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Business advice you will be wise to ignoreOnce you start your own business, there are plenty of people who are willing to give you the benefit of their advice and wisdom, either a professional who will charge you for it, or your well-meaning family or mates down the pub. Which, of course, is absolutely great. But what's worrying is how much complete drivel is written or spoken by people purporting to be experts in the small business field. And that's across all corners of the business support world, including so-called no-nonsense publications produced by the Government and other agencies, or online 'advice' websites which have appeared out of nowhere in the last couple of years. Here's our quick guide to six of the most common pieces of rubbish business advice you'll hear which you should ignore at all costs. And by the way, this stuff really is what you'll hear or read. 1) Your business plan will identify where your business will be in three (or five) years time. Now just think about this for a second. You're expected to produce a document that will state where you're going to end up in 36 or even 60 months' time. Do you realise how long that is? Most businesses die in half that time anyway. There's no problem with you visualising what your business might be doing in three, four or five years' time, but don't waste your time writing about it in a plan. Instead think about the next 12 months, in fact the next three to six months, concentrating on what you can realistically achieve, and more importantly on how you will do it and get there. Success is based on the journey and the path you will take, not on a dream destination. Certainly think about where you want to get to, but spend your time planning the route. 2) People who dream of success will achieve it. This is a bit like the business plan advice above. If you dream it enough, it will happen. Really? A bit like dreaming you will win the lottery, or that England will win the World Cup? It's just not going to happen. It's not dreams you need, it's ambition. And it's about getting your finger out and spending every minute of every day available to you researching how you're going to achieve your ambition. 3) Your idea will probably succeed. If someone you describe your business idea or plan to tells you that your idea will probably succeed, be very wary of this advice. How do they know that it will succeed? Are you just being told this to avoid upsetting you? Get a second, third and fourth opinion and if they all say they think it will succeed maybe you can begin to take more notice of the reactions you're getting to your idea. Never act on the first piece of advice you get. Always get more opinions. 4) Your idea will probably fail. As above, always get more than one opinion. In fact, plenty of people will happily tell you your idea won't work, often because they don't want it to, or just don't believe you are capable of doing it. Don't be put off by people who are negative about your business idea, just make sure you seek more advice and opinions, and refine your idea based on the feedback you're getting. To illustrate this point, back in 1999/2000 just as the Internet was beginning to take off for real (the first Internet bubble) we had innumerable pieces of 'advice' telling us our own business model had no chance of succeeding. Back then we were selling an information service by subscription only, while free information and so-called 'advice' was exploding all over the Internet. We were being told that nobody would buy information now that everyone else was providing it for free. We stuck to our guns, and have never made our prime information service freely available anywhere. We're still here and have never looked back. 5) If you find the right product you'll find success. This is the all-time classic piece of crap business advice. Find the right product, eh? OK, but exactly who are you going to sell it to, and how do you know they want to buy it? Success is based first and foremost on finding a market. An untapped, unexploited, or under-serviced market that you can gain a slice of with the right offering at the right price. Find your market first, then select the product or service that will meet its needs. 6) Just go for it. This is also a dangerous one. Being encouraged to hurtle head first into the deep end without any foundation for the advice you are being given. If this is happening to you, then the best thing you can do is test your idea or concept before you take too big a plunge. In fact, you should test your idea, then test it again, and then test it again after that. Like we mentioned at the beginning of this week's bulletin, we've heard or read all sorts of good, bad and indifferent business advice, or witnessed it first hand many times over many years. And we'll make a point of highlighting more examples in future issues of EnterQuest. If you've got any examples of good or bad advice that you've received personally and would like to share this with us, then please do so by leaving a comment below. Add a comment:6 comments so far:Jane Hooper (16 Aug 2010) Yes I listened to an "inspirational" speaker who said "Just Go For It" - you will succeed. So I went into partnership with someone, and rather naively we didn't follow any of the other advice, actually we didn't ask anyone - we lasted 6 months. I am now on my own learning from my mistakes and one year on finally feel I am "getting there". But asking, getting advice, research etc where needed. Jerry Bennett (13 Aug 2010) As a business adviser and trainer, can I respond to the points you make. First - "The Business Plan". I couldn't agree more with what you say. The Business Plan - or at least the version of it widely used by banks and other support organisations - is primarily a device for persuading others to lend you you money (or give you money if there are any grants left). It doesn't design your website, or help you with your contracts of employment. These and many more aspects of running a business all need separate and discrete plans. I said that to a group once in front of a manager from a major High Street Bank. He was not very happy, as he had just used an almost identical phrase to the one you quoted. I try to include an element of planning and time management in start-up courses, and emphasise the problems of detailed planning more than a few months ahead. In an accompanying diagram, the period of time between 12 and 24 months is referred to as the "crossed-fingers zone", while beyond 24 months you are in the "Great Unknown". But you are also right in talking about having an objective. You need a target - in reality a set of targets - just to keep you focussed on why you are in business in the first place. Ideas are highly personal to the business proprietor and should never be the preserve of the adviser. The proprietor almost certainly knows a lot more about what they would like to do and their likely customers than the adviser. Many years ago I had a young man come through a start-up course who wanted to make and sell tipis - American Indian tents. Even I didn't think that would succeed, until he came back from the Glastonbury festival with orders for 20 of them! Know your customers! All manner of ideas can work. Sometimes they need to be modified or adapted, but there is often a market out there somewhere. The emphasis should be on helping them see if it is there. On the subject of ideas, I think we will soon start getting a surge of interest in self-employment as the redundancies start to bite. One of the greatest dangers here is too many people all trying to start up running the same sort of business. This has happened before, in both the 1980s and the 1990s, and I for one will be pushing the concept of original and possibly unconventional ideas. It is something that will be on my website in the form of a "podcast", probably by mid-September. It is not there yet, because the site is still in its final development stages. I think that also addresses your fifth point. You just do not know what the right idea will be, until you have tested it out a few times. Market research is difficult to do, but also vital if your business is to become reality. That also sums up why you should not "just go for it". So in defence of myself and some of my colleagues, can I say that we really do try to help our clients as best we can. And we can do that a damn sight better if we do not have to comply with some damn stupid government tick-box scheme. Honestly - we can be of use once in a while! Jason Holden (13 Aug 2010) A 12 month business plan is useful, as is a 24 month one, I have never been convinced about a 3 year one, I have no idea what I will be doing in 3 years so how could I ever convince someone they should know, but a business plan should never been described as some that WILL identify where your business WILL be, it is a plan, and only a plan, it gives an idea of what the journey could be like, and to get any real value from it DO NOT put it in the bottom draw once done, keep it to hand and update or change it as required. I like the dream of success and you will achieve it, I will try this and let you know how it goes, I will use telepathy to let you know :-) For my business, accountants and business advisors, I was told not to choose clients but take on all comers as that is the only way it can work, well I ignored this advise and so far have lost no clients to the recession, unlike some who took any and everyone on! susan port (13 Aug 2010) the worse advise i was ever given was to go to business link for advise from their 'consultants'. what a waste of time and my money!! Jane Parslow (12 Aug 2010) In my first year I was told I must have a separate office as "it's impossible to work at home with all the distractions". (And this from a government agency who specifically advised start-ups.) 25 years later I'm still working from my home - think of all the rent money I must have saved simply by being able to concentrate! Jules Rutherford (12 Aug 2010) What a fantastic, tell it like it is, article. I've generally stopped asking people for advice about my business because I know that no matter what anyone says I will keep doing what I'm doing because I love it. Fortunately, I'm not looking to turn the business into a multi million corporate giant so making enough to feed me and pay the bills is enough. I hope that EnterQuest continue on the same vein and keep telling it like it is for business owners. You're a much needed breath of fresh air. Jules
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TODAY: 5 February 2012
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