Have you ever wondered what it would be like to own your very own business? To pick your hours, take vacations when you please and work the way that best suits you and your family’s schedules while also making a significant contribution to society? You may think that this dream is just that, a dream, but there are many benefits of owning a business that can actually help improve not only your life but the lives of those around you. However, with these benefits come an equal number of potential hazards which every entrepreneur should know about before they jump into their new venture.
In order to help out-of-the-gate success rates for entrepreneurs go up, we have created a list below which includes 15 major pitfalls that you will want to avoid when starting your own business and how to get around them.
Here are 10 Major Pitfalls of Starting Your Own Business and How to Get around Them: Paul Haarman
1) Overconfidence:
It is not uncommon for people who start their own businesses or become entrepreneurs to think that they do not need any help from anyone. They may even think that they know more than the experts in their respective fields and refuse to listen to what others have to say. This type of overconfidence really does not pay off in the long run because it causes entrepreneurs to miss out on a wealth of knowledge and resources that could be used in order to help improve their ventures. When this happens, businesses fail or at least underperform possibly costing the entrepreneur their initial investment.
2) Unreasonable Expectations:
New business start-ups are exciting events in someone’s life, but they are also full of pressure to perform at their highest level. This pressure causes many entrepreneurs to begin thinking that they need to make a significant profit after only a few short weeks or months after opening their doors for the first time. Unfortunately, this line of thinking can cause entrepreneurs to set unreasonable expectations for themselves which is why it is important to have realistic expectations from the very beginning and be willing to work hard/ long hours in order to achieve them.
3) Skipping Steps:
Many entrepreneurs get so caught up with trying to figure out how much money they are going to on their new venture that they completely forget about the steps necessary to get there. For example, they may want to open up a coffee shop but have no idea how many people are available at any given time during the day to help them run it.
4) Not Planning Ahead:
Planning ahead is crucial for every type of business but especially important for new businesses that are struggling with money issues or trying to come up with an effective marketing plan/strategy. Without a budget, financials and marketing plan in place, your business will struggle from the very beginning which can lead it down a path toward failure.
5) Getting Stuck In the Past:
Many entrepreneurs are so concerned with past failures or mistakes that they start believing they are doomed to repeat them or never succeed again. They allow their past to dictate how they approach the present and future without taking into consideration any of the positive steps they have taken lately in order to better their businesses.
6) Not Asking for Help:
Many entrepreneurs believe that asking for help is a sign of weakness that inhibits them from properly growing or expanding their businesses. Although this belief can cause some problems, it is not insurmountable and should be addressed through proper training (e.g., seminars, workshops, etc.) as soon as possible.
7) Outsourcing Too Much:
Outsourcing too many parts of your business makes you completely dependent on other people who may or may not always come through for you when you need them most which could end up costing you a great deal of time and money.
8) Not Allowing You to Adapt:
As technology, society, culture, etc. changes entrepreneurs need to be willing to adapt in order to maintain their competitive edge. Those who cannot or will not change are the ones who end up becoming failures because they become obsolete whereas others end up prospering by staying on top of changes that are happening around them.
9) Being Unclear About Your Brand:
Your brand is your company’s image/reputation which means it should be clear from the very beginning what exactly your business stands for. When people do not know about your business goals, goals, etc. they will likely not want to give it any patronage which would cause you more problems than you might realize.
10) Trying to do too much:
Many businesses fail because their owners try to spread themselves too thin by attempting to tackle multiple projects at once instead of focusing on just one or two that could turn into something great if they take the time to nurture and grow them correctly. Since every business has limited resources, it is important for entrepreneurs not to waste any of them in order to ensure the success of their ventures.
Conclusion by Paul Haarman:
As you can see, there are many reasons why businesses fail but they all share one commonality which is that the owners of these businesses become too focused on themselves and their own needs instead of their customers or employees which causes them to miss out on some great opportunities. Although this mindset may not change overnight it can be addressed by entrepreneurs who stay committed to constantly improving themselves and maintaining realistic expectations about how long certain tasks will take in order for them to avoid becoming a failure.
