9 Common Mistakes Made by New Entrepreneurs You Must Avoid
Starting a business can be very exciting, very exciting. It can also be very tasking and if you don’t get it together, you might as well kiss the opportunity to be an entrepreneur goodbye. There are common mistakes made by new entrepreneurs that could have been avoided.
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According to Eric pies, “I have learned from both my own successes and failures and those of many others that it’s the boring stuff that matters the most. Startup success is not a consequence of good genes or being in the right place at the right time. Startup success can be engineered by following the right process, which means it can be learned, which means it can be taught.”
One part got me, “it’s the boring stuff that matters the most.” That thing you will overlook today can come back to haunt you.
I know it is allowed to make mistakes, fail and learn. Honestly, why would you make mistakes when you can easily avoid these mistakes?
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In fact, I will say that not learning from the experiences and mistakes is one of the common mistakes made by new entrepreneurs. This is beside the point or rather, the whole idea. We will break it into parts for better understanding and concretisation.
Below are some of the common mistakes made by new entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
Common Mistakes made by New Entrepreneurs
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Not spending enough money or spending too much money.
Money is key to business success and it is a sure game changer in any business. It is one of the common mistakes made by new entrepreneurs. That being said, we have to factor in the fact that how we use this money as it can make or mar the business.
Let’s consider the two mindsets among entrepreneurs concerning money. The first is that “I have got to spend money to make money” while the other is “I will spend the bare minimum until I see some decent cash flow”.
In themselves, these thoughts are great. But if taken to the extreme in either way could prove counterproductive.
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Thinking you have no direct competitors
One of the common mistakes made by new entrepreneurs is thinking they have a monopoly over their product or service. They think they have no direct competitors. This is probably caused by the excitement surrounding the new product.
The reality is that it is very rare and uncommon to have no direct competitors. These rare cases are always about new inventions and products. Except you have a new invention, there is already someone who has a share in your niche. Get that in your head.
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Employing based on the cost
When there is an insufficient fund, we tend to make our employment based on the cost of the labor. This might come back to haunt. Except when their cost is low based on loyalty and long-term aspiration, you may have a problem there. You don’t want that.
Cheap employees are usually inexperienced, unskilled or unreliable.
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Not setting attainable goals
As a new entrepreneur, you have the potentials to be entrapped by your lofty ideas. You get enraptured by your big ideas and some of them are not attainable.
It is good to have big dreams but you must realize the place of long-term and short-term goals. Set the goal and follow the steps to attain it.
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Not thinking about marketing
One of the common mistakes made by new entrepreneurs is that they don’t do enough about marketing and some of them don’t even do anything at all. Some of them think that their products will be so wonderful that they won’t need to think about marketing.
The truth and reality are that you are supposed to invest heavily in marketing and advertising. It could be SEO, content marketing, PR and paid advertising.
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Having too small margins
The profit margin is going to act as a determinant of the success of your business. That is why you should have a healthy profit margin. Don’t set it very low because it will make life more difficult for you.
Take a look at your production and operating costs, and determine how much flexibility there is. Can you reduce these costs in the future if necessary? If not, choose a higher profit margin now to accommodate these costs.
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Thinking you can do it all yourself
This is when you realise the place of teamwork. You cannot do all by yourself. This is one of the common mistakes made by new entrepreneurs. No matter how passionate you think you are about your product, you just cannot do it all alone.
This will ensure you burn out and it will impede your success.
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The fear of the Unknown
Starting a new business is scary and it brings with it a lot of uncertainties. The fear of the unknown and the possibility of failure sets in when you want to start a business. You have to conquer it or it will conquer you.
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Putting your product first and people last
When creating your product and determining your business model, it’s critical that you have a customer-first mentality. Yet many new entrepreneurs are so concerned about making money (understandably) that they forget the key to having a sustainable business — having satisfied, loyal customers who will buy over the long term.
It’s not easy being a new entrepreneur, and mistakes will be an inevitable part of the process. But that doesn’t mean you need to repeat everybody else’s!
