Starting a business is a daunting yet incredibly exciting experience. They say that the birth of a new business begins with the launch. We believe it starts earlier than that. A new business is conceived with the first spark of its idea.
Prevention Is Better Than Cure
We also understand how exciting this moment is, and how easy for new entrepreneurs to overlook potential issues because of the rush. This is also the reason why a lot of startups fail in their first year, and more so in the first five years.
In this article, we seek to point out what the most common mistakes are; those that are frequently overlooked from the time of the conception of the idea all the way to the running of the actual business. Let’s get started.
Research and Find Your Dream Job
The first common mistake that new entrepreneurs commit is saying yes to an idea because of its potential profit. It’s a good motivation. However, it won’t be enough to sail your business through the tough times.
Instead, we recommend finding what you are passionate about. After all, we aim for success and longevity and not a get-rich-quick scheme. Don’t have any ideas right now? The internet offers millions of ideas and inspiration. You can start by looking into online business opportunities first, then go from there.
The Fear of Failure
Suppose that you have already found what you are passionate about. The next common mistake is that crippling fear of failure. The sad thing about this mistake is that it dooms your idea to its end even before giving it a chance to become a reality.
Fortunately, there is a solution to overcome this. The bad news is, this solution is also related to the next mistake that we’re going to point out.
The Lack of Planning
That’s right. Sufficient planning can help you overcome your fear of failure.
First, it reassures you that everything will turn out well.
Second, if through your research you have found out that it won’t turn out well, it gives you a chance to fix things before these problems arise.
Finally, good planning also includes risk management that sets a solid protocol that can allow your business to survive even during the worst of times and amidst unexpected scenarios.
Misreading Your Intuition
Even the best-laid plans can fail. When that happens, it might be a good time to put your intuition to the test. Be careful, though.
Some entrepreneurs choose to ignore their hunches that happen to be right.
On the other side of the spectrum, some entrepreneurs choose to rely solely on their intuition ignoring good counsel and proper plans.
The trick instead is to find the balance between the two: having the discipline to follow plans but also having the courage to think outside the box and veer away from the well-trodden path when needed.
Listening to Other People
Speaking of ignoring good counsel, don’t take this as a suggestion to listen too much to other people’s opinions because that’s a common mistake too. There are three sides to this mistake.
First, optimistically speaking, most opinions will come from a loving place. It is human nature to fear the unknown, and much more if this “unknown” will potentially cost a loved one much money.
Second, some people just want to offer advice because they sincerely think they know the right answer, that it will apply to you, and (even if unsolicited) they strongly believe that their advice will help you out.
Finally, while we don’t really want to admit it, some people are just plain jealous of your success and want to pull you down.
The challenge is how to discern good advice from the bad.
Taking on the Challenges Alone
Finally, running a successful business requires a lot of courage and confidence. However, being a good businessman also means learning how to trust other people and knowing when you need help.
We understand that it can be quite difficult to hire a new employee, thinking that you can do all those tasks on your own and no one will do it better than you. While that may be right, it can also keep your business from reaching its full potential.
On the other hand, you also don’t want to expend too fast. Employee wages and benefits are not cheap.
An alternative that we can suggest is hiring services as you need them. There are freelancers of different skills and professions. The easiest way to find one is through an online job marketplace like Upwork and Fiverr. You can then secure a contract that pays per hour or per project. It will cost significantly less on your utilities and resources compared to hiring a full-time employee.
Final Words
These are not the only mistakes that you might stumble upon as a business owner. We can only hope that you’ll find these points helpful in preventing some of them from happening. Good luck!
George Relish is the head of the Digital Marketing Department at Quidable for almost 3 years. Before starting his work at Quidable, he helped a lot of entrepreneurs and startups to succeed through various marketing strategies and tactics. Previously, he partnered with CEOs and executives to grow their businesses, also build an audience and get more clients.
Photo courtesy Creative Commons
