Being an entrepreneur may be one of the most exciting and rewarding jobs, AND one of the most difficult jobs on the planet – with not many career paths requiring as much work, skill, commitment, and even sacrifice.
No matter what type of business you own, it’s vital to understand some of the common mistakes that tend to plague so many entrepreneurs in today’s marketplace, so you can avoid them and set yourself up for success.
We put together a list of some of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make:
Over-Focusing On The Money Instead Of Your True Passion
One of the biggest mistakes that you can make as an entrepreneur is ignoring your true passion and starting a business only to make money. If you are not passionate about your business, you will never be successful.
Even if you become successful, if there’s no fulfillment out of your work life, the money alone will not comfort you in the way that feeling purposeful and following your passion can.
Expecting Immediate Success
While it’s great and necessary to have the confidence and the drive to want to be successful sooner rather than later, expecting it right away means setting yourself up for disappointment.
To properly grow a business takes a long time, and usually even longer to make substantial, or even any, money from a business.
One of the many reasons that so many businesses fail so early on is because business owners expect to start making money from the very start, only to find that they can’t afford to pay the rent or cover their overall expenses. It’s essential to plan, which means having a cushion to fall back on, and figuring out how much money you can actually make at first and how much do you need to support your business.
Trying To Do Everything Yourself
A good entrepreneur and anyone who manages a business knows the importance of delegating – trying to do everything yourself means setting yourself up for failure.
You need to know how to outsource, and no matter what those tasks are, the key is in delegating them to others so you can make better use of your time and efforts. Otherwise, you will burn out or draw focus away from the tasks that actually need your expertise and attention.
Not Being Flexible
In today’s ever-changing business world, if you want to be a successful entrepreneur – you need to learn to be flexible.
If you are not adapting with fast technological advances, or you keep putting all your emphasis and expectation on one product or service, chances are you will not succeed.
Instead, you need to test, and test again – try various approaches and solutions, explore new options, apply what is working now, and always be ready to make changes as you go.
Ignoring Social Media
Whether you are a service or product-based business, you need the Internet, and most likely you need to have a website. Here’s why: consumers and clients are on the Internet, and if you want your business to be successful, you need to be where they are and put yourself face-to-face with your customers.
As an entrepreneur, ignoring and not being up to speed with the tech revolution is a foolish mistake, especially since the internet and social media are extremely affordable tools to use, and most importantly, they can be very effective in growing your business.
Social media is a dynamic way to reach new customers, and a great way to get visitors who may not otherwise find your page through a traditional search, so embrace the potential of social media by being sociable via a well-maintained social media presence that links to your website.
Tip: integrating your social media into your marketing is a simple enough task.
Spending Too Much Or Not Spending Enough Money
For new entrepreneurs, money is likely to be one of the biggest concerns.
There are two mindsets new entrepreneurs tend to exhibit:
“I have to spend money to make money”, or “I’ll spend the bare minimum until I have a good cash flow”.
Both of these attitudes can be harmful for your business if taken to the extreme. Spend your startup cash wisely, and do not be afraid to invest in quality products (such as a good website and digital marketing), people, and services that will only help you grow.
This includes making a mistake when hiring primarily based on cost – while it’s tempting to skimp on the cost of new hires, with this strategy you’ll end up paying in the long run. Low-cost employees and consultants are more likely to be inexperienced, unskilled or unreliable, or all of the above.
Putting People Last And Your Product First
When defining your business model, it’s vital that you have a people-first mentality – and yet many entrepreneurs are so concerned about making money that they forget the key to having a sustainable business. And that is – having satisfied and loyal clients, who will give you their business over the long term and refer you to others.
Ignoring Direct Competitors
With the excitement that comes with having your own business, many new entrepreneurs tend to think they really have no direct competition. That their product/service is so superior to those of their rivals that they’re in a category of their own.
The reality, however, is that, unless you’ve invented a completely new product, it’s extremely rare to have no direct competitors out there – so do your due diligence to find out what these companies and products are and how you can differentiate your business.
Not Setting Attainable Goals
Having your vision and “great ideas” is wonderful and needed, and yet, without a solid plan, that’s all they are, concepts and ideas. As a business owner who wants to succeed, you must set realistic and attainable goals.
Make sure to set both short- and long-term goals, and that they’re specific. Set a reasonable goal and then determine what specific steps you need to take to reach it.
Ignoring Marketing
Many new entrepreneurs think that their products are so exceptional that free PR and word of mouth is enough.
In today’s super competitive market, most businesses will need to invest significantly in marketing. This may include SEO, content marketing, PR and paid advertising. and ask yourself how you can compete and differentiate yourself.
So take a detailed look at your business marketing efforts; is your website built well, mobile friendly, and filled with good content; are you reaching large audiences with your social media, articles and blogs, newsletters, etc. is Google recognizing you as a valid and credible business, etc.
The way of an entrepreneur is not always an easy one, but, when done right, it truly is a rewarding and exciting path!
At RODA marketing, a nationally recognized Internet marketing company, our team of seasoned consultants work together with you to build and implement well thought-out website with Internet Marketing strategies that will help you grow your business.
When you choose RODA marketing, you are choosing our passion, experience, and proficiency – watch us deliver value and results to your business.
Check out our portfolio and contact us to see how together we can take your business to higher levels of success with web design, web development, SEO, and digital and Internet marketing.