Early this week I asked readers to share the worst business advice they ever received for a chance to win a desktop shredder from Staples. My thought was shredding bad advice.

Several themes emerged as bad advice that is consistently handed out

• Don’t start a business at all
• Don’t start a business until you can replace your income
• Don’t narrow your focus to a market niche
• You’re a woman so you can’t . . .
• Borrow money from family instead of a bank

All of the above were mentioned in one way or another several times, but our two winners are . . .

In an effort to differentiate PawPosse ignored advice and carved out a community in a niche no one else seemed to be targeting. This can be a very strong play in the global enabled online world we live in if you can enable people with shared ideas to come together.

Dan at Downtown Printwear was told that he couldn’t make any money using the Internet and that he had to meet people face to face. While I’m sure some of his face to face meeting led to his success, I’m glad he ignored this advice and integrated a total web presence.

Go back and read through the comments if you want some interesting and sometimes amusing reading.