Launching startups can be an enriching experience! Many people look for advisers when they are first starting out. These advisers could be friends, family, former classmates, or coworkers from a previous job. Wherever you get your advice from, there are five types of advisers you should avoid if you want to run a successful business.
Advisers that don’t listen can be harmful. Some people don’t understand that your business requires specific advise and therefore they need to listen to what you have to say, rather than just spouting their opinion. These people tend to make everything about themselves rather than you. Another adviser to avoid are advisers who give vague answers to every question. They fail to realize that you need specific advice on your situation and general advice can be found anywhere. There are also advisers that are too narrow when giving advice. They only focus on their experiences and their advice might not apply to what you’re currently going through. This advice if followed could end up making you miss out on opportunities because of narrowed thinking. One of the worst types of advisers are those with hidden agendas. Some people only want you to follow advice that will actually benefit them, such as investing in a company that they themselves own. One of the trickiest advisers is the “Yes man.” The “Yes man” will agree with all of your ideas and solutions no matter what they are. This type of advice doesn’t help because you need to know if you are on a path that isn’t right.
Businesses can flourish with the right advice and fail with the wrong kind. It is important you carefully decide who is actually helping you and who is actually poisoning your company by giving advice that could be your downfall.
Launching successful startups is always difficult so align yourself with somebody who has been there and done it and just doesn’t talk about it.
Steve Blythe (Recruitment and Social Media Commentator).
