The Best Business Advice That No One Ever Told You

If you’ve been able to start and run your own business, you’ve likely heard more than your fair share of people offering “the best business advice”.

Some of their tips are helpful, some of them are not. 

But often, all these gurus end up saying the same things.

As someone who has run a successful business for years (and coached others to do the same), I’ve come to realize there’s one thing people never really tell you. And it might just be the most important business advice you’ve ever heard.

Here’s what I mean.

What’s Wrong With The Typical Business Advice

Now, I’m not saying that most business advice is bad. In fact, a lot of it is quite helpful.

No matter how long you’ve been in your industry, there’s always more you can learn from those who have gone before you.

Find a mentor or an expert you can trust and listen well. Note their failures and successes. Try out their tips or techniques. And by all means evaluate everything they say to be sure it makes sense for your business.

But as helpful as all that might be, it still falls short. That’s because the typical advice is all about competency.

Competency is the ability to do something efficiently.

And of course it’s important for business. That’s why business books continue to top bestseller lists and webinars have become so popular. Business advice is geared towards helping you do more and do it better.

The problem is that an extreme focus on competency gets in the way of authenticity.

Here’s The Piece They’re Missing

Authenticity is the most valuable tool a business person can have.

It’s the ability to be real and relatable. Authenticity is the quality that lets you meet a prospect or client where they are.

Business is all about helping people. If you can’t level with someone, they won’t trust you enough to hire you. 

Of course your client wants someone who knows their stuff. But even more, they want someone who understands them.

To do that, you have to be your real self.

What’s In The Way?

“Just be your real self.” Sounds simple right? Yet few people do it well.

Ironically, that’s because they’re determined to become the best business person possible.

With laser-like focus, they’ve consumed one how-to manual after another. They’ve found a mentor at the top of the pile and are doing everything they can to emulate that hero.

Soon all your focus on competency creates an idealized business person. 

You come up with ideas of what it looks like to be sophisticated or successful. Without even noticing it, you’ve been told who you are supposed to be. When you try to fit into that “perfect” mold, you end up losing a bit of yourself.

Business doesn’t work when you’re trying to be something you’re not. 

Prospects sniff out inauthenticity right away and lose trust in you. Your employees feel a disconnect between the image you want to project and the boss they actually work with. And pretty soon, you start to feel like an imposter or even a failure to yourself.

In an attempt to be perfectly competent, you’ve lost the ability to be authentic.

How Inauthenticity Costs You Money

I see the danger of inauthenticity all the time with finances.

Many people come to money with a list of assumptions. 

Some assume that being a business person means they need to know everything about finances. So they jump through hoops and set up overly complicated systems. And pretty soon their books are a mess. 

Other people assume that because they’re a business person they don’t need to care about finances. They think that’s someone else’s job and completely disengage. But — no surprise — a business person who doesn’t care about their profit isn’t in business for very long.

Both attitudes are based on a misplaced idea of who you need to be. And both will cost you money and hurt your company.

Here’s what to do instead

The best business advice you can get is to practice authenticity.

You might not get it perfect right away, but authenticity is like a muscle. The more you use it, the better it will become.

This is a lesson you want to start applying today. Don’t wait until you’ve accumulated a few more trophies and sprouted a dozen more gray hairs.

A truly successful business person will always be someone who says what they do and does what they say.

A successful business person will always prioritize authenticity.

Now that doesn’t mean that you should stop striving to be competent. 

Always strive to get better. Whether you’re just starting out and feel completely green and unsure of yourself, or you’re an old pro who could write the book yourself, there’s always more you can learn.

But no matter where you are on the entrepreneur’s journey, always be authentic. Don’t get trapped by preconceptions of what a successful business person should look like. Instead, focus on who you are and who your clients need you to be. 

And as you watch authenticity transform your work, pass on what you’ve learned. Don’t let this be the best business advice you never shared.