Related Thread: What is the WORST business advice you've ever received?

19 replies
Since someone started a thread offering their 'good advice' I though I'd start one where people can share some of the 'bad' advice they've received.

After all we all have that 'fat aunt giving us weight loss advice'.

I once was told to 'buy this stock - it will do SOO well' but that wasn't necessarily business advice.

By FAR the worst advice was from my mother.

It was to hire my brother.
#advice #business #received #related #thread #worst
  • Profile picture of the author Rod Cortez
    "Don't get into that niche. If I couldn't make it work , there's no chance you'll have success there. It's far too compettive. Look elsewhere...."

    I'm glad I did NOT listen to that advice.....

    RoD
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    "Build it and they will come."

    So not true.

    You have to make people come (damn, that just sounds wrong but you know what I mean )
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    • Profile picture of the author GBM
      Originally Posted by WillR View Post

      "Build it and they will come."

      So not true.

      You have to make people come (damn, that just sounds wrong but you know what I mean )
      I completely agree. Too many people don't realize this, and as soon as their product is 100% finished and ready to go, they have that "wait... now what" moment. Nobody's going to magically discover and buy your product (at least not at first)... it takes work.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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    Originally Posted by Auctiondebteliminator View Post

    By FAR the worst advice was from my mother.

    It was to hire my brother.
    LOL, I suspect you may not be the only one in that position, either. :p

    I took so much terrible advice when I first started that it isn't easy to recall which was "worst". I believed so many urban myths of internet marketing, without the ability or judgment to appraise them as what they were, that any one or two of them could have prevented me from making a living ... and did.

    The ones that stick out in my mind as really damaging were "select ClickBank products to promote according to their gravities" and a bunch of totally unnecessary, erroneous and highly misguided "SEO advice" which all boiled down to relying on Google for traffic (not exactly a "recipe for success"!). And I tried to earn money through article marketing without understanding what an article directory is and how they work, too.
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  • Profile picture of the author Corey Geer
    Oh, let's see..

    "User Fiverr for quality services."
    "Use ODesk for Fiverr services."
    "You NEED money to make money."

    There's a whole wide variety of things I've heard, mostly from internet marketing forums that generally just make my head spin.
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  • Profile picture of the author johndetlefs
    I was told not to buy a stock at $0.26 of a company that I knew was an excellent company, and that the executives were buying shares like crazy.

    The guy was a stock analyst for a big bank in Australia and he said that the stock would never go higher than $0.40

    It now trades at over $3. One of the guys I know who did invest in it made so much money that he had to leave the country and become a PT so that he wouldn't have to pay crazy amounts of tax.

    Worst. Advice. Ever.
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  • Profile picture of the author RyanLB
    Honestly, I have a friend that is a solid business man. Has had 3 moderately successful businesses that have supported him. But he is absolutely huge on tax deductions and doing everything he can to get out of paying taxes wherever he can.

    He is always advising me write off this, or write off that. Or claim something as a write off when really it was for personal use. He does a million different things every year and cuts his taxes in half, sometimes more when his overhead isn't really that high.

    I took a few of his suggestions to an accountant once and they told me that if I were to do it every year I would almost surely trigger an audit at some point. Keep in mind that this guy also goes out for drinks on his business card like every weekend, and tries to write it off as a meeting.

    So...yeah. I don't mess with the IRS. I am all for deductions and paying as little as I can but I always tell the accountants to keep it reasonable to avoid any redlisting. And to keep all claims legitimate.

    He also reads this forum from time to time, so hopefully he doesn't see this.
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    • Honestly, I don't understand tax deductions for math reasons.

      Why does 'spend 5000 dollars so you can save 1000 dollars on taxes' make sense, mathematically?!

      I mean - it's the same mentality I tell my wife: "Look I can save 50 BUCKS if I buy these shoes tomorrow!"

      To which I say, "Or, you can save 100 bucks if you don't buy them at all!"

      Seriously. . . . . . .
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      • Profile picture of the author johndetlefs
        Originally Posted by Auctiondebteliminator View Post

        To which I say, "Or, you can save 100 bucks if you don't buy them at all!"
        I think the point is more that you're going to spend the money anyway i.e. drinks on Friday night, and then try to find creative ways to "legitimise" the spend and turn it into a business expense.

        Many a holiday to the Bahamas has featured a "seminar" or "meeting" to turn it into a tax write off!
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        You only get one shot at life - make it awesome.

        Everyone else also gets just one crack at it - help make theirs awesome too... or, politely step out of their way.

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        • Originally Posted by johndetlefs View Post

          I think the point is more that you're going to spend the money anyway i.e. drinks on Friday night, and then try to find creative ways to "legitimise" the spend and turn it into a business expense.

          Many a holiday to the Bahamas has featured a "seminar" or "meeting" to turn it into a tax write off!
          Some other bad advice: "Buy this... you're going to buy it anyway-- use it as a tax write off"

          There is no shame on being frugal - even on a business trip! I'd go to Idaho if the same thing could be accomplished there before the Bahamas.

          Otherwise, it is really easy to spend money for spending-money's sake. 'It's a write-off'.
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  • Profile picture of the author aikoyamamato
    This is a lot more interesting to answer! The worst advice I ever received was to...not follow the advice of people like me! When I first got started I was told to avoid chat rooms, forums, etc because they were "amateurs".

    Ha.
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  • Profile picture of the author Auzan
    Banned
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    • Profile picture of the author GBM
      Originally Posted by Auzan View Post

      When I do IM and make consistently $700 - $1200 A month. My friends advice me ' You need to find a job'.
      I'm not sure how old you are... but unless you still live with your parents, at least while your online business grows, you should find a side job. I think you should trust your friend on this one.

      Oh, and by the way it's generally not a good idea to reveal your bullshit to the people you're selling it too



      ^That makes no sense.
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      • Originally Posted by GBM View Post

        I'm not sure how old you are... but unless you still live with your parents, at least while your online business grows, you should find a side job. I think you should trust your friend on this one.

        Oh, and by the way it's generally not a good idea to reveal your bullshit to the people you're selling it too



        ^That makes no sense.
        BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRN.

        Sorry, but that was a good one.
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  • Profile picture of the author jessiem
    "Your Idea Won't Work"....uggghh..
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  • Profile picture of the author jaggyjay
    Not the worst maybe, but very common...

    "Just take ACTION and you'll succeed".

    The statement is beyond cliché. At worst it's a lie. At best it's an incomplete truth.

    Action is only one part of the success equation - not the "end all, be all" for success
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    I was told to quit that stupid internet crap and go down to the Walmart and get a job.

    They didn't even tell me to go to college... they said go to walmart.
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnTimmins
    hahhaa... Just be positive always. Don't just do what they advice to you, instead think if it will work for you through some research.
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  • I agree -

    In fact, having a positive attitude almost makes you immune to the bad advice you receive.

    I mean - to the guy that was told to get a job at Walmart and not go to college.

    By staring that ludicrousness in the face and RECOGNIZING it was HORRIBLE advice, he focused on the positive.
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