Most often, business advice is full of things that you should do. But sometimes it is good to know what not to do, and what mistakes to avoid.
Keep decision making simple
When I send a client the first concepts for a logo, I advise them not to show those concepts to others.
My advice is always to wait until the concept has been honed to a more final stage, and then gather feedback. And I strongly advise them to seek feedback from the ‘right’ people (for example, people within their target market). Otherwise, you waste time considering opinions from irrelevant sources.
The same is true of any business decision. I am not advocating ignoring other people’s advice entirely, but by soliciting feedback from the most relevant people, you will have higher quality feedback on which to base your decision.
Avoid constant idea generation
I am not suggesting that you should stop dreaming big and coming up with new ideas for your business.
But some business owners are too busy thinking of the next idea, and don’t spend time to make any of them a reality. It can be counterproductive to throw ideas into the mix faster than you can put them into action.
The ‘lightbulb’ moment for your business won’t be the initial idea, it will be the realisation of how to turn that idea into a successful outcome.
Know when to quit
This can be difficult to discern. Most business owners are wired to want to succeed and are determined to make their business ‘work’.
We all know it takes tremendous amounts of blood, sweat and tears to succeed. But we all need to know the limits, which are going to be different for each of us.
If you have become someone that you no longer recognise or someone you don’t want to be; if you have lost your passion for your work; if you have no time for anything other than your business; these may be signs that it is time to quit. Or at the very least, to take some time out from your business to regain what you have lost.
