Fatal Small Business Mistakes You Must Avoid

Small business often make mistakes when they are just starting out. Some of these mistakes may not be so bad, but others can be absolutely fatal to their business. Many entrepreneurs don’t realise this, and it’s quite scary! If you’re interested to know what these mistakes are, read on for more information…

Mistakes:

Plan – But Not Too Much

Of course you should have a plan for your business. However, many budding businesses plan so much, that they basically plan themselves out of business before they’ve even begun. Don’t be a perfectionist when it comes to your plan, and don’t expect to know every little detail right away. Have a rough idea, but make sure this isn’t your main focus. Some businesses don’t have a business plan to begin with. While this might be too risky for you, or to lackadaisical, you get the picture.

Choosing The Wrong Investors

Choosing the right investors to invest in your business is a must. Not all investors are created equal, so don’t just go with the money in mind! Just like on the TV show ‘Dragon’s Den’. They don’t just choose the dragon with the highest and best offer, but the dragon who they feel will bring the most to their business, and who has a shared vision of the direction they want to go in. Choosing the wrong investor could mean a fatal mistake for you in the long run.

Hiring The Wrong People

Hiring the wrong people is another huge mistake. Your employees need to share your passion and enthusiasm. They should know where you want the business to go. They should bring something useful and unique to the table. It’s all too easy to hire the wrong people if you’re desperate for employees. Take your time when hiring, so you can create a thorough interview process and get the right people on board. As a small business, you really don’t want the hassle of letting people go if it doesn’t work out. Making sure you’re careful right from the start will stop this. Also, make sure you look at their references and backgrounds too. Don’t just assume they are nice people. You really need to look out for your business when hiring people. You’ll likely experience less problems with the right people, and won’t have to worry about incident reporting too much. That being said, having a good strategy for problems is a good idea.

Not Communicating With Customers Enough

Communicating with your customers is an absolute must. If you leave it too long, you might be really surprised at what you find. Do you know who is actually buying your product? Do you know why they are buying it? Ask these questions. Do surveys and request feedback. Then learn from it! Your target audience may not be who you think they are, or want what you think they want. Once you know what you need to know, you can really focus on that and become the best at it.

Not Having A Website

Not having a website is a massive faux pas. Even if you don’t intend on trading online, a website can help you in so many ways. It can help you to share important news and information, as well as give people an idea of who you are. You can share your story, and give contact information to those who want it. You could even write a blog to share unique content and get more exposure. Having a good looking website that works well is a must. Don’t try to do it yourself or save money. This is one investment you can’t afford not to make!

Not Being Consistent On Social Media

Using social media is a great way to get to know your customers. It’s a great way to keep them in the loop, stay engaged with them, and share your content. But failing to be consistent on social media is another big mistake. If you post sporadically, or hardly ever, people will forget about you and cease to follow you. Make sure you’re consistent when it comes to post times. Make sure you share not only advertisements for your business, but useful information. Not just from yourself, but other companies! It might be useful for you to invest in a social media manager, who can help you to get many more followers and keep up appearances online. They aren’t a waste of money when you choose the right person for the job!

Trying To Please Everybody

You can’t please anybody, so focus on your target market and please them. Chances are, you’ll attract more people. But trying to do too much at once is a massive mistake and should be avoided at all costs.

Choosing The Wrong Business Partner

Having a business partner can help you to spread the cost and the risk, as well as have somebody to bounce ideas off. Choosing the wrong business partner will be fatal for both of you. This should be a person you can communicate with and spend a lot of time with. Be careful choosing close friends and family unless you’re 100% confident this will work. It could end up not only fatal to your business, but to your relationship.

Not Keeping An Eye On Your Finances

Failing to keep an eye on your finances could land you in trouble really quickly. This is why most small businesses take the smart step of hiring an accountant and/or financial advisor to help them to begin with. Don’t go out buying flashy cars and fancy equipment straight away. Keeping money in the business, especially right at the start is very important. Make sure you know what you have coming in and going out. Take control of your finances to make things work.

Avoid these fatal small business mistakes and you should be able to help your small business thrive. There are other problems you could encounter depending on the type of business you have, so make sure you look into that too.