Rhonda Abrams at The Passionate Entrepreneur:
Once you start your own business, the advice pours in from all sides: Your sister has a great idea for a marketing campaign. Your brother thinks you should get a franchise. Your father wants you to be tougher on your employees. And your mother, who’s worried about you, suggests that maybe you should really be looking for a job.
Here’s a handy guide for determining what advice to pay heed to, and who you should politely thank and say, “Could you pass the cheese plate please?”
• Experienced businesspeople in your industry: Listen hard to these folks!
• Customers: You’d better be listening to your customers, because they’re the ones who determine whether you stay in business.
• Employees: Your employees can be a rich vein of insight and advice for your company. Seek it out, listen to it carefully, and use it when you can.
• Investors: Your investors are, in essence, your partners, so the advice-giving and advice-taking process is a two-way street.
• Friends and family: Your family’s support is often essential for major business decisions, especially financial ones.
Photo by pamd.uscourts.gov.
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