No matter how great you are, as a human being you will inevitably make mistakes, especially in the world of entrepreneurship. If we could travel back in time and warn our past selves of the terrible mistakes we will make in the future, it would be a great help, wouldn’t it?
Most people who embark on entrepreneurship do not have major difficulties when setting goals or objectives. The problem arises once you are already on the road, when the reality contrasts sharply with your expectations, and you realize that the road had many more obstacles than you thought.
Here is a list of some of the most common entrepreneurial mistakes. It is never too late to recognize them, so that you can avoid them or cushion the impact when the time comes.
1. Not planning enough
It is very common at the time of starting a business to get carried away by emotion and love for our projects. The problem is that this greatly amplifies our biases and causes us to underestimate or overestimate the planning necessary to maximize our chances of success.
It’s just as Bill Gates said, “People overestimate what they can accomplish in one year and underestimate what they can accomplish in ten.”
A preparation that contemplates the most critical and important aspects of your project, is the cornerstone that you should place before launching your new business, this will allow you to move forward sustainably and will make the obstacles you encounter along the way much easier to face.
2. Lack of communication with the environment
Today more than ever it is necessary that your brand communicates, connects and interacts in a transparent and genuine way with your target audience. How are you going to know the problems and needs that your target audience faces if you do not communicate?
Brands can no longer remain silent, they must take a determined stance on their ethics, values and principles. If you are not present in the right channels and social networks, you will not manage to grow in the modern world, nor reach a greater number of potential customers or followers.
Don’t forget to prepare an adequate website and also to consolidate your presence in those channels where you can find your target audience.
3. Trying to do it all on your own
There are many people who decide to go it alone, which is usually a much bigger task than one person can handle.
While getting a solo business venture off the ground is not completely impossible, it does present a much more complex challenge when you plan to do it all on your own.
If you’re going to take the solo route, whether due to lack of resources or otherwise, make sure you can actually handle the workload and meet the operations of your business.
Additionally, you should be fully aware that going solo will move you forward much slower, and therefore, your business growth will be slower, since the opportunity cost that you are not paying with money, you are paying directly with your time.
4. Falling into paralysis due to indecision or inactivity.
Great, you’ve got your plan. While patience is a key virtue in getting any business off the ground, the important thing now is not to fall on the other end of the spectrum and take too long to act.
Whether it’s due to indecision, uncertainty or fear of failure, avoid delaying the start-up, remember that the world changes fast, and what may be a great idea today may not be tomorrow. Sometimes, all we need to do is simply take the first step, trust your plan, your skills and move forward.
5. Excessive resistance to change
The high speed at which markets evolve requires companies to adapt to these changes quickly and constantly. It sounds nice on paper, but it is a challenge that becomes more and more complex as the number of people in an organization grows.
An extremely rigid company is doomed to fail in the modern world, and the cure is to be open to new ideas, which, unfortunately, can make us uncomfortable, as it takes us out of our comfort zone, causes us to lose some degree of control over our decisions and plunges us into the unknown.
To create a business that lasts over time, it is necessary to leave behind excessive fear, open our minds and look at change as an invaluable opportunity.
6. Excessive procrastination and lack of responsibility.
Falling into an excess of procrastination is something very common in those people who are entrepreneurs or self-employed for the first time, and it is an enemy that you will have to overcome if you want to succeed in the world of entrepreneurship.
It is recommended that you keep a strict control of all the activities you do, and focus on properly managing your time using calendars, task lists, or other project management tools.
Having your own business requires a lot of responsibility and discipline, remember that there is no longer anyone who forces you to work, or to meet objectives in a certain time, so you will have to start controlling your time better to avoid becoming the bottleneck of your own business.
7. Partnering with the wrong person
Partnerships are common in the business world and are highly recommended. The problem arises when you realize that the person you have partnered with is not a good fit for you and your business.
Partnering with the wrong person can not only cause a sea of problems in your business, but it can also affect other spheres of your life, especially when it is a partnership involving family or friends.
To know if you are really partnering with the right person, the first thing you must understand is that as in any relationship between humans, conflicts are inevitable, so it is vital to make the rules of the game clear from day one, and if you do not reach a mutual agreement, it is best to look elsewhere.
8. Not investing enough according to your project and industry.
Unless you enjoy an excellent socioeconomic situation, money will be one of your main headaches when trying to get your business projects off the ground, especially in those ideas whose entry barrier requires a high investment, such as buying property or investing in infrastructure, to give a couple of examples.
Chances are that you have very little money to spend, and that scarcity of resources can lead you to suffer from an excessive fear of risking it. On the other hand, those who do have resources may end up at the opposite extreme, and fall into destructive financial policies, wasting money.
The best thing to do in these cases is to avoid extremes. Invest enough to see concrete results, and avoid financial policies that encourage wasting money.
9. Prioritize your product or service over the people.
As entrepreneurs, it is normal to fall in love with our product or service, especially when our ideas generate clearly visible economic results.
While this is excellent from a motivational point of view, since we have been able to confirm the economic viability of our business idea, it can lead us to make bad decisions when we are worried about generating money to pay our bills or other commitments.
One of the worst is not measuring customer satisfaction in the short and long term. That is to say, we prioritize the execution of actions that, although they allow us to generate income in the short term, are absurdly destructive in the long term, avoiding the generation of lasting and trusting relationships with your target audience.
Do not forget to create a business model that is sustainable in the long term, and that also considers the experience, feelings and emotions of all those who interact with your brand, product or service.
10. Hiring when the time is not right
We have already discussed how difficult it can be to get a solo business project off the ground. However, the other extreme can also be a problem, and hiring someone when you experience an increase in demand and workload can be a terrible mistake if you don’t know what you’re doing.
For example, if your resources are quite limited, you hire a group of people and demand for your product or service drops, you will have to pay their salaries by relying on lower-than-expected revenues, which can get you into serious trouble.
One way to minimize this risk is to make sure that the increase in demand is sustained over time, and not just a fluke in a specific month or a seasonal effect that tends to repeat itself year after year.
In Conclusion
The path of entrepreneurship is by no means an easy one, especially when resources are extremely limited. Many mistakes along the way will be inevitable, and a great lesson for the rest of your life.
The important thing is to minimize the possible mistakes as much as you can, learn from other people’s experiences, and forge your way to success step by step.