The entrepreneurs leading 8 of the fastest-growing new retailers in the world share their best business advice

Samuella Tofinga for Shopify

The winners of the Shopify Build a Bigger Business contest gathered at the Namale resort in Fiji to learn from mentors like Tony Robbins and Tim Ferriss. They're posing here with Namale staff.

• The winners of Shopify's Build a Bigger Business competition are eight of the fastest growing online retailers in the world.
• They received a week of mentorship from coaches like Tony Robbins and Tim Ferriss at Robbins' resort in Fiji.
• Their best advice is centered on increased self-awareness and is universally applicable.

Starting and growing a business can be a lonely, unstable journey. Without the support of both mentors who have already been through it, as well as fellow entrepreneurs still in the trenches, achieving sustained scaled growth can seem impossible.

It's why Shopify rewarded winners of its first Build a Bigger Business Competition with a week of high-level mentorship from performance coach Tony Robbins, Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia, author and podcast host Tim Ferriss, and author and entrepreneur Marie Forleo at Robbins' Namale resort in Fiji.

To enter, applicants had to have a business that sold products through Shopify's ecommerce platform and had more than $1 million in annual sales. Applicants' growth was measured between March and July this year. The top eight winners had drastic growth and profitability.

Business Insider went to Fiji and interviewed the winners toward the end of the trip. We asked them to share a piece of advice or insight that changed the way they thought about their business, and their answers form a collection of knowledge that applies not only to entrepreneurs but anyone developing their career.