Mega mistakes that transcend business niches

In the most part, launching a business from scratch is a whole bunch easier than it was twenty epochs ago, but that has changed the fact you still face a muddy, slippery, uphill battle. There is just so much that can topple your progress. Yes, the rewards are well worth fighting for, but not if you are making your journey harder than it already is by neglecting things along the way.

Mistakes are going to be unavoidable. It is part of the whole trial and error part of growing, and what hurdles you face along the way is going to differ from industry to industry, business to business. However, there is still a plethora of basic mistakes that the majority of entrepreneurs still fall prey to. We’re telling you this because learning from other people’s mistakes is a lot smarter than learning from your own ones.

With that in mind, here are some of the biggest minefields to be aware of when rushing into the battleground of business:

Know Your Business Partner First

The person you get into business with is going to become just as important as your spouse. This is the person you have to work with all day every day, the person you’ll be in trenches with, the one who will carry you and who you’ll carry. The person that will help make success real. That’s why you need to know everything about them first – their endgame, way of working, strengths and weaknesses, everything. So, before you launch, run some pilot projects.

Give Your Audience A Personality

The only way your business will work is if you know who your customer is and want they want. Anything else will lead you toward the steep cliff of failure. Why? Because success is entirely built on pleasing your customer, not pleasing yourself or sticking to your skill set. So, give your target audience a personality, an appearance, wants and needs, desires and problems, and then cater to all of these. The more details the better. If, however, you’re aiming to be for everyone then you will attract no one.

Know What Makes You Better

You need to check your excitement pretty quickly because being overly enthusiastic is a surefire way to get things wrong. It could be hiring the wrong people, throwing money at the wrong equipment or focusing on the wrong things, all of which are crucial. So long as you focus on what will make you better, though, you will be in a much better place. It could be that you are starting a construction company, in which place getting a flatbed from Flex Truck Rentals would be better than a van. It could be you are launching an EPOS sales business, in which case sales-driven employees and gamification software will keep you pushing the boundaries. It is also understanding that 80% of your profits usually come from 20% of your clients. Realise this and react to it.

Stay True To Your Vision

It is important to adapt to a changing playing field, but it is also important to stay to your vision and to listen to that voice inside your head. That business plan you wrote, that is what will remind you of where you once wanted to head and how you were going to get there. Letting other people start trying to redirect you (yes, we’re talking about investors), will see you lose focus, become indecisive and tread water. Basically what we are trying to say is, never lose touch with your core values and the reason why you got started in the first place. This is your best friend.

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