the more you pay, the higher quality effort you will receive.
26. “It’s as difficult to be rich without bragging as it is to be poor without complaining.”
As an entrepreneur, it’s important to remain humble, especially when you’re rich. Humility is difficult to maintain when things are going well.
27. “Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.”
Learn from your business and it’s something you will never lose.
28. “Make happy those who are near, and those who are far will come.”
If you make your customers happy, they will talk and those they talk to may become new customers.
29. “Patience is a virtue.”
Having patience with your business is essential to your success. Very few businesses are profitable in their first year.
30. “Rich not gaudy.”
When you become rich, don’t become gaudy, or tastelessly flashy.
31. “Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself.”
Being taught something will only get you so far. You must independently apply that learning to become successful.
32. “The diamond cannot be polished without friction, nor the man perfected without trials.”
You will encounter trials and tribulations as a business owner, but these trials and tribulations will mold you into a better entrepreneur.
33. “The emperor is rich, but he cannot buy one extra year.”
Your business and the money it generates are not the most important things in your life.
34. “The loftiest towers rise from the ground.”
Even the most successful businesses in the world started with the conception and implementation of an idea.
35. “The palest ink is better than the best memory.”
When you conceive an idea on how to improve your business, write it down!
36. “There are two perfectly good men, one dead, and the other unborn.”
No one is perfect. Always be open to learning from other people.
37. “To open a shop is easy, to keep it open is an art.”
Starting a business is simple in comparison to keeping it.
38. “We all like lamb; each has a different way of cooking it.”
Entrepreneurship is like an art: there is not always a right and wrong way of pursuing your business goals. Let your personal taste and style as an entrepreneur be your strength.
39. “Who is not satisfied with himself will grow; who is not sure of his own correctness will learn many things.”
Remember you don’t know everything. Actively seek out advice and information, and you will learn.
40. “A smile will gain you ten more years of life.”
What’s the point in owning a business if you’re not having fun with it? If your business doesn’t make you smile, then it’s the wrong business for you.
Other Proverbs
The Chinese aren’t the only people with great business advice. Here are a few entrepreneurial proverbs taken from a broader swath of cultures.
“When all resources – food, wildlife, trees, fuel – are destroyed, man will not be able to eat money.” – Native American Proverb
“Building a castle is difficult. Defending and maintaining it is harder still.” – Asian Proverb
“He who begins many things finishes but few.” – German Proverb
“Fall seven times, stand up eight.” – Japanese Proverb
“Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him, and then choose that way with all his strength.” – Hasidic Proverb
