Entrepreneurship is the ultimate sign of individual accomplishment.  Achieving success can be quite difficult.  In most cases, there are common mistakes entrepreneurs make during the startup or early business launch phase.  This is possibly extend throughout the life of the business.

Entrepreneurs are easily faced with a tremendous workload, sacrifice and commitment.  This differentiates that individual as an employee or as an employer.  Regardless of your business type, it is extremely important that you understand some of the current challenges.  These challenges plague so many business owners today.  In consulting with businesses of all sizes, we identified these as the biggest mistakes that any business owner can make.

Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make

1.   Timetable Your Expectations

Everyone wants to be a millionaire literally in the first 5 minutes of business.  If you are expecting success right away from your business, then you are setting yourself up for disappointment.  There is nothing wrong with being a confident entrepreneur but you simply shouldn’t expect these results right away.  It takes a tremendous amount of time to grow a business.  And an even longer time to make money from a business.

You need to be realistic about your expectations and try to be patient.  One of the reasons that startups fail is because entrepreneurs expect they early success.  They expect to open their doors on Monday and be profitable by Friday.  These companies go out of business because the entrepreneur can’t afford to pay the rent anymore.  Or estimated an anticipated revenue which would cover their expenses.  Effective Business Planning is critical to the lifeline of a business and allows the entrepreneur to establish a realistic timetable which includes proper financial planning to have a cushion to fall back on.

2.  Ignoring The Need For Outside Help

The ultimate sign of a good entrepreneur is one who knows how to delegate where necessary, plain and simple.  When you try to do everything yourself in your business, you are only setting yourself up for failure.  Entrepreneurs need to recognize where they lack the necessary skills.  In addition, accept the reality that you should rely on professional services.  Many times we meet with potential clients and immediately get an understanding about the structure of a company through conversation.  Failing to hire others to take care of some of the tasks puts an unnecessary burden on the entrepreneur.  In other words, they simply cannot handle it on their own.

The ability to delegate will allow you to make better use of your time.  This allows you to focus on doing the best work possible in your business.  We have found that entrepreneurs attempt to do everything.  This results in increased stress or burnout.  In addition, it draws focus away from the tasks that actually need your expertise and attention.  Be the best entrepreneur you can be, but leave the Social Media Marketing or Graphic Design to industry experts like us.

3.  Failing To Evolve

If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, then you absolutely need to be able to adapt.  Business is constantly evolving and if you as an entrepreneur are not adjusting your approach, then you are more likely failing to diversify.  You are putting all of your eggs in one basket, is a common expression which often reflects the mistakes entrepreneurs make in business.

4.  Ignoring Technology

While it may be super awesome that you’re trying to run your business using Microsoft Excel, the reality is it is a disaster waiting to happen.  Modern business requires a more sophisticated approach in an environment where the entrepreneur can make informed decisions based on real time reports.

We walk into a business and see traditional cash registers and immediately get sick to the stomach.  An entrepreneur often retorts ‘Well it works for me,’ which makes us realize that their approach has limited their growth in business.  Information Technology must be at the foundation of your business with a goal to streamline business processes, improve productivity and provide a summary to key decision makers.  Not having effective business reports are common mistakes entrepreneurs make, your business operations has a vault of information which you need to access daily, weekly and monthly.

5.  No Website…No Big Deal

While it may be super awesome that you’re trying to run your business on word of mouth, there is a huge interweb out there which you’re failing to capitalize on.  Business is no longer just local, it’s global and there are customers waiting to find a business just like yours to get the necessary product or service.

There are so many traditional industries that think they don’t need the Internet or a website.  In a related article, we tell the 10 Reasons Why Small Business Websites Are Important and helps business owners understand that potential customers are on the internet.  Any business that wants to be successful needs to be where their customers are and position themselves to be able to get a face-to-face with these prospective clients.

If you are an entrepreneur and looking for ways to increase your target market, then you need to use the internet and social media to achieve it.  Consider our Digital Marketing services if you are looking for ways to expand your present customer base or our Business Consulting services if you too want to avoid mistakes entrepreneurs make.