Starting a new business isn't for the faint of heart. It takes courage, ambition, and a tangible plan. Many people will be eager to support you on your journey, but some may actually give you advice that could hurt your chances for success. Here, members of Young Entrepreneur Council list an "unlucky 13" collection of the worst startup advice they were given, and explain why that misguided startup advice is so harmful to entrepreneurs who are just starting out.
What's the worst piece of advice you've ever heard regarding building a startup, and why is that advice so harmful?
1. Put your personal life on hold
There's nothing wrong with having drive, ambition, and hustle. You'll need all three to make it as an entrepreneur—but not at the expense of having a life. No matter how much money you make, time is the one thing you can't buy back. Growing a successful business at the expense of your personal well-being and relationships is shortsighted and usually unsustainable. Don't do it. —Mark Stallings, Casely, Inc.
2. Do what you love and money will follow
The worst advice for building a startup is saying that if you do what you love, the money will follow. That simply isn't true. Every year, there are millions of startups where entrepreneurs are doing what they love, but no one wants their product or service, or they don't have the marketing or infrastructure to succeed. —Baruch Labunski, Rank Secure
3. Grow as fast as possible
It makes me nervous for aspiring entrepreneurs when I hear them being told to grow as fast as possible and hit the ground running. Of course, the goal is to achieve success and scale and thrive. But rapid growth comes with its own set of problems. One of the biggest challenges for any business owner is cash flow. Growing too quickly creates massive cash flow gaps. Grow, but grow wisely. —Blair Thomas, eMerchantBroker
4. There's a market for all ideas
"There's a market for all ideas" is one of the worst pieces of advice I have heard as a founder. This is simply not true. To be successful as an entrepreneur, you need to research your idea to ensure people will want to buy it and to offer something that's slightly different from what’s already in the market. —Kristin Kimberly Marquet, Marquet Media, LLC
5. Wait for the ideal moment
The worst piece of advice I've heard regarding building a startup is to wait for the ideal moment. This advice is so harmful because there will never be a "perfect" moment. That advice will only lead to analysis paralysis, and odds are that you'll never start. If you have an idea, execute it, even if it's just with a minimum viable product. —Alfredo Atanacio, Uassist.ME
6. Don't quit your day job
While it's important to build up a financial runway for yourself for anything that might come your way, if you're serious about a startup, you'll eventually (sooner than you want) have to quit your day job so you can focus fully on being where the opportunity is. —Andy Karuza, NachoNacho
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7. Let legal lead innovation
"Let legal lead innovation" is the worst piece of advice regarding building a startup. Though legal is important, overspending on legal initially can bleed a startup dry before it has a chance to develop the core product/service and launch. —Jordan Edelson, Appetizer Mobile LLC
8. Keep your idea a secret
"Keep your idea secret" is a terrible idea because if you're not telling anyone about your product or service until you've actually launched, you're not getting valuable feedback that could help you make tweaks to it before you launch. You're missing out on customer validation or feedback by keeping your idea in "stealth mode" for too long. —Kelsey Raymond, Influence & Co.
9. Wake up at 4 a.m
Waking up at 4 a.m. is terrible advice unless this is your natural cycle. It suggests that you have to be a slave to every element of your business to succeed. The worst business owners micromanage and are always on, but rarely are they producing great work because they don't take breaks. Cultivate a work-life balance, sleep in, and do not micromanage. It actually is more effective. —Matthew Capala, Alphametic
10. Get as much funding as you can early on
One of the worst pieces of advice I’ve heard about building a startup is to get as much funding as you can as early as you can to fuel growth. The reality is, having too much funding can be a bad thing, especially early in the life of a startup before product-market fit has been fully established and customer acquisition costs (CACs) are low to nonexistent. Burning funding on advertising (high-CAC) can kill a startup. —Richard Fong, PageKits.com
11. It's okay to risk everything
I think "it's okay to risk everything for your startup" is the worst piece of advice that I have ever heard regarding building a startup. Businesses don't become profitable in a day. It takes time, effort, and money to earn the profits you want. Nothing can be more dangerous than risking everything—especially finances—in the initial phase. —Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster
12. Do not reinvent the wheel
One of the worst pieces of advice I've heard about building a startup was "do not reinvent the wheel," implying that a startup needs to have a completely groundbreaking innovation instead of incremental improvements to the existing frustrations in the process. This advice blocks creativity and forces the founder into an unhealthy dynamic when brainstorming over an idea. —Daria Gonzalez, Wunderdogs
13. You have to work 24/7 to be successful
Not only is this advice false, but following this advice can also be the reason why your business isn't succeeding. It simply isn't enough to grind away at work. You also need inspiration and creativity, as well as help from other people. And these are things you won't create space for if you're working all the time. —Blair Williams, MemberPress
