Most Advice Doesn’t Work
Most people don’t consume advice to make decisions. Instead, they want to feel productive, inspired or reassured. Unfortunately, it's become entertainment. You can watch, read and nod along and because there is always more advice, nothing ever feels urgent enough to act on it. Most advice doesn’t fail because it’s wrong. It fails because it’s absorbed without context, without diagnosis, and without a decision attached to it.
Most advice doesn't work because:
The advisor doesn't actually know your business. It really is that simple. What works for a founder with capital, a large team, and brand leverage rarely translates to a solo operator constrained by cash flow, small teams, and personal risk. Generic advice assumes stable cash flow, clear reporting lines, strong margins, and emotional capacity to follow through. It ignores real constraints: low risk tolerance, family obligations, customer nuance, and the operational limits of a four-person team. Best practice assumes best case. Most businesses aren’t best case.
It doesn’t provide instant relief. When you have a problem, you want it gone quickly. That's why "10x results in 10 days" is so appealing. But advice that actually works is unsexy, boring, repetitive and slow to reward. Most people will reject good advice because it's uncomfortable and it doesn't provide immediate relief. Some of my clients have had to wait years to see results. That's every day… consistently making the change so that in a years time, things are better for themselves. It’s not easy and not a lot of people can do it.
The advice you're listening to solves the wrong problem. Even technically sound advice fails when the diagnosis is wrong. People will ask for marketing advice when the issue is pricing. They will hire when the issue is leadership. They invest in systems when the issue is avoidance. If you're inside your business all day, every day, you're so close to the real issue that you can't see it in many cases. That's why misdiagnosis is so common, and so expensive.
Bad Advice Does Real Damage
Bad advice has real consequences.
A carpenter that heard that hiring a new employee is a good idea did just that and now he doesn't have the work to justify the new hire.
A café owner was told to change the menu. Now they can't deliver the same quality because there are too many items for the chefs to learn.
A gym owner bought trendier equipment with the promise of virality of their business and now they have loans they can't repay.
They aren't bad business owners, they just didn't listen to the right advice.
How to Make Advice Work For You
Making advice work for you isn't too far out of your reach.
Identify root problems in your business
Ask if the advice is relevant to you
Translate the advice to suit your business
Normalise boring - repetition and consistency is more impactful than quick, unsustainable wins
Replace motivation with accountability - motivation is temporary
Most people don't need more advice.
It's not hard to see that business books are often the same concepts just worded differently. That's not to say that they aren't important. What's missing isn't information. It's the clarity of your situation, commitment to change and the willingness to make it all happen.
If you’re keen to learn more about this topic, listen to our podcast episode.
But if you have question instead, leave us a comment or send us an email at contact@businessabundance.online
