We love rebels and people who challenge the status quo, conventional wisdom and mainstream narratives and so we asked some really bright folks to tell us about one piece of conventional advice they disagree with.

Amber Cronin | Owner at The Cupcake Gypsies

I disagree with the idea that everyone is your competition. I believe each business, creator, or human has something unique to offer. And on top of that I believe that not every person is your ideal customer. Since we live in the age of there is something for everyone finding your niche is key. Making sure you are being specific about what your ideal client looks like and to not be so broad in your marketing. I’m not afraid to alienate specific groups of people to reach that client either! Competition is what you make it and for me I think we all create a community and should see our differences as strengths. Read more>>

Anthony Arvin | Author, Artist and Entrepreneur

I disagree with the notion that you have to get a collage degree in order to be successful. In most fields, a degree will help you get your first job or two, but after that point, prospective employers are interested in your skills, your work ethic, and your savvy. Determine if you are going to be in a field that will require that expensive degree before going six figures into debt for something that may provides little return on investment. Whether you go to college or not, it is to your benefit to take courses which will help you further your career. All entrepreneurs need to understand bookkeeping. They may not do their own bookkeeping, but understanding the basics is imperative to being successful as an entrepreneur. Read more>>

Thaddeus Haas | Acupuncturist and Herbalist

I don’t honestly know how conventional the following advice is, but I have been told over and over again throughout my life by a whole host of different people in an assortment of situations what boils down to some version of “Just wait and you’ll see,” or “Just wait, you’ll learn x, y, or z.” Inevitably this advice comes from someone in a position of actual, or supposed authority and more often than not unsolicited. Both of these factors complicate the advice. And not only because I have a natural tendency towards questioning authority, which I do, but because such notions say so much more about the individual “offering” the advice and their experience than any truth about the world or my experience of it. As Cat Stevens reminds us, “It’s them they know, not me.” My wholesale rejection of these moments though is not simply rooted in defiance. Read more>>

Ashleigh Carter | Head Brewer and Co-Owner

In the food/beverage world there are a lot of people that believe you can’t just make what you want to; you have to make what the customers want even if you don’t like it. There is this idea out there that you have to please a large swath of customers in order to be successful. In my industry (brewing beer) there is the convention out there that you ‘have to’ have an IPA, over 15 styles on draft, and a constantly rotating list to keep customers engaged. I make one style of beer (Lager) and never have more than 5/6 beers on tap at any one time. This notion that you have to please everyone makes for a bland and uninspired business; one that you have likely come across a hundred times in dozens of different places. Read more>>