Being an entrepreneur is never easy – there are a lot of things to think, to plan and to do, all the time. There is no guarantee that your business is going to succeed, but there are certainly some things you can do and other that you shouldn’t do to increase your chances to achieve success.
So here are 5 common mistakes that you should avoid as you start a business:
1. Starting without a plan
Some rookie entrepreneurs are so exited with the idea of starting their first business that forget to plan what exactly they need to do. It’s understandable – they want to roll up their sleeves and start the action, but planning is actually an important first step. You should start planning with the basics – as soon as you begin to ask yourself how to start a business you could already develop a roadmap, write down what are your goals, how to you want to achieve them, how much you need to make it and create a strategy for that.
2. Doing it all yourself
Being an entrepreneur doesn’t mean that you must know everything about running a business. Of course, you should know a lot about your business, your market, your product and your competitors, but that’s ok asking for help for other subjects. So it would be a great idea to make sure that you can count on a reliable team to help you grow your company. An accountant, a bookkeeper, an attorney and even marketing specialists would be a good fit to start your squad. You don’t need to hire them as employees – you can start only with consultants, but make sure these professionals are experienced and you can trust them.
3. Not planning about money
Starting a business takes money. And you, as the company owner, will have to plan for that – and most probably: you will have to put some money on your endeavor. So, don’t forget to plan ahead – how much do you need and how are you going to get the money? Also, it’s always a bad idea to compromise other person’s retirement funds or savings account.
4. Ignoring your market
At the point you decide to start a business, you probably have a good reason for that. Most entrepreneurs have a business because they are passionate about an industry, service or product – and that’s great. One thing to remember is that, besides having lots of interest or expertise on something, it’s necessary to understand your market. Are you able to predict how many units of your product can be sold or how many people would pay for it? You should know if your product or service is a good fit for your audience before starting your company – otherwise, you may fail. A good start is to watch your competitors and make researches and surveys.
5. Starting too big
Of course, you dream big – and you should. But generally, it is not a good idea to plan only for success. You don’t need to hire 20 employees in the first week or rent a big space to be your headquarters. Instead, you can count on consultants, freelancers or maybe part-time professionals. Regarding having some place to work at, co-workings are great options since you don’t need to spend much of your budget – just lease enough space and you will be good to go.
So, are you ready to start a business?
