It is a common misconception that the business world is entirely dog-eat-dog. A madcap scramble to success followed by a king-of-the-hill strategy of crushing anyone who comes close to reaching your lofty heights. In reality, though, those who’ve made it to the top are keen not to stop others from joining them on the podium, but actually encourage them to do so. A seemingly constant barrage of business advice from the top-tier business elite is offered about starting a business on a daily basis — from entire editorials to snappy, one-sentence quotes. Making sense of some of these quotes can be tricky, however. Most offer a golden nugget of business advice, hidden under vague language, jargon and wordplay. You’ve got to be creative to make it in business, after all. Using his twelve years of experience of running a nationwide chartered accountancy firm, Russell Smith breaks through the jargon and deciphers the message behind the words of some of the world’s most successful business minds. “The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing.” — Seth Godin You’ll see this sort of quote all over the internet. An army of business founders offering up the same advice for those starting a business, just phrased slightly different. Everyone fails at some point in their business career. All of the biggest names in business have got to where they are by getting it wrong at some point. As an entrepreneur, it can be tempting to avoid risk, but risks have the biggest payoffs. You need to experience failure, or at least be willing to experience it. Sure, you can achieve stability by playing it safe, but you’ll never build a legacy like Seth Godin.   “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.” — Sir Richard Branson To evolve your business, and to grow as a business owner, you have to look for your own path. Plenty of books and resources out there will offer a step-by-step guide to making it in the business world, and they may work to a point. However, you won’t become the next Richard Branson by following what you read in ‘business for dummies’. Explore your own opportunities and think creatively. Discover new avenues of business not by cold, hard research, but by experiencing...