The thing I preach constantly is do your research; build your knowledge base. Don't just go into business on a whim or a prayer - and don't think 'I'm an entrepreneur so I have to take risks'. Entrepreneurs don't take risks. They take calculated risks; only the good ones.

Theo Paphitis

Categorized in : Thinking Prayer Entrepreneur

There's an old chestnut that asks whether an entrepreneur is born or made and I think it's a combination of both. You need the talent; without the talent you can't do it.

Theo Paphitis

entrepreneur needs thinking

One of the things I preach to all my staff is never be frightened to make a decision.

Theo Paphitis

staff frightened decision

The Internet means everything to everybody and it's growing by the day. You can't survive as a business, especially a small business, without having some form of good Internet presence; whether you're a shop or it's a showcase or just a way to talk to your customers.

Theo Paphitis

growing mean way

Recession always encourages entrepreneurialism and innovation. It does that every time because when people have no options they look at other things.

Theo Paphitis

innovation doe people

The Internet is where we all go to for the first stop of information. It's not the library any more, it's the Internet and if I want to find out about Kate Russell, what do I do? I Google Kate Russell. Simple as that.

Theo Paphitis

library google simple

There's not much difference between a fantasist and a visionary. We all have dreams and without dreams in business, I don't believe you can be successful. The trick is to turn them into reality.

Theo Paphitis

successful dream believe

There are three reasons to be in business. To make money, to have fun – and to make money.

Theo Paphitis

three business fun

You can have a worldwide shop from your bedroom. You can do things that weren't even dreamed of when I started off in business. It's why technology is the most wonderful thing for small businesses.

Theo Paphitis

small-business technology wonderful

Young people are the entrepreneurs of the future, and we should be looking to them as one of our sources of innovation for the high streets of tomorrow.

Theo Paphitis

future innovation tomorrow people

I don't really sleep until gone midnight anyway. It takes me a while to calm down before my mind allows me to switch off.

Theo Paphitis

me calm mind sleep

I was useless in the classroom; I would spend my time looking out of the window after the first 10 minutes. But when you do an apprenticeship, you don't have to wait for the teacher to tell you when it's time to start, because you are on the shop floor learning for real.

Theo Paphitis

you learning time teacher

It's called common sense, but it's not common. Most people don't have it.

Theo Paphitis

sense most common-sense people

I can walk all day in malls, shopping centres, high streets - I love it.

Theo Paphitis

walk day shopping love

I've always maintained the basic business principles of keeping it simple, doing your homework, hard work, and common sense.

Theo Paphitis

hard-work business simple work

Great customer service does not come by chance. It is the result of training and ensuring there are enough assistants to serve the customers.

Theo Paphitis

result great service training

Good businesses will survive good times and bad times.

Theo Paphitis

bad good bad-times good-times

Stack the cards in your favour, and in a casino, you'll get arrested and put in prison, but in business and in life, it's the right thing to do.

Theo Paphitis

you prison business life

A small business can survive for a while without making a profit, but if its cashflow dries up, the impact is fatal.

Theo Paphitis

survive small impact business

The decisions you make when you leave school define the rest of your life. So, in terms of making the right choices for your financial security as you get older, my best advice is to do something you have an interest in and are passionate about, as you'll be working for a long time.

Theo Paphitis

best you time life

The great virtue of the web, its ease of communication, has also become its Achilles' heel in that it has polluted the air with meaningless babble and egomaniacal drivel.

Theo Paphitis

become great virtue communication