Myth-Busting Part 2
October 4, 2010 by Cat Matson
By Cat Matson, Alito
As I said in the intro to my last post
I’ve been ‘in business’ for fifteen years now… and during those years I have learned a lot!!! Bu,t I’m still surprised when I hear business ‘myths’ that were around when I started out (and no doubt, long before I started out).
In the post Business Myth-Busting I busted the four of my ‘favourite’ business myths. Well, it’s time to bust a few more …
Myth 5: Pay yourself first
Now, this is a great theory, but there are times when almost every business owner has lain awake at night wondering if they’re going to pay their own mortgage tomorrow, or pay their staff wages. I am by NO MEANS suggesting you shouldn’t pay yourself first , but it is a myth that all business owners do it all the time … and is closely linked to myth 4: Everyone else is doing OK, why am I struggling?
Myth 6: Everything I need to know about running my business can be found on the internet and in books
Books and quality internet sites provide valuable information about running a business. No doubt about it. And if you want to understand how to convert that information into wisdom in your own business, you’ll need an objective interpreter. One of the key challenges for business owners is choosing WHICH pieces of the information avalanche to pay attention to, and which pieces need to go through to the keeper. All too often I see business that are struggling because they are a mish-mash of strategies and tactics that don’t ‘fit’ together because the owners keep implementing the ‘latest’ thing they’ve read over the top of what already exists. By all means, keep reading, ‘drink deeply’, in fact, from quality sources of information. But you need trusted experts to help YOU piece it all together in YOUR business.
Myth 7: I don’t need a plan
(sometimes known as, ‘there’s no point in planning because everything changes so fast’)
You wouldn’t drive to a new destination without a map or visit a new country without at least referring to a tourist guide. Why then the notion of not needing a plan for your business?
A plan for your business provides direction and reference points, enabling you to stay on track. It doesn’t have to be huge and it doesn’t have to be ‘final’. In fact, my business plans are captured on one-page and I update them every 8 weeks. Business owners without are plan, in my experience, are generally lost and chasing their tails, wondering why things don’t improve. You need a plan.
Myth 8: There’s a magic bullet that will ‘fix’ my business.
As fantastic as this would be, it would, kind-of, take the fun out of the game. Wouldn’t it? 
Every business is as unique as the people behind it. Therefore the formula that works for your competitor, your associates or for the industry ‘star-performer’ won’t work for you. Parts of their formula might work (and my all means, learn from others’ experiences) but your business model and strategy are based on a unique bundle of resources structured in a unique way. Stop looking for the ‘one thing’ that will ‘fix all that ails ya’ and instead focus on strategies that will yield the best return on effort FOR YOU.
What myths have you busted in your time as a business owner? And what myths do YOU hear that you’d like busted once and for all?
MORE GREAT POSTS BY CAT MATSON
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Cat Matson - AlitoCat Matson ignites the performance of small business owners, their teams and ultimately their businesses through a range of robust mentoring, coaching and education programs. She is a strong advocate for practical, pithy and ‘real’ business advice and loathes the ‘one-size-fits-all’, ‘you-too-can-be-widely-successful-if-you-just-follow-OUR-system’ approach taken by many ’so-called’ business experts. Cat runs Alito with her husband Keith who provides synergistic and smart accounting expertise to their clients who enjoy having streamlined business advice across all key areas. When not working, Cat enjoys spending time with her two young boys and reading interesting business books and biographies.
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I think the ‘I don’t need a plan’ myth is more a ‘Oh do I have to?’ as it appears to be too big a task – The myth there is that you have to produce a tome for it to have any value.
I love your one-page take on it, which I also employ ~ Its great having an overview plan to be able to see at a glance –
I’ve been using a great cloud mind mapping system that will click link through to separate mind-maps that can then proffer more detail as required but for focus, the one-page plan is the way to get past go and keep on going
Hi Cat,
These are Myths that get perpetuated and somehow become unchallenged ‘truths’. Such toxic generalizations may make for light reading in a best selling ‘business’ book, as long as it’s clearly signposted as speculative fiction.
Thank you for helping to bust such myths!
Best, Robin
Linda … you are certainly right about business owners reluctance to doing a plan because it just seems so big … and I love your idea of mindmapping your plan on one page.
You’d be suprised though how many people still think they don’t need a plan at all … and the reasons are everything from ‘everything changes so fast’ to ‘it limits my creativity’ and even ‘oh, some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs didn’t have a plan when they started-out’. Really
And yes Robin … another title for these posts could be ‘Lies we collectively tell ourselves’ … as somehow these generalisations have become a socially-held paradigm that holds well-intentioned business owners back from real, tangible success. Yes, part of it is because authors need to wrap their ideas into palettable ‘nuggets’ in order to sell books … and then because there’s enough people unknowingly accepting others’ ‘beliefs’ as ‘universal truths’.
Changing such paradigms require quality dialogue … thank you to both of you for making this ‘monologue’ a dialogue