The most important rule in business – be true to yourself

The most important rule in business – be true to yourself. No doubt you’ve read articles which give the top 10 tips/rules for startups and businesses to follow. Have you ever wondered why these important tips/rules differ from one article to the next? Surely the top 10 rules for businesses are the top 10 rules for businesses?

These articles differ in opinion because everyone writing them is a different person. The person giving one set of tips is writing from their own experience, and their experience will likely be very different from the next person’s. Also, people generally give tips based on what is important to them and what rings true to them. For example, this quick blog post is about something that is important to me in business. You’ll be unlikely to find me giving a business tip about how you should be speaking at conferences every month, because that is something you’ll be highly unlikely to find me doing. Yet at the same time, there are plenty of great public speakers out there who will tell you how speaking at conferences is a great way to quickly reach a targeted audience.

The point is, everyone is different. Of course there are some core business principles that are true whatever the businesses and whoever the business owner, and all tips are worth reading, but don’t get too bogged down with them. The most important rule in business – be true to yourself. This is the only business rule you must follow. Absorb everything you can, but don’t feel you must follow everyone else’s rules and tips or you’ll just get overwhelmed, and end up spending more time trying to be someone you’re not, rather than actually building your business. Related: ‘why do so many startup businesses fail?‘