By Shiv Nanda
Making mistakes and learning from them is a part of every business owner’s journey, but it’s always a good idea to gather the right knowledge that will help you plan ahead and avoid all common issues in the first place. Most businesses fail only due to lack of preplanning and adequate knowledge. But, you can avoid the mistakes made by others and directly take the road to success.
If you’re about to launch your own business or dream of doing something on your own, you need to read this post to learn what entrepreneur mistakes to avoid in order to prevent failure.
1. Disregarding Business Advice from the Experienced
Experienced business people who have grown their start-up into a successful business may not have the latest technical knowledge, but their business acumen is neither outdated nor irrelevant. So never make the mistake of disregarding their advice as it will give you valuable insights into what does and does not resonate with people and you can strategize your business ideas accordingly.
2. Not Spending Enough Time Getting to Know Your Niche
Know your industry inside-out and this includes your competitors. Learn from people who’ve been in the business and are thriving. Assuming that you know enough simply because you have a business degree or have read relevant books is a big mistake.
Make sure you get a job in the field you like or work for someone first and learn what it actually takes to survive the fierce competition in the market and succeed. Once you’ve done your due diligence, you would be better prepared to start your own business and create a competitive edge.
3. Failing to Make the Right Hiring Decisions
Any company is only as good or bad as its employees. Being the founder of a new business, you may have a tight budget and this may tempt you to skimp on the cost of your initial team. But, even if you are able to cut costs using this strategy now, you will end up paying much more down the road while also putting your bussing at the risk of failure.
4. Losing Focus on Sales and Marketing
You may be offering the best product available on the market but if your target audience is unaware of your offering, you practically don’t exist for your customers. So if you want to make profits, prioritize sales and invest in marketing. This can include social media marketing, traditional marketing, content marketing, paid advertising, and PR.
5. Starting without a Solid Financial Plan
Raising money for a new business is difficult. So if you don’t want to borrow from friends or family and don’t want to put your assets at risk, you can consider applying for a collateral-free line of credit that can be used as business loan. Using a personal line of credit for business will keep your business covered against unexpected bumps so you remain better prepared for the success that lies ahead.
Unlike a personal loan, where you pay interest on the entire amount disbursed to you from day 1, a personal line of credit has a no-usage; no interest policy where you are only charged interest on the amount you use. It allows you more repayment flexibility which is very important in the early stages to help new entrepreneurs keep up with their finances so their small business stays up and running.
6. Not Waiting for the Best Time to Start the Business
One of the biggest mistakes any new entrepreneur can make is mistiming his venture. It is very important to assess the time of starting a new business and also taking the time to determine if your financial and social resources and skill set will meet consumer demands. Ideally, it is best to start a new business part-time, bootstrap as and when possible and run the venture with what works.
7. Lacking a Customer-Centric Approach
Before creating any product or service, determine your business model with a customer-first mentality. Never make the mistake of putting your offering first and customer last. Happy and satisfied customers will bring you repeat business and boost your revenue.
