Who do you admire?

I've been thinking a lot about who I look up to in business over the past few years. The world is changing and what I want in my business and life isn't the same as what I wanted even three years ago. The people revered for their business acumen and results aren't changing quite as quickly, but we're definitely starting to view them from a different perspective.

I recently saw an interview with the author of a book about Jack Welch, who's been used as an example of a great business leader who gets results. He's also the author of several business books.

But should we actually look to him as an example of what to do when growing a small business?

My opinion: No, we definitely shouldn't. Most business owners I know don't work for other people (at least in part) because of people who manage companies the way Jack Welch did.

However, it's not just because he created an incredibly toxic workplace with his management approach. It's also because most of what works for large corporations doesn't have the same impact for a small business.

These days, my reading about big business is usually out of curiosity more than looking for insights or inspiration.

The truth is, my business will never be big—and I don't want it to be. I'm more interested in building a life legacy than a business legacy.

Many marketing "experts" hock one-size-fits-all tactics they like to call "strategic." 👀 They make promises of increased revenue or other types of growth without knowing a single thing about your business. This is the problem with books.

You can buy a million different books about business written by "highly respected leaders" and it may inspire you to make changes. But are they the right changes?

Who we look up to in business can have a big impact on the expectations we have of ourselves as owners.

• The hustle culture hustlers may make you feel like you should be working 18 hours a day with a couple breaks to eat. But do they actually spend that kind of time working themselves? My guess is it's unlikely. 🤔
• The people who promise a strategy for every single channel in your marketing mix give the impression that doing what they recommend with the same channels in your business is the recipe for success. But how do they know their approach is a fit for your overall business and marketing strategy in the first place? Well, they don't. Also, individual channels don't actually require a strategy. 🤷🏼‍♀️
• The people who've built templates that give you blanks to fill in—et voilà !—you have the thing you need to be more productive. But how many of us have dozens of those templates taking up space in our storage that we never even use? 🫣

This isn't to say that these things have no value. Sometimes it works, but these businesses are usually structured to bring in a high volume of purchases and/or clients. They don't give advice or information tailored to you and your business.

There can be a good time and place for generalizations and advice with space for interpretation. But when it comes to running a small business, I'm definitely over the comparisons to people who can't relate to what my day-to-day looks like.

This is one of the reasons I've made it a priority to pay for a business coach who knows me and my business well so I can get advice and direction that fits me. It's why I work with service providers who understand what I'm trying to do and are a good fit for making it happen.

The people I choose to work with are also people I look up to and respect far more than strangers with good PR people.

Who do you look up to in business and why? Hit reply and tell me about them.