The joy of starting something on your own, something that affects the lives of others is quite fulfilling. That feeling of achievement and doing something good for society is a feeling unparalleled. Starting your own business is most of the times a rewarding experience. However, the road to success is definitely not an easy one.
Starting a business is difficult. Launching a startup is even more challenging. Aside from facing the challenge of attempting to build a company from start, many entrepreneurs have little to zero experience in the business world. Even when they have an incredibly amazing idea, complex problems arise. Such as managing a young enterprise, handling finances and hiring employees within a low budget. There can be a zillion different things that can go wrong. And innumerable hurdles might keep coming your way. A study found that the failure rate of companies, even after so many years, is 50 percent. stretch good news is that you can still learn effective entrepreneurial skills from the mistakes of others. Here are some of the most common startup mistakes that you need to avoid:
1- Not having A Business Plan
You might have a brilliant product idea and can’t wait to launch it. However, you need to conduct adequate market research to understand whether at all there’s a market for it. No matter how brilliant your idea might be, if it doesn’t solve people’s problems, it can’t be successful. You need to have long-term goals and you need to plan out. That’s when things will fall into place
Having a solid business plan plays a vital role in determining future success. A business plan, after all, serves to guide the startup in the right direction by answering the following questions:
- What is the purpose of the company
- Who are the potential customers
- What are the mission and values
- What’s the direction desired for the company
- Who are the company’s competitors and what are they doing
- How can the company measure success
In other words, a sound business plan determines every growth aspect of the startup. And whenever the company is stuck or a new venture is to be launched, refer to the business plan.
2-Being Unaware Of Your Motives
A lot of startup founders equate their business’ success with getting funded. This arises from the fact that startups getting big investments make headlines across newspaper and digital formats. This creates a false sense of end goals. Everyone wants to get funded now, everyone wants to grab headlines and get the fame that is often short-lived.
As an entrepreneur, your objective should be to create products that are valuable to your target audiences. Big investments are definitely necessary to keep you going. And you shouldn’t become complacent upon securing funding. Instead, you need to continue focusing on your end objective of actually making your business successful and making it valuable to your customers who have put in hopes on your service and product.
3-Improper Distribution Of Tasks
Be self-aware as an entrepreneur. You should know your strengths and weakness. The temptation to be a one-man army would always be there. However, you need to understand one cannot do simply anything and everything.
In such cases, you must learn to let go and assign those tasks to people who are better suited to them. If you don’t have anyone in your team to do that particular task, outsource it and hire a freelancer. Ultimately, learn to lead your team. Not only will you gain from other people’s skills and expertise but also won’t run the risk of burning out.
The first ten employees of a startup ultimately determine its success. You definitely need to have a basic knowledge of all aspects of your business. However, you need to hire the right people for managing those aspects in which you don’t hold expertise.
4-Improper Management Of Finances
This is one of the most common startup mistakes. A business without a path to profit isn’t a business, it’s a hobby.
Anyone who takes an “I will figure out how to make profits in the future” attitude to business is simply being ridiculous and simply wishes to ride on the startup boom that is happening around. That is like jumping off a building pretending that gravity doesn’t exist and thinking you can actually fly. That is what running away from realities is all about.
You need to figure out streams that generate revenue for you and bear the expenses. If you manage to get funding or an investment for your idea or product, you need to have a clear vision on the areas you wish to spend the money on, or else you will splurge the money around with little or no returns
So don’t use the idea of a startup as a crutch. Don’t let the funding idea cripple you. Start an actual business. Actual business has to deal with actual things like bills and payments. Actual business worries about profit from day one. And that’s how you lay a foundation for a successful enterprise. Be wise with your finances and you are sorted on the funding part from day one. Go for funding only when there is a real need when you actually need to take the next leap when you have the vision to make your business the next big thing.
5-Hiring Too Many People Too Soon
When a startup scales up too soon in team size when scaling isn’t needed, it is bound to break down in pressure. When you do unnecessary hiring as an entrepreneur, you are disorienting your team and investing your hard-earned money on the people you actually don’t need, which backfires badly in the long-term. You lose money and you lose time invested in those hiring. Value your time and money; invest it properly in the right person, keep your team size concise and hire people when there is actually a need. Your team decides the success you achieve, make sure your team is strong and resonates your vision.
Being an entrepreneur is no easy job. It requires passion, perseverance, people management skills, and a great deal of patience. The most important thing you need to remember is that everything takes a certain time to bear fruits. When you start a business, do proper research in every aspect that can affect your business.
Start by searching for a suitable name for your business or startup. So that when your business is a success, no one claims your company name as their own and you land up in legal trouble. So be careful, don’t be in a hurry to see results and if you’re seeing them, don’t be in a hurry to expand. In business, slow isn’t bad as long as you’re steadily making progress.
Hispanic businessman talking with partners– stock image
