Avoid These 5 Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make

 

Starting your own business can seem overwhelming. Where do you start? What if you make a mistake? What most entrepreneurs don’t realize is that mistakes are common when you’re first starting out. It’s not unheard of to fail several times before you get it right, but you can avoid these five mistakes every entrepreneur makes and increase your chances for success.

 

#1 – Not Asking For Help 

Just because you’re your own boss, it doesn’t mean you have to go it alone. Plenty of entrepreneurs had a mentor (or several) that worked hand in hand with them to learn the ropes. There’s no shame in learning from those who are already successful. Remember, mentors are there to guide you because they’ve faced many of the same struggles you are. They might know a little something!

 

#2 – Failing To Accept Criticism

There will always be unhappy customers, but listening to feedback is highly necessary to perfect your products and business technique. After all, you want consumers to buy your product; are they really going to buy it if you don’t adjust to meet their needs? Healthy criticism can be a great motivator, but don’t get discouraged by the few sour apples that just like to complain.

 

#3 – Making It Up As You Go

You’ve got hundreds of brilliant ideas rumbling around in your brain, but when are you going to find time for all of them? The key to succeeding in business is staying focused and organized. Have a business plan with a certain time frame that’s flexible enough to give you some leeway. That way, you’ll stay on target with a clear goal, but you can rearrange events if you need to. Don’t run headlong into a business venture with no plan. You’ll be guaranteed to fail.

 

#4 – Overthinking It

Now you know that you need to plan ahead, but many entrepreneurs make the mistake of overthinking everything. The “what if” attached to every decision causes them to become paranoid, fearful and overly conservative. Although you shouldn’t try to fail, you don’t need to be afraid of failure. Some of the most successful people on the planet failed multiple times. Case in point: Dr. Seuss’ first book was rejected 27 times before he found a publisher who would print it.

 

#5 – Ignoring Quality For Quantity

Hiring the right people for your business can make all the difference, so why would you penny-pinch when it comes to your workforce? Entrepreneurs often make the mistake of hiring the cheapest possible team and skimping on product quality to save a few bucks. You’re just starting out, and you may not have much of a budget, but a few good workers are worth far more than an entire team of subpar ones.

 

What If I Fail?

Try again. Don’t make the biggest mistake, the mistake of giving up, after your first failure. Walt Disney got fired from the newspaper he worked at because he “lacked imagination”. Albert Einstein struggled in school. James Dyson spent 15 years developing over 5,000 failed prototypes before getting it right. One failure didn’t stop these entrepreneurs, much less thousands of failures. Stick with it, and you’ll find success.