In the course of a week, I probably get more than a dozen emails asking for my advice on starting a business. I don’t give advice, particularly on business. I can give you information, suggestions, and encouragement, but not advice.
What Happens When I Give Business Advice
In football, there is a saying that when the quarterback throws the ball, one of three things can happen, two of them bad (the receiver can fail to catch the pass, the defense can grab it, or it can be successful). In advice-giving, it works the same way: There are only three results, all of them negative for the advisor.
1. The person takes the advice and relies on it and it doesn’t work or causes problems. The advisor gets blamed.
2. The person doesn’t take the advice and finds out later he/she should have. The advisor gets blamed.
3. The person takes the advice and it works out. The person figures he/she would have done it anyway. The advisor gets no credit.
SOME ADVICE ON ADVICE:
I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it –Harry S. Truman
Don’t take a butcher’s advice on how to cook meat. If he knew, he’d be a chef. –Andy Rooney
My Advice to You on Getting Advice for Starting a Business
Get business startup advice from everyone who will talk to you. READ, check on the Internet, go to seminars. Listen, sift, weigh, and get some more advice. Then do what you feel is right.
If someone tells you “That won’t work” think about Spencer Silver, the inventor of the Post-It note. He said, “If I had thought about it, I wouldn’t have done the experiment. The literature was full of examples that said you can’t do this.”
If Wilbur and Orville Wright had listened to advice, we would not be flying around in airplanes. It’s YOUR BUSINESS, not your spouse’s or your parents’, nor does it belong to anyone else. Do what you want, as long as it’s legal and ethical.
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