What makes a business? An idea and a concept. Then again what makes a successful business different from a business that is staggering to survive? It is the determination and skill of the business person who runs the show.
True to the facts and figures that come in each year, more and more people are turning to walk the road of entrepreneurship to master the art of running a successful business. As much as most of us enjoy listening to success stories that talk about business stalwarts who are making a name for themselves in the field of business and entrepreneurship, there are many of those people as well who sadly fail and fall flat on their face.
When every business that we see today was at one point of time just a concept and an idea, why does it happen that one business does so well and the other doesn’t see the light of the day? The problem is not the idea or the concept, the problem lies in the mistakes that most first time entrepreneurs make while handling their businesses.
What we all hear are the success stories, but what we fail to hear is the stories failure. It is good to read about the success stories, however, for future business people it is important to know the reasons why businesses fail, and this is why it is equally important for them to know the reasons why this happens so that they don’t repeat the same mistakes.
Here, we highlight a few of the most commonly made mistakes that first-time founders make while on their journey to establish their business ventures.
1. Ignoring the Risk
While thinking about starting a business it is very important to take tabs of the current market trends. As much as people would like to ignore and still go ahead with their business venture, the market scenario plays a vital role in how far your business will go.
With the markets fluctuating constantly and the prices of almost everything increasing daily, it becomes very important for an entrepreneur to keep in mind the market trend and not only its infrastructure or IT solutions. After all, if a business fails it won’t be because of a bad infrastructure or the technology component, but because of the market flux which you refused to pay attention to.
2. Doing Business Just for the Heck of It
There are some people who are business positive and are meant for the world of running a successful business. They are calculative and can plan and run a business keeping all the factors in mind.
However, if you are someone who enters the field of business only because your friend also did so, it is bound to happen that sooner or later your business will run into pitch darkness. If you have the business acumen and aptitude then it is safe to tread the road to entrepreneurship, or else it is best to stick to what you are actually good at. After all, if everyone creates businesses who will work for them?
3. Ignoring Feedback
Contrary to what most people say about free advice and feedback, it is something that shouldn’t be ignored all the time. If your financial officers or capitalists are giving you some warning or suggestions to keep in mind while chalking out your business strategies, it will be foolish to ignore them and trend on blindly, because once you do, you will surely fall.
4. Entering the Race Too Quickly
One of the biggest mistakes most business people make is to go too fast. It is good to be ambitious and plan things, but as it is said it is better to take baby steps one at a time than going straight to Z without covering the A, B and Cs of running a business.
Contrary to what most young business people feel, slow and steady will help you win this race, but if you try to run even before you learn how to walk you are bound to fail undoubtedly.
5. Forming the Wrong Team
As important a leader or the business founder is in any company, it is equally important to have in place a team of people who can help you by taking up the responsibilities and tasks that are assigned to them. After all the founder and creator has other things to take care of and that will be possible only when they are able to entrust to a team of capable people work that needs to get done in time. A successful business happens because of their human assets and not just the leadership team.
6. Concentrating Too Much on Minor Details
It is important as a leader and business owner to know what your team is doing and ask for regular updates. However, there is a thin line between being authoritative and that of being a dictator who interferes too much in the way their team wants to work. Once you have given a task to your management team, leave it to them to get it done. Don’t keep interfering and give them faith. The more faith and trust you give them, the more they will show ownership.
7. Not focusing on ROI and Sales
You have a good idea and an amazing product/service. And once you get into the business of promoting the same thing you concentrate on everything else but the return on investment and sales.
Well, how will your business survive if you don’t push for the sale of your product/ service? Every sale is the food to keep your business going and this is where maximum first-time business people fail. They concentrate on almost everything but calculating their sales and profits.
8. Having Zero Customer Engagement
For any business, the two most important factors are its internal customers (employees) and external customers (audience and buyers). It is very important for every business to regularly interact with both their customers and engage with them. These regular interactions will give you an idea of how well you are doing, and if at all there are any changes that need to be made.
Most people, who refuse to pay heed to what their customers say, fail miserably and immediately fall. After all, as a business, you need the customers, but as a customer, there are plenty of other options which they can go to.
It is very easy to plan and invest in a business but it takes a lot to stand different from the crowd of businesses that are operating and make a difference. If you are thinking of capitalizing on your future business make sure you keep these mistakes in sight so that you don’t make the same mistake and then fail.
Featured photo credit: Depositphotos
