Interview and Photography by Nadine Wilmanns
What piece of advice has made a difference for your business?
Over the past three months, I’ve been asking people in my network a question: What is one piece of advice that has made a significant difference in your business life?
I asked architects, coaches, designers, consultants, mortgage brokers. People who have been building things for years.
As a photographer and videographer, I love advice in all its forms — books, conversations, a podcast playing in my headphones while travelling to a photo shoot. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to build my photography business without some of the things I’ve heard along the way. So, when I started asking people in my network this one question, I was genuinely curious what would come back.
No one-size -fits-all
What I didn’t expect was what happened about three or four conversations – and excellent coffees – in: I started noticing something quite extraordinary: Not one single answer was the same. And after three months of asking there were still no doubles. The replies weren`t even similar. How remarkable.
It shows, there really is no one-size-fits-all piece of wisdom. What lands as groundbreaking and memorable is deeply personal — and that’s exactly what makes these answers worth reading.
Here is what eleven people in my network said.
"Filter out what works for you."
Chris Boyle, London
Chris Boyle, Architect — Archanaeum
Shortly after setting up his company, Chris received a great piece of advice from a developer who’d been in the industry long before him: “You’re going to get a lot of conflicting advice — people telling you what to do and what not to do. Don’t listen to everyone, or you’ll end up in sensory overload. Filter out what works for you. Don’t rely blindly on advice from others.”
For anyone early in business, this might be the most important thing on this list. The noise is real. Filtering is a skill.
"Think like a bouncer."
Jonathan Hughes, London
Jonathan Hughes, Creative Strategist & Copywriter — Wordzup
Creative Strategist Jonathan uses an unexpected metaphor for how he screens potential clients: “Think like a bouncer in front of a club. Are they a good fit? Do they have a budget? Will the work be exciting? Ask questions before you let anyone in.”
He also guards his creative hours with the same discipline — inspired by Roald Dahl’s garden hut routine. Roald Dahl, author of many famous children’s stories like “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, is said to have had a strict working routine in his garden hut: He worked there – away from any distractions for two hours every morning and then again for two hours in the afternoon. Jonathan explains: “I`m gravitating to that: Finding a good space for focused solving of a creative challenge and use pen and paper as much as I can.”
"Don't shy away from what makes you different."
Ling Ling Phung, London
Ling Ling Phung, Executive Coach & Personal Transformation Specialist — Two Lings
As a personal transformation specialist, Ling Ling’s advice is very much related to her work – after all, she is living what she is teaching and the personal stories she shares about herself in her newsletters and Social Media Posts come from the same growth she guides her clients through. One significant piece of advice that has made a difference for her is this: “I play myself out to the fullest, and I don’t shy away from what may be weird about me. All aspects of me are part of me and there is no one else like me”, she says. “When you stay true to yourself and allow your full self, your whole humanness, to be present in a situation, something magical happens: attraction and coherence.”
"Hire slow. Fire fast."
Malu Romancini, photographed in London
Malu Romancini, Entrepreneur, Lawyer & Business Mentor
In Brazil, Malu has built several successful companies, and while she was visiting London, I took the opportunity to ask her my question. She has quite some experience building teams in her business ventures in Brazil. “It is not easy”, she admits. One piece of advice that has made a difference for the better is this: “Hire slow and fire fast. If you notice that someone is not a right fit, you need to act fast. One person with a bad attitude can contaminate the entire team, the attitude will spread before you know it. You must cut a negative work attitude and bad morals from the root, and you must do it fast.”
"Know your strengths — and ask for help with the rest."
Laura Paget, London
Laura Paget, HR Specialist & Founder — Novature Solutions
As an HR Consultant, Laura`s advice is simple yet powerful – because we often have the tendency to go against it, trying to do things by ourselves that we would better outsource – and consequently DIY our business. “Know your weaknesses and ask for help”, Laura says. “Do less of what you’re not good at, not more of everything. You have a specialism. Lean into it. Bring in advice and support for the rest.” One great piece of advice she got from her father: “Look at the brake lights two cars ahead – anticipate, don`t just react.” She’s carried that instinct into how she runs her business.
"Say yes - then figure it out."
Deyhan Hadzhev, London
Deyhan Hadzhev, Graphic Designer
Graphic Designer Deyhan’s guiding principle comes from master-entrepreneur Richard Branson himself: “I don’t recall receiving any specific advice that would have helped me with my business, apart from a thought from Richard Branson in his first autobiography, ‘Losing My Virginity’,” Deyhan explains. “The quote that has stayed with me is this: ‘If someone offers you an incredible opportunity, but you’re not sure you can do it, say yes — and then learn how to do it.’ This quote makes me braver in my own business decisions.”
"Keep the sales engine running."
Ashley Butler, London
Ashley Butler, Digital Consultant — Xanda Digital Media
“The best career advice I was ever given was to solve the real problem, not the one you`re presented with”, says Ashley. Before he worked in digital media, he was an estate agent, so he had years of refining his people skills and knows what he is talking about. People often arrive with an assignment already formed in their minds, but simply following their brief won’t always lead anywhere near the outcome they actually need. The real problem is often somewhere else entirely. As professionals, he argues, we’re the ones who need to locate it. “That advice shaped how I approach consultancy”, Ashley explains. “It pushed me to ask deeper questions, challenge assumptions, and focus on outcomes rather than outputs.”
"Solve the real problem.”
Daniel Halley, London
Daniel Halley, Paid Media Strategist — Pretzel Marketing
As someone who is an expert in building high-performing Google Ads, Daniel often encounters clients who want a quick fix to fuel their sales. While he can help with that, he at the same time knows how valuable it is, to not even need such a quick fix. But instead, gradually but consistently build an individual and reliable sales engine that can be continuously fuelled. “That can take different forms — from referrals to organic search to cold calling”, Daniel explains. “A network can be part of a sales engine that you can use all the time consistently – having the engine on all the time. Once you`ve nailed that, someone else can do that for you. It futureproofs yourself. It also forces you to think about who you are as a business. The discipline of selling forces clarity about how to position yourself.”
"Stop waiting to speak. Actually listen."
Anna Easton, London
Anna Easton, Business Coach — Action Coach
Outside a pub in the early 2000s, Anna was standing with her brother, who was telling her something. “I could feel myself nodding, waiting to speak”, she remembers. “All of a sudden, my brother said: ‘Stop waiting to speak Anna! Listen with your ears’.” This rebuke has stayed with her. “From that moment on, that is what I have done in any conversation”, Anna says. ”I became quite good at this. Later, at a Christmas Party of the company I worked with, someone told me: ‘You are a very keen listener’. To me, that was the best compliment, and I thought that I could do something with that. That`s why I became a coach.”
"Knowledge alone is nothing."
Thomas Lotter, Großbettlingen
Thomas Lotter, Independent Mortgage Broker – Lotter Baufinanz
Business mindset enthusiast Thomas offers two pieces of advice that go hand in hand: One is “Keep learning and growing: read books, listen to podcasts and audiobooks, soak it all up, and use your time wisely. That’s what has carried me this far.” But the second part is what can easily be forgotten: “They say knowledge is power, but that is completely wrong. Only applied knowledge holds power. I mean, you know how to get a six-pack, but it’s the doing that counts. You need the courage to trust in what you know and take action.”
"You can find a way. Never give up."
Mark Robson, London
Mark Robson, Presentation Designer – Six Miles High
To close this series, here is a piece of advice for anyone navigating a moment of overwhelm– that most of us are all too familiar with at times. “A few years ago, while working at Apple, an HR leader was telling us about a project he’d been working on”, Mark says. “He told us that he thought he was maxed out, that he couldn’t do any more, and then he found a second wind. At the time, we all kind of found it quite funny — HR kind of telling us forget the work-life balance, just work harder! But since running my own business, I kind of see what he meant: You can do it. No matter what it is. You can find a way. Never give up!“
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