No one likes to make mistakes, especially in business, but if you don’t make mistakes you can’t grow. As an entrepreneur who has chucked the corporate life, the commute and the comfort of knowing I’d have a paycheck at the end of the week, I’ve made plenty of mistakes.
During my start-up days, I made some financial mistakes along with a few stupid, bonehead moves that I’ve ingrained in my brain never to do again. I’m not finished making mistakes because I’m not finished growing my business. The difference between my start-up days and today is that now my mistakes are much smaller and less expensive to fix.
In her article “10 Mistakes That Start-Up Entrepreneurs Make,” Rosalind Resnick shares a strong list of things you should avoid doing when you’re starting a company. A few of my favorite suggestions are:
- Going it alone. It’s difficult to build a scalable business if you’re the only person involved. The solution: Make sure there’s enough margin in your pricing to enable you to bring in other people.
- Asking too many people for advice. It’s always good to get input from experts…but getting too many people’s opinions can delay your decision so long that your company never gets out of the starting gate. The answer: Assemble a solid advisory board that you can tap on a regular basis but run the day-to-day yourself.
- Targeting too small a market. It’s tempting to try to corner a niche, but your company’s growth will quickly hit a wall if the market you’re targeting is too tiny. The solution: Pick a bigger market that gives you the chance to grab a slice of the pie even if your company remains a smaller player.
- Raising too little capital. Many start-ups assume that all they need is enough money to rent space, buy equipment, stock inventory and drive customers through the door. The solution: Calculate your start-up costs before you open your doors, not afterwards.
- Not having a business plan. While not every company needs a formal business plan, a start-up that requires significant capital to grow and more than a year to turn a profit should map out how much time and money it’s going to take to get to its destination.
The bottom line is that you’re going to make mistakes before and after you start a business, which can throw you and your business off track. If you know what to expect or where you may possibly make mistakes, you’ll be able to stay the course.
