The Best Piece Of Business Advice

In the past few weeks, there have been countless discussions around being an Entrepreneur. It may have to do with the recession or it may have to do with the new realities of the new economy – more and more Digital Nomads working remotely or foregoing the infrastructure of a formal company and going at it solo.

One glance over the standard Twitter feed and you’ll find that there is a growing group of individuals who are either thinking about striking out on their own or are in the midst of being their own boss. What is the trick? What do you have to know about being an Entrepreneur? Is it is easy? Is it hard?  I’ve been an Entrepreneur for a while. I started out as one, took a break and worked at a number of companies and then hopped back into the world of self-employment almost eight years ago. On my journey, there were two books that really stood out:

1. E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber.
2. How The Best Get Better by Dan Sullivan.

How The Best Get Better came with two audio CDs that changed the way I saw things. Sullivan talks about what it really means to be an Entrepreneur:

It’s that moment in time where an individual realizes that they can’t rely on anyone else but themselves for their own professional and financial outcome.

What might read like a very basic and simple thought is not. Most people go through their lives depending and relying on others for their professional and financial outcome. What makes this concept ever-more powerful is that it applies to those who are employees in every sort of company as well: the more entrepreneurial you are, the more you strive for perfection and the more you dedicate your time to your trade, the more independence you are creating for yourself. The more  indispensible you’re making yourself… the closer you get to writing your own ticket. It’s not just about those who go at it alone, it’s also about the Entrepreneurs Within.

It’s the best piece of business advice I ever received. It’s the best piece of business advice I could ever give.

It’s also directly applies to New Media. You don’t need permission to speak to a greater audience. All of these platforms (Blogs, Podcasts, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and on) empower you (for free) to share your thoughts, to build a community and to grow professionally. It’s not just about publishing what you want just because you can (which is a very valuable concept in it’s own right), it’s about publishing what you want because you want to grow professionally and expand your horizons.

What’s the best piece of business advice you ever got?