Life as an entrepreneur is always a learning process, and you won’t
grow without taking risks. Sometimes, you need to trust your judgement,
but there are some mistakes you can avoid altogether. Here are 10 common
mistakes you need to avoid.
1 Lack of planning
Don’t neglect to provide a detailed business plan showing your
projected outgoings and earnings. You may have a great idea, but this is
not a business plan. Investors may be intrigued by your ideas, but they
will want cold, hard evidence of their viability.
2 Badly targeted marketing
Make sure you’re specific when advertising. Know what your unique
selling proposition is and target a specific market rather than trying
to be all things to everyone. There are hundreds of, say, interior
decorators, but if you have a speciality in, perhaps, decorative paint
effects, use it as a USP.
3 Wasted marketing spend
Don’t have hundreds of business cards and brochures printed. They go
out of date very quickly and can be expensive to produce. If your
contact details change, the cards and brochures need to be amended.
4 Poor recruitment
Be careful whom you hire. It may seem like a good idea to get friends
or family involved in the early days, but if they don’t have the
qualities you really need, it will impede your progress. Identify the
mix of skills you need and look for people who can provide long-term
value to the business.
5 Net losses
Avoid expensive websites and domain names. You could even try
building your own business website using one of the popular DIY
solutions, you might even know someone with more knowledge who could
help you put together your own website. Don’t clutter up your website
with information customers don’t really need to know about. Instead,
tell them how you can solve their problems or provide them with things
they need or want.
6 Inadequate research
Don’t neglect planning and research. These are vital in ensuring the
viability of your business idea, and a frequent cause of failure is not
spending enough time finding out whether there is genuine demand for
what you sell. Your pricing must be competitive and capable of providing
a viable return.
7 Unrealistic assumptions
Try not to set your sights too high, because inaccurate forecasting
of market size is a common mistake for start-ups. You will need reliable
cashflow and income projections to avoid expensive mistakes such as
over-staffing, purchase of unnecessary equipment and lavish business
premises.
8 Overtrading and overpromising
Beware of the dangers of over-trading, which happens when you take on
more orders than you can comfortably fulfil, or that can be supported
by working capital and net current assets.
9 Poor stock control
Make sure you have good practices to avoid tying up your capital as a
result of poor stock control. Efficiency here means you have the right
amount of stock in the right place at the right time – instead of the
chaotic opposite.
10 Ignoring the competition
Never take your eyes off the competition. You’ll need to respond to
your competitors continually, so you need to remain aware of what
they’re up to. To wrongfoot them, you could introduce new products or
services. Always try to outperform your competitors. Find ways to be
more special that they are.
Have you got any tips to add or any stories to share? We’d love to know what you think…
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