We often find articles that explain how to achieve success in business , but there are very few that talk about the mistakes to avoid when starting your own business project .
Starting a new business or venture is always risky, and the chances of success are slim.
The investigations carried out on the subject show that more than 50% of small businesses fail during the first year and that the remaining 95% do not exceed five years.
What factors contribute to the failure of 95% of entrepreneurs and which to the success of the remaining 5% ? It is very likely that the 95% who fail make one or more of the following mistakes.
Read on to increase your chances of being in the top 5% that succeed.
12 Mistakes Every Entrepreneur Should Avoid
1. Not Defining The Market Niche
The first step to start a new venture is to know what your business is going to be, to whom you are going to try to make clients. Is there really a business opportunity in what you want to do or do you define your business solely by what you like or know how to do?
Before investing time and money you have to find a niche market. On the Internet, an ideal niche market is one in which there is a small but interesting group of individuals (niche market) with unsatisfied needs. Then we can satisfy them.
I recommend you review the differences between markets, niches and niche markets .
2. Quitting Too Soon
Many businesses fail because the entrepreneur thinks that simply by opening a business or setting up a website, the path to success is guaranteed. But they soon realize that the path is neither simple nor comfortable and so they “throw in the towel” and give up.
Starting a business is hard , it demands large doses of energy and effort, both mental and physical; it demands the appeal of all our abilities and tests our moral fiber. Realizing the dream of having your own company requires high doses of personal commitment.
Many people approach entrepreneurship with the main hope of getting rid of the boss, enjoying more flexible hours, etc.; but few realize from the outset that being their own boss and fighting to move the company forward implies, in most cases, working many more hours than before, even on weekends.
You have to stay and persevere until you get the business to work . Once achieved, most people consider it worth all the effort.
3. Lack Of A Strategic Plan
It is easy to be bitten by the “bug” of your own company, but it is difficult to draw a clear and distinct path that allows you to competitively position your company for the future.
This lack of a strategic plan causes most entrepreneurs to take any path that often leads to the failure of their businesses.
Develop a strategic plan to help you decide where you want to go with your company and how you are going to get there.
4. Marketing Mistakes
Marketing your product or service should be a priority. Marketing mistakes put your company at risk of heading towards failure. You have to find a way to get new prospects for your business and then convert those prospects into active customers.
Online, one of the easiest ways to generate leads is through a form on your website or blog to sign up for your newsletter.
Once you have the data of those people interested in your products or services, you can keep in touch, publish interesting notes, offers and promote new products as you have them.
To distribute the newsletter, segment your referral list, send promotions, the program that I recommend is Aweber , it is the one that uses this site to send its newsletter.
5. Lack Of Infrastructure
In the initial period after starting a business and the money begins to flow, most entrepreneurs naturally seek further growth and put more money into areas such as new markets and new products. Little to no money goes into organizational structure and back office support.
Therefore there is a lack of necessary information systems that provide the information and data needed to run day-to-day business operations and make decisions about current and future strategies.
No one notices until the small business posts huge losses or is on the brink of bankruptcy.
From the beginning, try to have the infrastructure in place, properly implement your human resources, delegate and focus on the big picture, appreciate and recognize the contribution of your employees, develop long-term plans and, finally, implement technology effectively.
6. Not Acting
If you do nothing, nothing will happen. Marketing must be implemented . Create an article about your product, make a call to a potential client or business partner, make a follow-up call (what happened to all those contacts you made last month at a conference?).
Take the right action, at the right time, and in the right order. This helps build momentum and momentum contributes to success.
7. Stay In The Comfort Zone
Initially, you will experience growing pains and the idea of returning to the comfort zone of being employed will be too tempting. Most entrepreneurs go back to where they feel comfortable.
To be successful, you have to extend your comfort zone .
If necessary, find a mentor or company coach who will push you in the right direction, as well as support and encourage you. Surround yourself with the kind of people who will motivate you to reach your goal of owning your own business.
8. Lack Of Humility
Many entrepreneurs believe that they know everything about business. This confidence is arrogance and ignorance.
We live in an information age and do business in a global economy. New technologies and the mobility of capital and other resources mean that things are changing faster than ever. Not being alert and open to new approaches and ideas could mean business destruction.
Starting a business is a journey , be prepared to be open/learn from others by attending seminars and workshops in the areas you lack.
9. Ignore The 80/20 Rule
The Pareto rule says that 80% of our results come from 20% of our efforts. Most female entrepreneurs are normally very busy with time-consuming tasks (which makes them feel like they are actually working on the venture) and contribute very little to the development of the business.
Find a way to delegate or outsource these tasks and spend your time on activities such as marketing, development and launch of new products; These activities add value to your business and contribute 80% to your success.
To be more productive, apply the Pareto and Parkinson principles .
10. Underestimating Legal And Tax Requirements
There are laws and regulations that govern businesses in all environments, eg local authority licenses, business registration requirements, registration tax certificates, etc.
It is important that you start taking the laws into account as soon as possible to avoid tax delays and legal action by the tax authorities.
This also helps develop positive business discipline which is good for your public relations. When the business grows, you won’t have “corpses” hiding in the closet.
11. Poor Cash Flow Management
In the early days of a business, most entrepreneurs spend a lot of time trying to get the business off the ground and forget to keep track of money coming in and going out.
When the business begins to experience rapid growth and the cash finally begins to flow, they don’t set aside money for the bad days, when sales slow down. These are serious mistakes that lead to major cash flow problems .
As a general rule , be cautious, keep your expenses to a minimum, and run the business as efficiently as possible.
12. To Complete
Maybe you can help us add point 12 . All of us have had a bad experience trying to set up our own business. If we are moderately intelligent, we will have learned something from our failure, perhaps point 12 of our statement.
If you want to add something, share your experience or complete point 12, please leave your comment below.
Conclusions
It’s hard to be a successful businesswoman, but with the right information, attitude, and taking action, you can be among the top 5% of businesspeople who succeed and prosper. successes!
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