Fear, uncertainty, and self-doubt – these three are the all-time best friends of first-time entrepreneurs. Why wouldn’t it be? Starting your own business is an intimidating process. Your nerves are wracked, you get heebie-jeebies and there is a rush of excitement at every new step. Here, we will talk about 7 big mistakes entrepreneurs make when starting for the first time.
Table of Content:
- Choosing the wrong business partner
- Overlooking the future
- Failing to deliver value
- Not listening to criticism and feedbacks
- Going too fast
- Not understanding the competitive landscape
- Not hiring the right talent
Over the years, first-time entrepreneurs have built a reputation for breaking out of the mold and working hard to live a certain kind of life.
Needless to say, no matter what field you are in, there can be certain mistakes you can do that tend to plague your business.
Here, we will be talking about the mistakes entrepreneurs make to help you save from the disaster. Avoid these mistakes in your business at all costs if you want to set yourself up for success.
7 deadly mistakes entrepreneurs make
1. Choosing the wrong business partner
Strategically locking arms with someone who shares the same vision and goals with you in business can bring a lot of pros to the table. However, choosing the right business partner isn’t as easy as selecting a friend or a family member to go along with.
When you share your business with someone who doesn’t have the right knowledge and connections, it’ll eventually tank your business.
But how do you know that you have chosen the right business partner?
Think of some of the best business partnerships of successful entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak from Apple, or Evan Willians and Biz Stone from Twitter.
These duos were noteworthy not just because of their success, but also for their bonding over something they loved and combining each other’s skillsets in making that happen. Beyond sharing the same business perception, seek out for someone with complementary skill sets and personality traits.
According to Michael Spinosa of Unleashed Technologies, complementary personality traits can impact overall company leadership: “Finding the person that is going to help balance the leadership equation for your business is important, not only to the business but to the employees,” he says. “This approach facilitates a higher level of trust between partners and it permeates throughout the organization.”
2. Overlooking the future
An entrepreneurial mindset enables entrepreneurs to make the most of the opportunities, learn from the setbacks, and most importantly think about the future. Future orientation is the practice of deeply understanding what lies ahead for your business.
Simply laying down the goals and vision of your company isn’t all that matters. Instead, it is about how you’re going to reach that goal? What is the plan that you’re going to follow?
In the times that we live in, innovations and technological advancements are happening at an unprecedented rate.
Spend a few minutes out of your daily grind to seek into the future. Take inspiration from businesses around your industries and see what lies ahead for you in the future.
3. Failing to deliver value
This is one of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make. When you’re creating your products or services and determining your business model, your main focus should be your customers – not generating revenue or saving up costs.
Many first-time entrepreneurs worry too much about what profit they will be getting out of this. Honestly, your customer wouldn’t even care about your product and service if it won’t add value to their life.
Having to satisfy your customers so that they stick with you over-time is the utmost priority of your business.
4. Not listening to criticism and feedbacks
As a new entrepreneur, you want people to talk about your business whether through social media or pure word of mouth. It’s even better when the messages are in your praise and are positive.
However, criticism and negative feedback can be salient for entrepreneurs as it is never easy to deal with badmouthing.
What you need to keep in mind that these critics can be valuable even if they are framed rudely. When someone bashes your product, it is essential to listen to them and see where your product went wrong. When you find that out, see if other people are talking about it too.
If there are a ton of complaints, it becomes important to look into the problem and see how you can improve in that sphere. This will only help your product become better for your audience.
Also Read: Why most startups fail and how can you make yours succeed
5. Going too fast
For entrepreneurs, an adrenaline rush is important for explosive growth. You cannot afford to take things slow when you see everyone around you growing and thriving.
You pack your team of best talents, ink new deals, and rapidly move on sewing new ideas. Okay, just wait a minute! while speed is good, the “going too fast” approach can create cracks in your business over-time.
So instead of squandering large amounts of capital in only your initial stages, it’s wise to conserve it until the company understands what its audience wants.
6. Not understanding the competitive landscape
No business operates in the market alone unless you have a completely new product. There are numerous businesses in a market that are targeting the same audience and product similar to yours.
For your customers to perceive your product compared to the competition, you need to first study the competitive landscape. Find out who your competitors are in the market, what are their strengths and weaknesses, and how you can differentiate your business.
7. Not hiring the right talent
Hiring is the most critical for any organization. Especially in the early stages where the success of a company lies in the hands of a few people.
In the initial stages, these few people are just someone the founders know or they have previously worked with. The time comes when the company needs more people to operate and needs a more classic recruitment process.
Here is where entrepreneurs face serious challenges. As there come sudden requirements in hiring for a specific post, most of the time they are likely to make mistakes hiring the wrong people. Sometimes they hire key staff with little to no experience which further leads to problems.
It becomes more important than to create a structured plan for recruiting people. Take your time to thoroughly revise your options and find a group of talented people that will make the company of your dreams.
To Conclude
So there you have it, 7 big mistakes entrepreneurs make in their early stages. It’s impossible to not make mistakes but being aware of them to make smart and wise decisions in your business is even better.
Take a moment to sit back and realize which of these mistakes in this list do you identify the most with. Always remember, avoiding mistakes at every step is what makes a successful founder.
Spark Eighteen
Spark Eighteen is a brainchild of innovative young minds and a group of alarmingly out-of-the-box thinkers who happen to see the world of marketing from a new age perspective. With a proven expertise in the field of Brand consulting, Digital Marketing and Website Design and Development, our team of designers, developers, and creative heads work towards delivering maximum results, tailor-made to all your business needs.
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