Being in business on your own – or being part of a business – can be a very lonely and daunting experience at times and equally you can also find yourself drowning under a sea of seemingly helpful advice from wellwishers wanting a slice of your cake …

when seeking business advice be sure it fits comfortably before implementing it

Over the last 8 years I have experienced both ends of the spectrum and have gained the relevant results accordingly. It would have been easy to focus on the negative elements and apportion blame to external influences as easy as it would be to take all the glory for the successes I achieved where an external influence might well of added more value.

So where do you go for business advice and how do you know which advice is best? Well, that is simplified by adopting some basic rules. They’ll help you to know what is what and who is who:

Step 1 – Know your stuff …

Ensure you have clarity about the product or service you are looking to take to market. Have as much detail as required to answer any questions. You don’t want to be caught out. Ensure you know the target audience you intend to approach and how your product or service will add value to them. Ensure you use the AFTER model to position any conversation and gain buy in through relevance and personalisation. Ensure you have a good understanding of your strengths and weaknesses and how the help or advice will be beneficial.

Step 2 – Trust …

Trust in yourself, after all you have already taken the biggest and bravest decision needed to set up in business haven’t you? Trust in your abilities and remember that in the early stages in a business you ARE the business and therefore having a deep rooted trust in your abilities and capabilities is key. Use this as a filter for all information and advice received. Does this ring true? Does it stack up? Instinctively, does it feel right to you? Trust also in the fact that people will all have different motives for offering you advice. If you have a good handle on your intuition you will know whether you believe their motive to be sound and remember that if you are in doubt ignore the advice or help being offered.

Step 3 – Test …

Test it yourself. You have had a great idea for a business and you know you have the skills needed, so dip your toe in the water and give it a go. Test your product or service by seeking feedback from clients and potential clients and listen to what they have to say then tweak it and refine your offering. Finally, test any advice given. Ask for proof, ask for credentials and ask for commitment. If you’re going to test it in your business itself, do it on a small scale as an alternative to what you are already doing. Only if it results in a positive outcome can it become mainstream.

The best advice will be that which feels instinctively right to you, and remember that if it doesn’t add value then ignore it and trust in yourself instead.

When Sir Alex Ferguson first became manager of Manchester United Football Club it was 3 years before he won his first trophy which even for a non football fan like me seems like a hell of a long time. Needless to say he was receiving both wanted and unwanted advice from everyone and every direction, not least of all the Press who were after his blood.

Sir Alex knew his stuff and had complete trust in both his and his teams ability; he was testing out different methods and approaches, discounting lists of advice given and taking on board only the advice that truly added value. When he went to see Sir Matt Busby he told Sir Matt that every time he opened a newspaper all he saw was yet another article slamming him. He found it very depressing. So what was Sir Matt’s advice? “Stop reading the papers then!” Obvious really! The moral here is that some of the best advice is annoyingly simple and you probably already knew it, didn’t you?

Be careful where and from whom you seek advice and ensure that it fits comfortably within your view of the world before you implement any action or change that can affect both you and your business.

Be excellent …