There is no room for weak players in the business world. Many startups lose the pace before going into the growth phase. The only reason is not that the startups don’t hire competent employees but the mistakes that are done by the entrepreneurs’ plays the role, fairly.
Startups do face various challenges when they are in the introduction phase. It’s alright to make mistakes but making it a habit is not a good thing. You can save your startup from mishaps just by avoiding making few mistakes. Below is the list of mistakes that an entrepreneur should avoid.
- Not enough knowledge of the industry
An entrepreneur first needs to study the industry he is willing to tap in. Just, knowledge of the industry is not going to take you anywhere. No matter how good you are at market research, unless you get the first-hand experience, you can’t expect to go anywhere. It is crucial for your startup. Firstly, work in the sector you want to tap in, see how things go there, what are their marketing strategies and do the thorough analysis of that sector. It will give you a big picture of how productive that sector is for you and whether you can make your space in that sector or not.
You have an idea in your mind; you want to start your own business, sounds perfect! Before tapping into the marketplace prepare your weapons. By weapons, we mean that you need to get a job in that particular field, gain the firsthand experience, learn the tricks and become the game changer.
- Launching another startup quite early
There is no race going on! Don’t make a stupid mistake of opening another startup right after the other one. Concentrate on your new-fangled startup, take it to the growing stage and mature it. Once it gets matured, then think about working on another idea of a startup. It makes no sense to welcome a plethora of problems.
Plenty of entrepreneurs make a common mistake of launching the second business right after the first one. If you are willing to put your foot into five different boats, you will not go anywhere. Some people learn from their mistakes while some learn from others. Be a smart player and learn from the mistakes done by other entrepreneurs.
- Hiring incompetent employees
Your employees are your real asset. They play a major in the success of any startup. After all the strategies you make are implemented by your employees. Having incompetent employees in your company can lead your company towards destruction. There has to be a good synergy between your employees and the goals you want to achieve. If you think that you are not good at hiring employees, let the recruitment agencies do it for you.
It’s of no harm to spend a few bucks and hire the services of professionals rather than regretting later on when your startup reaches to the edge of turning into ash. Hire those employees that mingle with the synergy of your company.
- Not saving enough
Having a contingency plan for each and everything is necessary. To implement the contingency plan you surely need to have money. Entrepreneurs make a blunder of spending too much. Spending out of your capacity can lead you towards the bankruptcy and result in the ultimate failure of your brand.
You must have heard “save something for rainy days.” It is not a meaningless saying; if you try to think deep, you will understand the real meanings. For instance, you hit the project and it turned out to be a successful attempt. Now, don’t get excited that you forget to save something for rainy days and start spending recklessly. Celebrate your achievement but within the set budget. Save money for your next plan, if something doesn’t turn out to be the way you are expecting, at least you will have money to implement the contingency plan.
- Doing all the things
It’s good to be the jack of all trades, but it isn’t feasible to put everything on your plate. Concentrate on one thing at a time. We do understand that you have a small business and you don’t have enough money, but it doesn’t mean that you start burdening yourself with work. Share your burden and outsource the work. You can share your weight with the digital agencies who have ample of talent to meet your business needs.
- Not enough focus on the business development
It is the massive mistake that many of the entrepreneurs do. They make plans, they set long-term goals but forget to work on the business development part. Here, entrepreneurs fail to understand that business development is the significant part that they shouldn’t ignore.
- Not paying attention to the competitors
The excitement of a new business take entrepreneurs to the point where they start thinking that they don’t have any direct competitors. Or, sometimes they start thinking that their product is of premium quality and the competitor’s product can’t beat their product quality.
The point where they start considering themselves superior is the point where they lose their concentration towards business development. It is unlikely to have no competitors in the marketplace unless it’s the monopoly where you are the only seller, or few sellers exist. Consider yourself in the race of those who are working harder to get the first spot that is how you will be able to understand your competitors offering and will make an action plan regarding how you can differentiate yourself in the marketplace.
- Setting unrealistic goals
Unrealistic goals lead you to the well of disappointments. There is no such magic in the world of business. You can’t attain the peak of success just in one night. It is the matter of days and continuous efforts. Set the attainable goals for your business so that you don’t stress yourself and move with an action plan that works.
- Small profit margins
Setting a right profit margin contributes to the success of the business. Suppose, you set a low-profit-margin, at the first stage your customers will be pleased with you. When you raise the price in future, the situation will get out of control. Many entrepreneurs make the same mistake, they first set small margins and later on raises the price.
Be very sure of the price you want to set for a particular service or product as your customers are reluctant to the drastic change in the prices of products or services. Set the amount by doing proper analysis of the production cost. Keep your operating expenses into count and then set the price accordingly.
Bottom line
Summing up the things here, a business gets successful when it follows a defined plan. For the proper implementation of the plan it is necessary for you to improve things on your end. Not even small businesses but sometimes, big giants like Nokia make inevitable mistakes that result in the massive downfall of the company. Confidence is a good thing but overconfidence book your sport in the line of those brands that turned into mud. The points mentioned above can surely help you if you are determined to take your startup to the next level.
Author Bio:- Cassandra Worthy is a female motivational speaker, business trainer, and a passionate blogger!
