5 Mistakes to Avoid As a First-Time Entrepreneur

OlufisayoAugust 14, 201701,048 views

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In business, mistakes are inevitable. Failure is one of the best ways to learn, however some mistakes can be too costly to come back from. That’s why approximately 50-70 percent of small businesses fail within just 18 months of starting up.

If you’re a first-time entrepreneur, taking steps to avoid these common mistakes will help you on your way to owning a successful start-up.

Trying to go it alone

Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely business especially in your start-up’s infancy. Isolating yourself while you work on your business in your own bubble can be a costly mistake.It’s very easy to lose direction along the way and lose touch with your market. You don’t need to gain a business partner or hire a large team to work amongst others. Networking, finding a mentor or working in a co-working environment can help you surround yourself with like-minded entrepreneurs while you’re starting up.

Launching without doing your market research

You may think you’ve got the perfect product or service, but how do you know if your customers will purchase it? Unless you’ve done your market research, you won’t know if there is any demand for your offering. It’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of launching a new business. But it pays to do your due diligence and find out what the market needs and wants, as well as what your competition is offering before you discover you’ve missed the mark.

Waiting for everything to be perfect

You’ll continue to work on your business, improving and diversifying for as long as you run it. Waiting for everything to be perfect before you launch is going to significantly delay your earnings. No matter how hard you work, your business will never be perfect. There will be always room to improve, so instead of procrastinating trust yourself and your business model and take the plunge.

Not keeping to your budget

Keeping a budget from the get go is vital for any start-up to be successful. The mistake for manyentrepreneurs is to either splurge and go over budget or be too tight and not spend enough. Investing in your business is a great idea, but you need to do so wisely. Instead of splurging for an expensive shop or office space, look for affordable commercial real estate options. Likewise, spend on your important business infrastructure like software, computers, point of sale rather than buying cheap and having to replace it not far down the track. Form a budget and stick to it before you dig yourself into a financial hole or limit your potential.

Hiring based on price

Hiring staff for your business can be daunting. One of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make when building their team is skimping on the cost. Spending less on employees may be tempting but it’s likely to cost you in the long run. The saying ‘you get what you pay for’ is very relevant when hiring. Low-cost staffs are working for a low rate for a reason. They may be inexperienced, lack skills, unprofessional, unreliable or a combination of all four.

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