People love giving others advice on how to run their business – and as consumers themselves, that advice may even come in handy at times. But in such a diverse and rapidly changing world, there’s really no such thing as “tried and tested” when it comes to the business ideas that are going to take the world by storm, or simply prove to be solid, stable companies. What works in one region may flop in another and doing something other entrepreneurs may consider reckless, could end up making your venture a highly successful disruptor.
Essentially, there’s no blueprint for business success, and no clear-cut path that every entrepreneur should follow which will guarantee they get where they want to be. Here we take a look at a few common pieces of advice entrepreneurs get which may be better ignored.
Your offering has to be completely unique
Countless entrepreneurs are discouraged from pursuing their idea at all because it appears it’s already been done, or the market is saturated. If that idea got you excited and revolves around something, you're passionate about, it can be incredibly disheartening to hear people you respect naysay it. Rather than trying to come up with something completely different, take that advice and turn it around – how could you do it better than those who are already doing something similar? It might be focusing on a different target market, offering more value, or taking a novel marketing approach which gets you noticed for all the right reasons.
You need lots of capital to get off the ground
Okay, so if you want to start an investment firm or property development business, you are going to need capital to get off the ground. But countless companies which are now massively successful started with little to no capital at all, and bootstrapped their way to the top. And with easy access to free marketing opportunities through social media and content marketing, it is entirely possible to get the funds coming in and grow your own capital to scale with.
Never falter from your original business plan
While a well-researched business plan can allow you to think more objectively, create goals and milestones, help you stay focused and get funding, it can also prevent you from taking advantage of new opportunities or adapting to unexpected challenges.
Lowell Putnam, CEO and co-founder of Quovo, explains:
“While it makes conceptual sense to have a plan – and drafting a plan can help you think critically about your business – the reality is that an overwrought business plan easily becomes busy work. After all, there’s approximately a zero percent chance that your plan on day one is still totally accurate on day 180.”
Whether you're opening a craft brewery in London, offering IT services Perth or starting a recruitment agency in San Francisco, you need to try and strike a balance between planning and adaptability.
Give your customers what they want
You might be a little surprised to see this common piece of advice on this list, but some of the most successful entrepreneurs gave their customers something they didn’t yet know they wanted. Steve Jobs was one prime example, and Henry Ford’s famous quote: “If I'd asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, 'A faster horse!'” illustrates the point exactly. Ideally, your aim should be to anticipate your customers’ needs and solve problems they thought couldn’t be solved.
On the flipside, of course, getting and listening to feedback from your customers that could help you improve your product or service will always be important – as long as that doesn’t prevent you from innovating.
If you want something done right…
…leave it up to the experts! Great business leaders are aware of their weaknesses and knowledge gaps, and surround themselves with people who have the skills, abilities, expertise and know-how to add real value to their business. Your focus and time should remain on the things only you can do.
Never give up
One of the hardest things for a highly ambitious and motivated entrepreneur to do is admit to themselves that the idea they invested so much time (and probably money) in simply isn’t going to be a success. Sometimes the competition is just too tough, the market just isn’t ready, or you simply can’t offer your solution at a price the public is willing to pay. It happens, even to wildly successful entrepreneurs and business owners.
If the world has moved on, you should too. What separates a great entrepreneur from a good one is the ability to brush off defeat, pick themselves up, analyse and learn from their mistakes, and try again.
