Best practices are defined as procedures that are accepted or prescribed in an industry as being the best or most effective. These are what everyone else is doing. You have to ask yourself; did you get into business to do what everyone else is doing? Do you want to follow the crowd? Do you want to be just another cog in the wheel of the economy? If the answer is yes, then great, be like everyone else, but if the answer is NO, then awesome, pave your own way.
If you are going to follow best practices then don’t expect to revolutionize the market. You will never be a Henry Ford and create an assembly line, Bill Gates and make a personal computer on every desk, or Steve Jobs and create an I-phone. Best practices are more like the definition of insanity – doing the same thing and expecting different results. The mattress industry is the best example of this. Mattress stores sell the same brands and are repeatedly popping up and going out of business. They are in a race to the bottom on price and undercut all profits for each other in hopes to get ahead. It is hard to get ahead when everyone is racing to the bottom.
We refuse to follow Best Practices since every business and owner is different. We all have different reasons to start a business and thus have a different definition of success. Whether it is to become revolutionary, visionary, or just create a small “nest egg” the choice is yours. Best Practices may not be best for you and your situation. It is far better to pave your own way than to follow the masses. Rather than following others ask yourself questions. What are your pain points? Where is the greatest cost? Where is the greatest revenue? What do I want out of this endeavor? By finding out what is causing problems and fixing those issues you are putting yourself in a far better position to succeed than blindly following others because that is how they do it.
Finding out what you want is the best way to build and grow a great company. If you want to be a visionary in an industry then you have to do things different. If you want to revolutionize and industry you have to do things different. If you want to design your best life you cannot follow Best Practices of someone else’s life. You have to go your own way and create your own path. Be original and let others copy off of you. One day your practices might become another’s Best Practices.
Conclusion:
As you design, build, and grow your business you have to make it work for you. You didn’t start a business to do what others are doing or you would find a job with another company. So why would you turn around and do the same thing everyone is doing once you start out? It will take trial and error at times. It may be hard at times but remember that the easy road leads to nowhere worth going. So: dream, plan, and execute.