One question asked me to recall the best advice I was given when I started out as an entrepreneur. However, as regular readers will know, I didn’t start out as an entrepreneur; I started as a writer.
First I wrote for a general newsweekly in Edmonton; later I became a business writer with the Financial Times of Canada. That job in particular introduced me to cool young entrepreneurs in technology and retail (whom my editors NEVER wanted me to write about). So that in turn led me to PROFIT, The Magazine for Canadian Entrepreneurs – the publication that turned me into a modest intra/entrepreneur and a national champion of entrepreneurs.
I don't often get the chance to reflect on how my career developed
– or to credit the people who guided me along the way. So I welcomed the question
from You Inc., and enjoyed answering it in a way that weaves my journalistic
and entrepreneurial threads together.
Here’s my response to: What was the best piece of advice you were given when starting out as an entrepreneur?
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| Classic Ted Byfield |
My first editor, Ted Byfield at Alberta Report, told me to verify everything I thought I knew – which is excellent advice for entrepreneurs.
And my next editor, David Tafler at the Financial Times of Canada, taught us all to answer the question: “Why is this here?” Which is to say, when you write a story (or do anything new and creative), you must very clearly indicate what the work is about, what purpose it serves, and why it really matters to its intended audience. New products and services have to over-communicate."
You can read the rest of the interview here: https://youinc.com/content/leadership/rick-spence-to-entrepreneurs-dont-try-to-do-it-alone
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