Creating your own business is a challenge like no other. It takes time, patience, and intelligence in order to succeed, and even with all three of those ingredients in play, many startups fail within the first couple of years as a business. Of course, there are sometimes factors outside of your control that may lead to an unprofitable venture, but more often than not, entrepreneurship fails simply due to self-sabotage. Here are some common ways that new entrepreneurs can unknowingly damage their own success (and how to stop them from happening to you).
1) They say yes to everything and everyone. It can be tempting to be a people or customer-pleaser, saying yes to every project and request that comes across your desk, but you should be acutely aware that you have limited time and resources to spend. Being a continual “yes man” will end up frustrating you and drawing your time away from the most important parts of your business. A simple rule of thumb: if you say yes to something, then feel upset for saying it later, you shouldn’t have said it in the first place. Pick your battles.
2) They aren’t punctual. Time and time again, we see new startups who don’t pay enough attention to their appointments, the people that are counting on them, and due dates. Don’t fall into this trap! There is no weaker excuse in the world than, “sorry, I forgot about that.” The best way that you can expand your business is through word-of-mouth and referrals. Under no circumstances should you find yourself not being present and accounted for. Keep your word and be on time.
3) They over-promise and then under-deliver. It is quite easy for an entrepreneur to get so excited about a new product or service that they start promising something that they can’t or are not sure they actually can bring to market. Even if they do end up being able to deliver, they have to overextend their due dates and end up presenting their product late. The solution? Reverse the order: under-promise and then over-deliver. Are you planning on getting your customer a product within two weeks? Tell them three weeks or a month just to be safe. Believe me, it’s far better to allow for a margin of error and sleep soundly at night rather than stress over deadlines and disappoint your clients.
4) They don’t have a clear plan of action. Having too many ideas will create a lack of focus and will often end up being counterproductive. Worse yet is when an entrepreneur decides to act on every single idea that they’re coming up with, causing them to launch too many projects in too short of a time frame. This will cause you to lose sight of the business and will confuse the team that you work with. Having a well-thought out, meticulously crafted plan of attack is a must in any business. Set a destination or you will be stuck.
5) They tend to micromanage. A small business may be able to get away with this mindset for a time, but as the venture expands, you’re going to need to learn how to delegate. You cannot run a FLAT organization for the long-term. If you get too bogged down in the minutiae of every project, you will lose sight of the big picture. Instead, keep an eye on the business as a whole and start handing off the lesser tasks to people who can afford to look at the details with a fresh eye. Remember: the business world is always in a state of flux, and rarely, if ever, will anything you do be one hundred percent perfect. Strive for excellence rather than perfection.
What are some problems that you or someone you know have faced when forming a new entrepreneurship?
