Great post, and great comment by Abby.. I’d like to highlight her second point…. “does the person who is teaching me have solid “I’ve done it before and it worked” experience”.

I’ll be brief (not my norm!) and make a few quick points on how to select consultants to assist you with thinking about your business.
- Do they have proven experience (per above) relevant to your business needs ?
- Will they listen and advise based upon what you tell them ? It is your business, you don’t need someone who won’t tailor their thinking and advice based upon your unique situation and needs.
- Are they creative in their thinking ? This is important for any business, but particularly for a creative industry business !
- Are they “do-ers” or just talkers ? You want someone who doesn’t just inspire and inform, but also helps you make it happen.. ideas are nothing without execution.

With that said, my rules of thumb are always this..

1. can I learn something that I don’t already know?
2. does the person who is teaching me have solid “I’ve-done-it-before-and it-worked” experience to back it up?
3. would my nerdy but cute husband Tait find it interesting?

If the answer is yes to all three, I’m all over it. Otherwise, I’m out. And when all is said and done, I try to remember that even the smartest of smarty pants are wrong sometimes. Like you said Sean, it’s up to ME to figure out what’s best for my business.

There are as many paths to success as there are travelers. From my own experience it has sometimes been difficult to be make my own trail when others are offering perceived shortcuts. Learning to trust my inner voice is one of the most important things I’ve done for my business.

Thanks for this reminder to trust our instincts and remain true to our own journeys.