My mother recently came to see us for a few days. That same weekend my daughter had a dance performance in another town, so the three of us took the trip together. It was not a short drive, and it gave me a chance to catch up with Mom a bit.
My mother is, as any good mother, always concerned for her children, and I’m sure my employment situation has caused many of her gray hairs to double-down. To her credit, though, she doesn’t ask worry-loaded questions, but takes an active interest in what’s going on with my recent business venture.
Even your dog could give you good advice on occasion!
We got to talking about some of our varied attempts at marketing on the cheap, and she proposed an idea I hadn’t considered before: high school newspapers. I own a video game store, and while we’d considered (and rejected as too expensive) the local college paper, I’d completely forgotten about high schools.
I did some research and found out that advertising in their student newspapers is actually fairly inexpensive. We’re giving it a try this month, and I’ll likely let you know how it goes.
But the point is that while many people, when they know you run your own business, have lots of free advice to offer. Much of it is worth precisely that, but listen anyway. Some of them may have a perspective you don’t, and may have some legitimately good ideas to offer. And free good ideas are the very best kind!
Where have you found some unexpectedly good business advice in the past? Drop me a comment below and tell your story!
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