The Startup-Launch Mistakes Every Entrepreneur Needs To Know

Launching a business is an exciting time, yet it’s also one fraught with worry and pitfalls. Mistakes can be made, and the budding entrepreneur needs to understand them before their business comes to a crashing halt before it has even begun. In this article, we will detail some of the common launch mistakes made by new business owners, and if you are looking to begin your new startup soon, be sure you heed these common blunders.

Mistake #1: Starting with insufficient funds

It’s very difficult to begin a business without any money unless you are operating something out of your own bedroom, with only your cat and computer for company. You will need some money behind you to account for expected and unexpected expenses, be that for equipment, rental fees, and hiring new staff. We looked at some of the common financing options available here at businessblogshub.com, so consider them to prevent you falling short in vital areas. Remember too that many businesses make a loss in their first year, so you do need to have some funding in place to keep you going through the months ahead before profits start coming in.

Mistake #2: Wasting money

As a follow-on from the previous point, you need to be careful how you spend your money. As listed at inc.com, there are areas where startups often waste money, so you do need to be frugal, especially at the beginning. You can buy luxury items in the future when profits rise, so make savings where you can. Buying a second-hand or refurbished computer will do until you have the money to spend on the latest tech. The same applies for your office furniture and supplies. Not everything has to be brand new, and you can save yourself a lot of money by going for the cheaper option in areas where your business won’t be compromised.

Mistake #3: Having no passion in your business idea

So you have launched your business, and everybody has patted you on the back. You sit back in your leather office chair and congratulate yourself on getting everything started. Well done! Now it’s time for the hard work to make your business a success. However, if you don’t have a genuine interest in what you are doing, you aren’t going to go very far. You will become disinterested quickly, and this will show in the quality of your work and in the relationships you have with your customers. When you hit obstacles and challenges, you will be more likely to back down from them, unlike somebody who has a genuine passion to make their business succeed. So, don’t start a business that you don’t really care about. It has to be something that makes you get out of bed in the morning and not something that makes you cower under your bed sheets when problems arise.

Mistake #4: Hiring too many employees

You can’t do everything yourself (that would be a mistake in itself), so you will need people around you to help you grow your business. Still, you do need to look at your business model and determine how many people you actually need. You aren’t responsible for defeating unemployment in your local area, so only employ people when you know what roles need filling in your company. There are some tasks that you can do yourself, so don’t hire somebody because you can’t be bothered doing them. There are also jobs that can be outsourced on a one-off or occasional basis, such as web design, which can easily be handed over to professional services such as ignitedigital.com. By employing too many people, you are only going to waste money, and your staff will feel demotivated if there is too little for them to do. So, think carefully before you launch, and only grow your team when the time is right to do so.

Mistake #5: Being a terrible boss

The idea of starting your own business is probably a good one. Hiring staff members is also something worth considering, provided you have heeded the aforementioned point. Being the boss is something you may have always dreamed of, too. Still, mistakes can be made here. Being in charge of a workforce, however small, is not easy. You have to earn their respect, so don’t assume you can be a hard taskmaster, as they will only resent you. Don’t assume you can be your employee’s best friend, either. You aren’t running a social club, and your staff will walk all over you. So you need to walk the fine line between being a nice person and somebody who exudes authority. There is some good advice at rd.com, with some practical ideas for leadership. Consider if any of them apply to you. Then consider the experiences you have had as an employee. What did you like/hate about your boss? Learn from your experiences and let them shape the way you are with your employees.

Mistake #6: Not listening to advice

You shouldn’t start a business on a whim, so you do need to think carefully before proceeding. This includes taking advice from others; those people who may be better qualified than you with some of your business and personal decisions. So, speak to other business leaders and get as much advice as you can about starting your own company. Talk to your bank manager or hire an accountant, and take advantage of their financial advice. Then speak to your friends and family. These are the people who know you best, so they may have increased insight into the decisions you are thinking about making. However, while you should listen to the advice given to you, you do need to be mindful. There will be times when you are given bad advice, so rely on your instincts and wisdom when deciding what is right as you go forward, weighing up the worth of the advice you have been given.

Finally

Despite our warnings, you will still make mistakes. Many business owners do, but they succeed when they learn from them. So, follow our advice, but don’t worry too much if not everything goes to plan. Pick yourself up, understand what went wrong, and keep going. Provided you grow personally in your endeavour, your business will experience growth, as well.