One of the things I’ve always believed is every business is unique.
Your character, your staff, your processes, your customers, your premises and every little thing your business does makes it totally different to every other business in the world.
That’s the beauty of business and it’s why any advice you recieve should be tempered by the knowledge that no-one knows your operation better than you.
This isn’t to say you shouldn’t listen to advice. You should because a fresh pair of eyes or ears can alert you to something you’ve missed.
This isn’t to say you shouldn’t experiment with new ways. Those businesses who don’t will probably not survive the next five years.
But what’s works for the guy up the road won’t necessarily work for you. His blog might be successful while yours may fail; she might be able to ditch the Yellow Pages while you cannot; they might be able to use social media while your contacts ignore it.
So understand your own businesses, its staff and the customers.
And most of all understand your own strengths and weaknesses.