Seven famous founders share money mistakes, smart moves

— -- The crumbling of Wally Amos' cookie empire taught him how to be a better man, and a better business leader.

The creator of Famous Amos Cookie Co. opened his first cookie shop in 1975. A decade later, the once-growing company faced severe financial trouble, forcing him to sell the company in pieces to outside investors.

A competitor's tastier cookie didn't cause the trouble. He did.

"I thought that I knew more than anybody else," he says. "I thought I was the main attraction, and I wasn't listening to other people."

When he later tried to use his name and image for a new product line, he was sued by the new owner of Famous Amos.

Now 73, he's trying to use the lessons learned with two new firms, Uncle Wally's, specializing in muffins, and Chip & Cookie, a gourmet cookie producer.

"Teamwork — that is the greatest lesson I learned from losing Famous Amos," he says. "It's not about me, Wally Amos. It's about respecting the rest of my team members … giving them access to make suggestions."

His blunders weren't, and aren't, unique. Big-name producers of makeup, yogurt, eco-friendly cleaning products and hip sportswear all have had their shares of big-time gaffes.

Early in her career, cosmetics entrepreneur Laura Geller signed blank checks and handed them to her bookkeeper. After a couple of years, she discovered that her tax bills weren't being paid. When Geller tried to get a straight answer, she says, her bookkeeper simply disconnected his phone and disappeared. He was gone — and so was her money — but she was still on the hook for those past taxes.

"It was such as horrible time in my life," says Geller, whose namesake cosmetics brand is a hot seller on QVC. "Those lessons shake you up enough to realize that you can't trust everybody. … You have to be mindful."

That experience and other troubles made her path to success a "rocky road." But she also stresses that small-business owners should expect some rough times.

"No entrepreneur should ever think that it's a joyride or they're going to come away with just a couple bumps and bruises," she says. "It's an education. You just have to hope that the bumps and bruises aren't going to put you out of business.

USA TODAY reached out to successful business people to hear about their financial foibles, their best business decisions and their lessons learned.

Daymond John: FUBU

John's apparel prowess began on the streets of Queens, N.Y. Shocked by the expensive prices of "tie-top" hats, he asked his mother to teach him how to sew so he could make his own hats and sell them. A banner sales day in 1992 — $800 in sales — further spurred his entrepreneurial drive.

He worked with a friend to create the FUBU logo (which stands for For Us, By Us) and began to produce sportswear from his home. FUBU is now an international clothing brand, and John is a celebrity judge on the TV show Shark Tank.