{"id":7158,"date":"2022-03-07T12:00:49","date_gmt":"2022-03-07T12:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/?p=7158"},"modified":"2026-01-07T12:31:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T12:31:22","slug":"best-advice-used-in-your-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/best-advice-used-in-your-business\/","title":{"rendered":"International Women\u2019s Day: What\u2019s the best advice you\u2019ve used in your business?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPeople & Leadership<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tInternational Women\u2019s Day: What\u2019s the best advice you\u2019ve used in your business?\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\tCourtney Cairns<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the best advice you\u2019ve used in your business?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To celebrate International Women\u2019s Day, on 8 March, we posed that question to a group of successful business owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their answers may help you if you\u2019re facing any challenges within your company and are looking for help, or you\u2019re seeking inspiration to boss your business and keep things moving in the right direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, there’s a bonus section, sharing the biggest lessons that have been learned as a business owner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what they have to say\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understand your finances<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start networking<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t try to do it all<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be yourself<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stay focused on the main thing<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grow your network<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understand how much you charge<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Save time by automating tasks<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn from others<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be prepared<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bonus section: What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned as a business owner?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final thoughts<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Download your free guide, 7 ways to take control of your business, and take steps now to master your business admin <\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Understand your finances<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Alison Parsons, Sage development manager at Albert Goodman LLP<\/a>:<\/strong> \u2018\u2019Make sure you know exactly where you stand financially at any point. You have to know your starting point, in order to plan a successful route to where you want to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKnowing where you are at present will allow you make the most of any opportunities which come your way, but also spot when you need to take timely positive action or seek advice to avoid getting into serious financial difficulties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCloud accounting<\/a> is great for this, taking the stress and a lot of the time out of financial record-keeping.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start networking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Antonia Chitty, founder of Family Friendly Working<\/a>:<\/strong> \u201cThe best bit of advice I have had is to start networking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have met a fabulous selection of business women, and lots of freelancers who have been able to work with me as we both grew our businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t try to do it all<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Amanda Webb, founder of Spiderworking<\/a>:<\/strong> \u201cFocus. I fell into one of the pitfalls that many businesses fall into.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was doing a bit of everything but not telling anyone what it was that I actually did. That meant I did a bit of social advertising, a bit of content creation, a bit of video editing, a bit of training and a bit of consultation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a bit random and although it was bringing in a good income, I was working all hours and didn\u2019t really have a chance to focus on anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was during a training session that I got the advice. Focus on one product, package it and name it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt took me a while to develop the product but it\u2019s been the focus of my marketing ever since and although I still do two other things (and they are now packaged too), it\u2019s been much easier to focus on selling that one thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI now have more time off, I finish work earlier and my income has increased.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stay focused on the main thing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Joanna Booth, founder and managing director of Social Media Makes Sense<\/a>: <\/strong>\u201cThe main thing, is to keep the main thing, the main thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe more you rely on this, the more focused your business and mind becomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis little mantra has saved me endless hours of distraction and helped me make hard decisions. It\u2019s also how I pivoted my business to go completely niche.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnce I started focusing on one key market, my business doubled \u2013 even though I had to turn away work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Download your free guide, 7 ways to take control of your business, and take steps now to master your business admin <\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Be yourself<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Janice B Gordon, founder of Scale Your Sales<\/a>:<\/strong> \u201cOscar Wilde is said to have quoted: \u2018Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is essential in business otherwise your customer cannot distinguish you from other similar businesses. The more me I am in my business, the more my customer will engage with me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grow your network<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jennifer Stirrup, CEO and founder of Data Relish<\/a>:<\/strong> \u201cThe best advice I\u2019ve had, and can offer others, is to use your soft skills to increase your reach as a business owner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need to have a wide, broad network of shallow contacts as well as a small network of deep, close contacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the best way to grow your network? Offer to help others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhether that\u2019s on LinkedIn, Facebook, or at virtual events such as the local Chamber of Commerce, you\u2019ll increase your network and gain satisfaction from helping others as you grow. You\u2019ll learn something as well. Lift as you climb!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understand how much you charge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jenny Garrett, founder of Jenny Garrett Global<\/a>: <\/strong>\u201cThe best piece of business advice that I received when starting out was to really understand how much I charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a company that provides a service, it\u2019s not possible to provide chargeable work 100% of my time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMore likely that around a third of my time is spent on chargeable work and the rest on business development and administrative work, so a third of my work needed to provide a 100% of my salary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was turning point for me to understand this and it helped me create a more sustainable business model.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Save time by automating tasks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Noreen Cesareo, founder of Market Accents<\/a>:<\/strong> \u201cDuring my start-up years, a mentor advised: \u2018Focus on your key skills and core offering and don\u2019t waste valuable energy and time on what can easily be done with software and automated tools. Similarly, buy in services that make your life easier.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe thinking matched my own. So I did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI went virtual before it was a trend. I invested in software and then cloud, and used automated tools<\/a> whenever possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have worked abroad and also on client-side, engaging with my team and international partners online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday I run a business which is #virtual and #digital and they have never been an issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn from others<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Stella Holman, founder of The Connector Int Online:<\/strong> \u201cI have regularly attended networking events<\/a> since that have been offline at various national locations and also internationally. I have networked with other people who also offer similar services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis was a great way to learn by listening to wisdom and guidance of others who have made mistakes and learn ways of correcting them, also to get some new ideas and discuss new ideas with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBuild advocacy when others are confident that you are the real deal. I agreed and continued with the ethos of open, random and supportive. Which I got by communicating and sharing articles via Twitter and joining in with various conversations on Twitter and used the #hasthtag #UKBusinessLunch where I hosted a lunchtime chat with others over a period of three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis then migrated on to my own hashtag #theconnectorint and weekly hashtag #EngagORS chat organised by a business connection, which encouraged others who are interested to mix social and business networking online.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be prepared<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Alina Cincan, managing director of Inbox Translation<\/a>:<\/strong> \u201cNot exactly what Miguel de Cervantes had in mind (in fact, I am sure he was not thinking of business, at least not in the traditional sense) when he wrote: \u2018The man who is prepared has his battle half fought.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut it is good advice nonetheless, and it can be applied to basically anything in life. I have applied it in my business, and it helped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo be more specific, in order to prepare for the unknown that Brexit<\/a> was going to be, I set up a second business in my native country (in the European Union), in addition to my UK one, so as to have as little interruption as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTime will tell if it has made my business prosper, but what it did was give me some peace of mind, which in turn allowed me to focus on my business instead of worrying incessantly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bonus section: What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned as a business owner?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

“Let tech take over the hard tasks”<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Noreen Cesareo, founder of Market Accents<\/a>:<\/strong> \u201cAs a small business owner, and a woman entrepreneur, the biggest lessons learnt were to let the technology take over the hard tasks, and to use it to its maximum advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are many tools out there that can make business life simple \u2013 and once mastered, they are skills for life. It\u2019s worth being digital and training staff to understand the benefits and be digital too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have also found that having a strong network to support me can help me to focus on the business and develop it for growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe all need a supporting community \u2013 and once you have found one, be active and the rewards will be long-lasting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the time of the pandemic, we also learnt the value of communicating digitally and this has been another boost to myself as a woman entrepreneur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt brought us in touch with a wider global community, supporting, working and breaking the bias together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Don’t undersell yourself”<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Antonia Chitty, founder of Family Friendly Working<\/a>:<\/strong> \u201cMy biggest lesson as a female business owner is not to undersell myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I started my PR agency, I really underpriced what I offered and I\u2019ve seen other women do this too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It took a helpful comment from someone else in the industry to show me I was worth more than I thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Now my advice is always aim high.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere’s no one right way of doing things”<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Grace Marshall, head coach and chief encourager at Grace Marshall Coaching and Training<\/a>: <\/strong>\u201cYour business evolves as you grow and learn about yourself, and the best lessons are often in when things don\u2019t work out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn fact, I write about that in my book, Struggle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re not sure what you want, when all you have is an inkling of an idea or a general direction, conjuring up some imagined fantasy is hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd sometimes what we end up with is a stereotypical caricature of success, based on what other people have said over the years, of what a good job, or a good life, or a good client looks like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn truth, my personal definition of success has grown incrementally over the years, with each decision, each project, and each client.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen something chimes well, I grow a little bolder and shine a little brighter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut when something jars, that sharpens my clarity like nothing else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when my understanding grows exponentially.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Articulate how your add value”<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Jenny Garrett, founder of Jenny Garrett Global<\/a>: <\/strong>\u201cMy biggest lesson that I learned as a business owner is to articulate how you add value to clients\/customers, so they know what the service you offer is truly worth.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Inspirational stuff from a group of business owners who are truly bossing it. They\u2019ve learnt a lot on their business journeys and are putting the advice they\u2019ve received into good practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So back to the original question: What\u2019s the best advice you\u2019ve used in your business?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feel free to share your answers in the comments below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor’s notes: This article was first published in March 2021 and has been updated for relevance.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

7 ways to take control of your business<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Want to know how you can boss it at your business? Read this guide for top tips to help you master your business admin and truly take control.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDownload your free guide<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Subscribe to the Sage Advice newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Join 1.5 million subscribers and get the best business admin strategies and tactics, as well as actionable advice to help your company thrive, in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSubscribe now<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A group of successful business owners share the best advice they’ve received. Discover what they have to say and get truly inspired.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":249,"featured_media":8289,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[164],"tags":[107,108,130],"business_type":[5],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[232],"imagine_tag":[178,230,234],"coauthors":[435],"class_list":["post-7158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people-leadership","tag-business-finances","tag-business-support","tag-grow-business","business_type-small-business"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-ie","author_name":"Courtney Cairns","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1320085895.jpg","imagine_tags":{"178":"Accounting software","230":"Small business","234":"Start-up business"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice Ireland","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/249"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7158\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/8289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7158"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=7158"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=7158"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=7158"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=7158"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=7158"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=7158"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=7158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}