Embarking on an entrepreneurial journey is probably one of the most exhilarating and scariest experiences you will ever have in your life. On the one hand, you will be your own boss and be able to work on your own schedule. But then again, there’s the risk of making one wrong move and completely losing everything you worked so hard to build. The key to success here identifying those “wrong moves.”
Wrong moves are what you would call mistakes, and in the world of small businesses, mistakes are the things that small business owners make all the time.
Making mistakes in your business is something that is going to happen, but on your journey to entrepreneurial success, the last thing you want to do is make the same mistakes twice. Lots of budding entrepreneurs, as well as successful entrepreneurs that have been in the game for quite some time, will tell you that they didn’t just achieve their success all by themselves either.
Successful entrepreneurs, young and old, will tell you that the way they reached success and maintained or grew their business was by listening to those that came before them. Sure, experienced entrepreneurs will tell you what to do to achieve success, but have you ever wondered what not to do to achieve success?
To avoid the mistakes that can mean the difference between your business becoming a lucrative small business and a money pit, make sure you’re avoiding these business faux pas if you ever want a shot at success.
Top 4 Biggest Mistakes Small Business Owners Make
1. Failing To Properly Invest In Marketing
For some reason, small business owners tend to think that marketing is an expense that’s completely unnecessary… Marketing is the very thing that gains your business exposure for your brand to drive sales! If nobody knows your business exists, how will you ever reach the level of success you have been striving for?
Solution
Do your research on digital marketers in your area. See what types of marketing plans they think your business will benefit from the most. Everything from laying out an SEO guide of their plans to tips on social media activities, marketing is well worth the investment to gain more exposure for your brand, online and offline.
Set aside a sizable marketing budget so that your business can reap all the benefits of an impeccable marketing plan.
2. Trying to Do Everything By Yourself
According to CNBC, trying to do it all is the number one blunder business owners make. Of course, when you first start out, you might wear all the hats until you can really get your footing. But even then, entrepreneurs still have a hard time letting go for fear of losing control of their business.
Solution
Do a thorough assessment of all areas of your business, and then do a thorough assessment of your entrepreneurial skills. Write down your business strengths and weaknesses, and based on the weaknesses you have, start searching for experts in that area to help you run that area more smoothly. This will also allow you to put more focus and attention on your business strengths.
3. Failing To Purchase Business Insurance
Small business owners of brick-and-mortar stores don’t usually have this problem, but the owners of online businesses or home-based businesses usually make this particular mistake.
Just because a business is run from home, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t need business insurance. Mistakes happen, accidents happen, and regardless of whether you’re at fault or not, a customer can seek legal action if your product or services brought harm to them… This particular business mistake is one that can significantly cost your startup.
Solution
Search for a trusted business insurance provider that will have the policy to meet your business needs. You want to look for a provider that has policy options of everything from errors and omissions coverage to policies by industry type.
Just make sure you protect your business from potential threats in every way that you can. This particular mistake is one that if you do indeed find yourself in a litigation case, and lose, it could completely ruin your entrepreneurial career.
4. Trying To Get Rich Quick
If you’ve been in the business world long enough, you know that overnight success typically spans over the course of 10 to 20 years. All these successful businesses you see now look like they “blew up” overnight, but the reality behind those successful businesses is that it took many years of sleepless nights and failures…
Those business owners achieved success by not giving up on their business and their dreams. You can have that success too but you have to be patient. Remember that Rome wasn't built in a day! True success in business takes time.
Solution
Create a business plan for yourself with the patience in mind that you’re not going to achieve success overnight. Take the time out to really think about what you want to sell and why consumers need it. Really think about how your product or services will truly benefit your target audience and build from that.
Will You Learn From The Mistakes Of Others?
Are you someone who has to learn the hard way or are you the type that will indeed take the advice of others and learn from their mistakes? Some of the biggest mistakes you can make as a business owner are mistakes that have already been made by other entrepreneurs. If the blueprint is laid out for you, why not take the advice of those who’ve “been there, done that?”
If you want to achieve success with your business, it’s not always about what to do, it’s sometimes about what not to do. Take it from those before you in not making the same business mistakes they made.
