5 Things to Avoid As a Start-Up Business

Whether you’re considering starting a new business or you’ve already started one and wanting to make sure that you stay on the road to success - we want to start off by saying congratulations! The land of entrepreneurship is not one that many people choose, but it is one that comes with many rewards.

However, because many people don’t know what to expect when starting their business (or running one sustainably,) they often make mistakes that lead them to frustration, self-doubt, roadblocks and ultimately quitting altogether. And we don’t want that for you.

We believe that when you know what to expect and you’re armed with information, you’re able to make better decisions that can help you prepare and plan for success. So we’re here to help you do that.

Read on to learn about the top 5 things we think you should avoid as a start-up business.

No Business Plan

Not having a business plan is not only a bad way to jump into business but it’s also a problem that will roar its ugly head when you’re in the thick of business. Without a business plan, you may often find yourself throwing spaghetti at the wall and making chaotic decisions when problems arise.

So to avoid the frustration and overwhelm, take some time creating a business plan that gives you a good idea of where your business is headed and how it will get there. Note that this doesn’t have to be anything too stringent but something with a general idea will help give you a blueprint to follow as you go.

Not Budgeting For Help

One of the biggest mistakes start-up business owners make is thinking that they can do it all themselves. Not only is this a fast-track to burnout but it's also a fast-track way to keep your business from growing. When you’re able to keep sight of the bigger picture and focus on making the bigger picture moves, you’re able to keep your business growing. Which means that you’ll need help from others to keep the day-to-day operations and behind the scenes work going.

You don’t need everyone upfront, of course, but make sure that in your blueprint and in your budget, you have it in mind that you’ll eventually need help with customer service, accounting, inventory management, software etc.

Forgetting To Tweak As You Go

No business is perfect and neither is the business owner. So it’s important that you keep in mind you’ll be tweaking as you go. You don’t want to be so stuck on why idea of running your business that you burn yourself out trying to get things to work.

As a business owner, there are a million and one ways to make something successful and by being open to trying new things and thinking in different ways, you’ll keep your business open to the possibility of growing. You’ll also want to keep this in mind with more practical things such as budgets. If you find you need to allocate more money to certain departments as you grow, you’ll want to be open to finding ways to accommodate that.

Losing Sight Of Your Why

You started for a big reason. Whether it was to make an impact on the world or make an impact on your family, you’ll want to make sure you’re not losing sight of your why as you grow your start-up business.

Running a business can take a lot out of anyone and without setting good boundaries in place for yourself to take care of you and to keep the big vision in mind, you’ll want to set aside time to do that. You can make sure you regularly check-in on your business plans to make sure you’re moving towards your vision or you could also schedule some time off for yourself every week so that you’re never burnt out and making decisions from a place of overwhelm.

Undercharging

Finally, one of the biggest mistakes we see start-up businesses making is undercharging for their services. In order to grow and scale, you’ll want to make sure that your products or services are either comparable to the competition or provide a different angle or perspective that allows you to charge more.

By undercharging in your services, you’ll keep your business and yourself at a low-income rate that will ultimately restrict you from the growth your aiming for.

Running a start-up business can feel like you’re walking through a land mine but we think that when you know what to look out for (the above common mistakes,) you’re able to get to the other side with ease and success! Good luck!