6 Business Clichés You ACTUALLY Need To Pay Attention To

Whether you’ve been in the world of entrepreneurship for a long time or you’re just starting out, you’ve likely come across countless buzzwords and biz vocab already.

Sometimes slang can be useful, and sometimes it just makes things more confusing than they need to be. People often throw these phrases around whether they intend to or not, and it’s difficult to know when they really have value.

Even so, clichés are often clichés for a reason. There’s usually a nugget of truth within them, and some will lead you to success if you follow them.

“Spend money to make money.”

This is not a blanket statement, but it does apply in a ton of contexts. Oftentimes if you want to offer your audience the best value, it means you have to invest a little behind-the-scenes. Decide for yourself where it is worth spending the money, and consider how much return you’re going to have after the fact.

“Think outside the box.”

I know, I know. It’s overused, but again: it’s a cliché for a reason. When you’re a business-owner, you have to find ways to make what YOU offer more valuable than all of the other offers out there. This isn’t about who has the most gimmicks or the catchiest tagline—it’s about who is proving that they are a thought-leader in their industry.

“It is what it is.”

There’s going to be mistakes. There’s going to be limitations, and setbacks, and unexpected circumstances, and so on. But those things aren’t controllable. Focus on what you can control, let go of the rest. Easier said than done, but incredibly helpful to both you and your business.

“Work smarter, not harder.”

This one rhymes, isn’t that fun? There are likely a lot of areas in your work where you could be doing this. Trim the fat. Cut out the parts of the process that just don’t make sense anymore. Where can you make things more efficient and less confusing? Are there tools you aren’t using that you should be?

Embrace clarity to make your systems work FOR you, not against you.

“Push the envelope.”

Again, everyone in the world is also trying to stand out. Give yourself enough creative space to brainstorm ways to actually do this effectively. Consider what you would do if you had no limitations at all. Then, try to make that things happen the best you can with the limitations you do have.

Ponder on what HASN’T been done before, then ask yourself if that thing SHOULD even be done. Always go back to the value you’re offering.

“With great risk comes great reward.”

You can’t expect rewards to come your way if you aren’t willing to take a risk. Oftentimes, the rewards you receive are based on the risk you invested up front–whether that’s time, money, or energy.

The key? Don’t overextend and take risks just for the sake of it. Instead, take calculated risks that are likely to bring you benefit afterwards.