27 Worst Pieces of Business Advice Given To New Entrepreneurs.

Starting a business can be difficult, especially if you've never done anything remotely entrepreneurial (don't worry, selling Girl Guide cookies does count.) People want to see you do well, however keeping you safe or selling you something can be the motive for the advice others give you. In fact, the majority of the time people are actually voicing their own limiting beliefs. For those who have been in the game for a while, some of these will sound familiar. For those thinking about it, take a look and prepare yourself.

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• If you build it, they will come.

No, If you build it based on something that your passionate about, serves people, addresses a gap in the market and that you are actively marketing to people, they will come.

 

• Charge lower prices than your competitors so you that you will get more customers.

If you undercharge yourself, then people will assume the value of your product isn't as good as your competitors, and you will have to do x amount more work just to hit the same amount of income.

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• You shouldn’t need to market if people just like your product enough.

So how do people find out about your product again?

• Go to college.

*Takes a bite out of Avocado Toast.*

• That’s a lot of startup cost. You could just get a job job, they don’t require startup.

I wonder what the startup cost was of the company you work at?

• You need to do everything yourself.

Um, so if I get sick or want to go on vacation I should...just...not?  It’s good to know how to do things, but in order to build a big company you have to be able to leverage your time.  Do you think Elon Musk was doing customer service calls at PayPal? I think not.

• We don’t need a business plan.

Goals, a company direction, and financial estimates are all in your business plan.  How do you know if your company can even make money if you haven’t done any research?

• You can’t build a business while you’re in college.

One word. Facebook.

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• You're not working hard enough.

Working hard and being successful actually have no correlation.  If there were, you would see construction people and laborers balling out of control. Feeling like you’re putting in a lot of time on a project or pushing for a result can be a good thing, if you also feel aligned vs feeling like you’re struggling. 

• Spend every penny you make because when you're broke you work harder to earn more.

So I can focus my energy on not getting evicted vs building my business? What what?

• Pre-selling is a scam.

Says the thousands of companies who started via crowdfunding.  Pre-selling is only a scam if you don’t follow through with the product or if you don’t allow returns if a person is unhappy. 

• You need money to make money.

There are plenty of reasons people create as to why they stay broke. A simple Google search can give you a list of successful entrepreneurs that started building their business from the trunk of their car, a friends couch, a garage or basement.

• Apply for a business loan so you can pay me to teach you how to be successful.

Going into debt for business isn’t a bad thing, however be wary of people who want you to create debt to enroll in a course, especially if they aren’t referred to you by someone you respect. 

• Facebook ads don't work, don't use them.

If you don’t know how to use Facebook Ads, they won’t. Do your research or go through a couple courses before playing with Facebook Ads, or better yet, get someone who knows what they are doing to build and run it for you.

• What’s gonna get you to be successful in business is Scientology.

No words.

• You cannot travel all the time when you want to build a business to live from.

Why not? If you build your business around your lifestyle and not the other way around it’s more than feasible.

• Play safe.

Play smart. Take good risks. Don’t make moves out of desperation.

• Don't use pop ups, or collect emails. It's spammy.

It’s also vital for marketing, and connecting and communicating with people who love your brand. People will always be able to a) not put in there email or b) unsubscribe. 

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• It's already been done or there's too many players in that market.

How can something get better if we don’t bring different views to it.  This is how innovation happens. No one has the same background, point of view or knowledge on a market.

• That won't work.

Unless they are a leader in the industry that you are focused on, there is a fundamental issue with your product or service that is unable to be fixed, it can work. 

• Workaholism is the road to entrepreneurial success.

Being in love and passionate about your brand is one thing, keep in mind that it’s still work and you are still a human being.  Taking time away and creating healthy boundaries between you and your work prevents burnout and resentment.

• Wake up at 4 am - hustle, hustle, hustle, hustle

My brain doesn’t do the things at 4 am.  However if I concentrate my working hours on doing specific meaningful tasks I not only get important stuff done, I feel like I’ve accomplished something.

• Focus on cold approach 24/7 to get sales and forget everything else.

You can have a list of ways to create money in your business.  Focusing on one closes the doors on all others. Make sure you set yourself up for success in a way that feels aligned with you. Some people aren’t great with pitching people over the phone, so they hire someone or do really useful videos, blogs, podcasts, build a website, do digital advertising…..etc etc etc.      

• Employing is a waste of money. Don't be lazy.

Anyone who becomes a success doesn’t do it alone.

• Don't start until you're a perfect and super skilled professional.

You become a super skilled professional by practicing and working. Start somewhere and grow.

What do you hear (or tell yourself) that might stop you from rocking your business? Comment below!