“Every flourishing business was once a start-up”. A successful start-up is a task that only a great entrepreneur with a great team can achieve. Every start-up big or small, new or a few years old will have to face terrible hurdles along the way and only clearing those roadblocks can help build a good company.
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According to Gary Bizzo, author of How to Start a Successful Business – The First Time! Here are the top ten mistakes that start-ups make.
Building Something No One Wants
Sure, it could seem like your idea is the best. Your friends may even think so, as do some of your first investors. However, the only real way to know is to ask real customers and get legitimate feedback. Building a product or service that no one will want to use is how a start-up goes kaput real fast.
Hiring Poorly
This seems like an obvious factor. However, this is a decision many entrepreneurs go wrong on, and a wrong hiring choice can easily make or break your business.
Lack of Focus
Having a core area of focus could be an important factor in scaling up your business. Lack of discipline and hence a lack of focus is one of the major reasons start-ups fail.
Fail to Execute Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing are the bread and butter of any good company, and hence it is essential to invest both time and money in this.
Not Having the Right Partners
Your best friend may seem like the best business partner to have, you have been friends for about 20 years now so it should all work our great right? Wrong. Having a good partner can make or break the business. The best partner enriches the start-up and brings a skill set you don’t have to the company.
Chasing Down Investors, Not Clients
This is actually an obvious one; however, it is also one that is often overlooked. Many entrepreneurs spend time seeking out investors rather than building relationships with their clients and customers. Remember that the more customers you have, the more interested investors will be in your start-up.
Not Making Sure You Have Enough Money
While the amount of money you should have as working capital or operating capital depends on your type of start-up. Having enough money to run the business for six months without any sales is an ideal amount. If you don’t have any sales even after that, then you are definitely doing something wrong.
Spending Too Much Money
Using your finances wisely is very important if you want to have a great company. It may seem like you are doing well, but slow down on spending too much and wait. Knowing your priorities and expenses that can be beneficial for businesses is very important.
Failing to Ask for Help
Asking for help is not something many people can do easily, especially if it includes admitting you were wrong about something. However, sometimes you have to ask, and you will receive it. This could apply to business advice, investors or just about anything else.
Ignoring Social Media
We live in the era of social media, ignoring it can be bad for your company. Investing in some good search engine optimisation and having a great company website is essential, but having someone manage your Facebook and Insta page apart from sending out regular tweets could help boost your business.
