Start Ignoring These 3 Common, but Terrible, Pieces of Entrepreneurial Advice
As a business owner, you’ve likely heard all types of advice as you got your business off the ground. However, to truly be a success, you need to understand your industry, be invested in continuous improvement and put out a quality product or service. There are several ways to get you to the point of being a success, and you may have heard advice on how to get there. However well-intended a person may be, sometimes their advice isn’t always correct.
Here are three of the most common pieces of advice you should avoid when it comes to managing a business.
You Need to Spend Money to Make Money
While it’s certainly true that you need to invest some capital in your business if you want to grow and succeed, there are times when throwing money at a business is not going to make it an overnight success. One example is when it comes to your marketing strategy. Simply spending money to place an ad may not be the best way to gain exposure if you haven’t researched beforehand. You should know your audience and whether or not the spend will make sense before spending your hard-earned money on your entrepreneurship venture.
You Should Always have the Latest and Greatest
Of course having the right equipment to do your job is important, especially if your business relies heavily on technology to get a job done. However, you don’t necessarily need to always have the newest model of something in order to successfully manage your business. In fact, it could be argued that spending money every time a new PC, piece of equipment or other tech comes out is a bad business strategy and could put you at risk. Before you invest in the latest fad, strategy or piece of tech, ask yourself if it’s truly a need or if you’re giving into your fear of missing out. A good business owner should always be strategic about purchases.
You Need to Saturate the Market
This could not be further from the truth, especially if you’re advertising to a market of customers that ultimately won’t use your product. If you specialize in scooters for the elderly, for example, do you think it really makes sense to be on Snapchat? Your target audience is likely not using that platform, so you shouldn’t stress yourself out by trying to use it simply because someone tells you to. Your best bet is to research where you’re likely to get the best exposure with your target audience and to use the appropriate platforms to advertise.
If someone gives you this type of advice, smile and walk away. There’s no need to exhaust your time, money and resources on something simply because somebody says it’s a good business practice.
