5 Key Mistakes to Avoid When Starting Your Very First Business
Starting a new business is not a walk in the park. It takes a considerable amount of time, effort, and money to lay down its foundation. Many have failed in this process, while others have turned their startups into multinational companies. If you are thinking about starting your first business, this post is for you. To help you out, Steven McMeechan, a strategic marketing and communications specialist at Capstone Financial Planning, reveals five key mistakes to avoid when starting your very own business.
1. Investing Alone
Since it’s your first business, chances are that you lack the experience needed to start and run the new venture effectively.
Why not go into a partnership? It can be bothersome to split your profits, but then again, you will be able to benefit from what your partner will bring to the table. The best part about entering into a partnership is that you won’t have to bear all the risks. In addition, you will also inject more investment into your startup to better facilitate its operations. You will have to share the profits, but imagine how much more you can earn with the additional capital added to the business, not to mention the industry related expertise and experience of your partner.
Top businesses have to hire advisors to discuss their future plans – save the expense and add a partner. If you fly solo, whom will you discuss your plans and strategies with? Think about it!
2. Over Efficiency
At the start, you’ll probably be doing most of the work. However, as your business grows, be sure to hire more employees so that you can focus on other important duties, like business development. You may think that you can do everything better on your own, but while running a growing business, it’s important to hire the right talent to ensure higher levels of productivity and efficiency across various departments. Apart from that, don’t rush into making decisions. Calculate all the risks and possibilities before reaching any conclusion.
3. Neglecting Other’s Opinions
You may think your decisions will turn the tables for you, but how can you be sure? The only way to feel confident about positive results is by sharing your ideas with others. You can share them with your partner, if you have one. If you don’t have one, consider discussing with experts and advisors of your industry. Another way to test out your ideas is to ask your target audience directly. Send out surveys that can be distributed over online platforms to find out what they exactly want. The data you gather can be used to make a highly demanded product.
4. Underpricing your Products
Many people believe that it’s a good strategy to sell new products at lower prices, which can lead to increase in sales and attract new customers. However, there is a high chance that your product may be labelled as a cheap, low-quality item. It’s better to come up with better marketing strategies and improve your customer support to establish credibility and brand image.
If you offer a high-quality product, your customers will buy from you, regardless of the price. Due to low prices, some customers will think that your product is of poor quality. So, keep a market competitive price and invest in providing value to the customers.
5. Going for Perfect When Good is Sufficient
If you have any idea about a minimum viable product, you know what I am talking about. Don’t waste time in creating the perfect product, if ‘good’ is acceptable. You should launch a product that meets the minimum requirements of your target audience, and seek feedback to improve on it. That way, your product will always be available in the market with continuous development.
It’s not everyone’s cup of tea to launch a new business. However, if you plan to do it, remember to avoid making these five mistakes when starting your very first business. It will help you to a great kick off and contribute to its growth. We hope you like this article from Capstone Financial Planning.
