How can you build a business? Paul Hawken helped millions of budding entrepreneurs to develop such skills with his 1980’s American television series Growing A Business. He followed many principles associated with ‘Right Livelihood’, the concept of doing work that helps people and the planet. Here are three of Paul’s tips that remain as relevant today as when the book was first published.

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1) You can provide quality products and services that help customers to succeed.

Paul believes that certain customers will always for quality products and services. He adds: "Remember that in business you are never trying to ‘beat’ the competition. You are trying to give your customer something other than what they are receiving from the competition. It is a waste of time and energy trying to beat the competition because the customer doesn’t care about that rivalry." Give superb service and help the customer to be successful.

This also calls for developing your products and honing your problem-solving skills. Why? “Businesses will always have problems,” says Paul. He once searched for magic solutions. He believed that, providing he read more books by gurus, one day he would find business nirvana. Enlightenment would make all his problems disappear. The truth hit him one sunny autumn afternoon:

"I had my nirvana, all right, but it was the opposite of what I had been seeking. On that pretty afternoon the actual truth finally struck me: I would always have problems. In fact, problems signify that the business is in a rapid learning phase. The revelation was liberating. I couldn’t understand why other people hadn’t told me this earlier."

Problems create either energy or paralysis, says Paul. Good professionals make problems interesting and mobilise peoples’ energies to find solutions. Get used to problems. They are an eternal part of everyday business-life and can spur you to developing even better products and services.

2) You can ‘recreate something that has been lost’.

People are attracted to nostalgia: so recreate something which they believe has been lost forever. The friendly small town bank; the reliable mail-order firm; the honest garage; the quality ice-cream shop; the traditional cheese store; the aromatic coffee shop; the company that fixes mistakes without complaint. Adding the ‘personal touch’ will eventually translate into the profitability column.

How to make this happen? “Use your imagination,” says Paul. “Businesses suffer from a lack of imagination, not capital.” Too much money is worse than too little. Having money tends to replace creativity. Companies without money are hungry; they must dream, imagine and improvise. Companies awash with money try to buy solutions. They lavish vast amounts on consultants, lawyers, clever accountants, publicity agents and marketing studies. Cash and creativity are both necessary, but make sure you balance them properly.

3) You can develop ‘tradeskills’.

Business people require talent, tenacity and tradeskills. Talent is the ability to do great work. Tenacity is the ability to sweat and overcome setbacks. Tradeskills is the ability to get sufficient funding for the services you provide. People who demonstrate tradeskills have the following characteristics.

* They are crystal clear on what they offer to customers.

* They recognise how what they offer can help potential customers to be successful.

* They keep in touch with customers, understand the challenges such people face and help them to achieve success.

* They invest masses of up-front time in getting to know and helping the potential customers - even though they have not yet got the business. (They also know when to cut their losses.)

* They recognise that potential customers need to cross an emotional line before they decide to buy. They respect this line, rather than push or alienate the person.

* They get the right balance between offering customers ‘commodities’ and ‘customised solutions’.

* They know how to charge for what they offer and ask for funding - money.

* They deliver great service to customers.

* They keep networking, reach out to more potential customers and develop future business opportunities.

"Most of us know whether we possess tradeskill," says Paul, "If you haven’t got it, the best thing to do is to recognise this and plan your life and career accordingly." You can still build a business, but you will need to complement your assets with other people who have tradeskills. Try tackling the exercise on this theme called The entrepreneurial test. Clarify to what extent you have the appropriate talent, tenacity and tradeskills required to succeed.

Talent. The extent to which I have the
talent required to succeed is: _____ / 10

The things I can do to improve this rating are:

*

*

Tenacity. The extent to which I have the
tenacity required to succeed is: _____ / 10

The things I can do to improve this rating are:

*

*

Tradeskills. The extent to which I have the
tradeskills required to succeed is: _____ / 10

The things I can do to improve this rating are:

*

*

Paul concludes by tackling one final myth.

"The common wisdom holds that entrepreneurs love to take risks – that is mostly hype," he says. Entrepreneurs are like mountain climbers. They set specific goals, clarify their strategy and anticipate ways to tackle problems. On-lookers think the mountaineer is gambling, but the climber would risk more by not following their dream. "Once the entrepreneur has seen how to create a product or service to meet demand," says Paul, "much of what the outsider perceives as risk in the situation is erased." On the other hand, he adds, risk-avoiders do not always make good entrepreneurs.