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If you are looking at launching a small business then as well as looking at tips on how to succeed, you should also be looking at things which you have to avoid. I can always remember the brilliant analyst West Seegmiller giving these speech about mistakes which he has seen in business, which was actually comical in reality. Those errors which he shared were very much one-offs, but there are many more mistakes which a great deal of small businesses make, which are easy to avoid. The key to avoiding those mistakes is knowing what they are , and here are some of the most common.
Table of Contents
Failure To Plan
If you are going to launch a business then you need to understand what kind of business it will be, how it will make money, where it will be located and who your target customers and potential competitors are. These are the absolute fundamentals of any type of business and it is essential that you not only know about them, but that you have a solid plan in place for each of them. Businesses are about way more than just setting up shop, you have to have a plan in place.
Failure to Get Online
Whilst it is something which is happening less with this new generation of business owners, a failure operate the business online is a huge own goal. People think that because their business isn’t online, that they therefore do not need to be, this is wrong. Organic search is absolutely booming right now and there are more people who are looking for businesses through the web. If you are not on there then you are missing out on an enormous number of possible clients.
Failure to Spend on Marketing
Whilst it is true that you can market yourself for free, to an extent, on social media, failure to invest money in marketing is another huge mistake which will cost you a lot of money. This is an investment not a spend, this is because it offers a very good ROI and it never fails to bring in more customers and ultimately more profit.
Freezing Up Your Capital
It is highly likely that when you first start the business you do not have thousands of dollars of capital which you can throw at the business. This is why cash flow is going to be so essential and it is also why you have to avoid freezing up that capital in something which cannot be liquidated quickly. Investing in slow selling products, regardless of the mark-up, will ensure that you don’t have the spending power for future opportunities.
Not Getting Neutral Advice
When it comes to making decisions, especially around finances, business owners will always be split between their heart and head, and this often results in bad decisions being taken. If however you are able to reach out and get some neutral advice from a financial advisor, you are far more likely to reach a better decision which will help your business in the long run.
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