There is no better time than now to work on that start-up business. Technology and innovation have made the environment ripe for planting those ideas in and watching them grow with a lot of care and hard work.
There are applications, too, that support and handle your infrastructure like the Office 365 cloud email backups, so you don’t have to worry about issues like security or losing important files. But while we are surrounded by good tools and able apps, the reality is, about 90% of start-ups will still fail.
The figure is rather dismal but instead of letting it discourage you, try to learn from it instead. Here are some of the most common traps that start-ups fall into and why you should avoid them like the plague:
Taking on too much
While there is nothing wrong with learning new skills along the way so you can save up on the workforce, there is a certain danger in trying to put on too many hats at once. Things may go swimmingly in the beginning with you having the illusion of control over every aspect of your business.
But sooner or later, and it will happen, you are going to crash and burn. It is much better to delegate tasks that you simply do not have the skills or energy. Create a comprehensive working process for each task to serve as a guide book to help keep your peace of mind.
Not planning for the future
It’s ok to ride on a lot of faith, especially if you’re behind your product 100%. The problem lies in not having a vision for your business. If you are looking to get potential investors on board, they will want to know what lies ahead.
You also need to map out your business path, so that you know which course to take should obstacle A or B happens. Having a good plan written down will also help you in the matters of money, ensuring that you have enough for your operating expenses and that you will have enough until your business is actually generating income.
Spending on the wrong things
One of the biggest traps you’ve got to watch out for is spending money on foolish things that will not actually help your business out in the long run. Apart from making the wrong investments, some start-ups can make the mistake of spending too quickly if some money does start coming in.
They might feel that they can suddenly afford a slick new marketing team or the latest laptop when clearly, these are the things that can wait for when they are actually rolling revenue in.
Being afraid of failure
The irony of this statement is that being afraid to fail will most likely lead you to that, exactly. As a business owner, you need to shift your perspective of failure to something more positive. Take each time you don’t succeed as an opportunity to learn and then take those lessons and apply them to your next venture.
Being too safe and not taking enough risks will keep your business right where it is. And if it’s not moving, then that’s not a good thing.
Avoid these fatal mistakes and give yourself enough leeway to learn and improve as you go along. Even if your start-up does fail, look forward to building a new one. In the world of business, it’s all about trial and error, getting back up and trying again. One day soon, you may just hit the jackpot.
