It’s a common tale, which can be traced back through the years. People need the support of others and more often than not they turn to their loved ones, friends and family for advice and guidance. This is even the case where those people might not know anything about the chosen subject and may well give biased advice, but people often seek the support of their nearest and dearest over professionals and experts. This is as true in business as it is in any other field.
Research carried out by T-Mobile has found that a large percentage of business owners (over 51%) would rather turn to their spouse for advice on business matters than professional accountants or other business experts. Business bank managers were the least likely candidates to be turned to for advice.
Risky Business
Seeking support from others can be extremely useful in acquire new ideas or a fresh perspective on things, but it can be a risky business. People that know you might not give the honest truth for fear of hurting your feelings. Their opinion may also not be that of the majority. You cannot pin the hopes of your business success on the fact that your spouse or friends think it’s a “good idea” or a “sure fire thing”. Market research is an essential part of any business plan. You need to get to know your market and what they want.
Of course that is just one element. As the old saying goes, a little knowledge can be dangerous. People often have “friends” who can help them out with the various elements of their business. Perhaps a friend might offer to build your website or a law student might want to help by writing your director service contract but trusting friends and family to get things right can lead to sticky business situations. You’re better off leaving the key elements of your business to the professionals. Professional support can make all the difference, taking the weight and pressure off your shoulders and letting you get on with the important parts of your business which you do know about. This is why people turn to accountants to help manage their books, company formation agents to help start their business and designers to build their website. You’ll get better results from professionals.
The Wife Knows Best
As a perfect example, a copywriting agency was asked to re-write the copy they had written for a client based on amends made by the client’s wife. Despite 32 years of experience writing professional content for a range of businesses, the copywriter had to bow to the will of the client – probably to their detriment. Some things are best left to the professionals!
As a business owner you probably have experiences of “the customer is always right” situations. You’ll know this isn’t always the case. Sometimes the customer is wrong and so is their spouse!
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