Mind Your Own Business: Unsolicited Advice

This post is a vent.  Well, sort of because I am actually in a good mood, but I wanted to write about something that grinds my gears – unsolicited advice.  Before I was an entrepreneur full-time, I hated when people would give me unsolicited advice about my life.  I especially hated receiving it from people that did not know me very well, or at all.  I bit my tongue a lot, because after politely listening, I always wanted to ask; what qualifications they had that warranted me actually listening and implementing this advice.  As a business owner, I have encountered even more unsolicited advice…and I usually have that same question floating in my head.

My answer to that question is a snap judgment of “nothing.”  They are in no way qualified to give me the advice they are giving.  This is a snap judgment based only on the information about themselves that they have presented to me.  I find that in most cases, unsolicited advice comes from people that do not seem to have a firm grasp of the advice they are giving.  For example, a non-business owner giving advice on how to run a small business when they’ve never done so, or theirs failed miserably.  A non-marketing person giving advice on how I should be marketing.  A non-creative telling me what services I really should be offering.  The biggest gripe for me is that a) I didn’t ask, I was just having a friendly conversation; and b) you don’t know me, my business, my objectives and goals well enough to make an accurate assessment of what I should do.

That really grinds my gears!  I guess because for what I do, I have to gather information about the project before I can do the work; I feel the same should apply to advice that is doled out, but only if asked.  Even when someone is venting to me, I try very hard not to give my opinion and advice unsolicited.  Sometimes someone just wants to vent.  If they ask, then I tell.  If someone contacts me and wants to pick my brain, I tell, but I let them know that it is based off of my own experiences and may not be applicable to them.

I wish more people would try to do the same.  If you like to give people advice without them asking, please stop.  If you hate receiving unsolicited advice, tell me about it in the comments below.  Let’s chat…I am soliciting your comments. 🙂