Plenty of advice, little of it used

A woman in Sharjah sews clothes for small children, and this month she decided to sell them online.

She asked everyone. Her sister, two friends who already sell from their phones, a cousin who once ran a shop, a stranger in a group for home sellers. By the end of the week she had more advice than stock.

Most of it was decent. Start with fewer pieces. Photograph them in daylight. Answer every message the same day. Do not cut the price to win the first order.

She will probably ignore most of it, and not out of laziness.

Some of it she cannot judge. Four voices said four different things, and when you cannot tell which one is right, the easiest move is to trust none of them.

Some of it she dismissed too quickly. The advice was fine for an ordinary seller, she decided, and her clothes are not ordinary. Every one of us is the exception in our own head. Sensible advice also tends to be cautious, and she did not start this to be cautious.

And some of it she never really wanted. What she was looking for, under the questions, was someone to tell her that her instinct was right and that it would work. That is reassurance, and reassurance wears off by the next morning, so she will go looking for more.

None of this is a lack of information. There has never been more of it, free, in every group and every feed.

What is scarce is the willingness to pick the one piece that fits, and then actually do it.