photo credit: opensourceway via photopin cc
When thinking of the mistakes entrepreneurs make when starting a business, you ask anyone and they will give you a shopping bag full of mishits, mishaps, mishandles and so on. It’s tough to surmise a list that you can ultimately pin up on your walk and check it every day. Well, maybe.
I recently came across an article written by Alli Worthington [you can find her at http://alliworthington.com or on Twitter at @alli]. Alli’s article was, to me, a really good starting point for the entrepreneur hoping to do things right the first time around.
While it’s common knowledge that many businesses fail within the 1st year, it doesn’t mean that yours will. There are some things you can do along the way to ensure that you last and have staying power. My number one thing is, if you have a customer base, treat them like they’re golden. If your business minds your customers, your customers will mind your business. [tweet this] Other than that, here are my favorites from Alli’s list of “30 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make.” (in the order she listed them) And, I’ve tweeted every one of these individually because I think they’re important. Thanks Alli for posting such a great article and a good list for us.
1. They don’t spend time on the (non-sexy) foundational work.
2. They expect fast results for minimal effort.
3. They don’t filter every decision through the lens of their long-term goals.
6. They think that because they loved doing one thing that they will love running a business about that thing.
7. They don’t know who they are talking to.
8. They don’t have a support system.
9. They don’t guard their time.
11. They don’t ask the right questions.
12. They think traffic will magically become a revenue model.
14. They waste time on the wrong things.
15. They avoid criticism.
18. They don’t test their assumptions.
20. They think they don’t need to constantly learn to stay competitive.
21. They focus on vanity metrics.
22. They think business success comes from tactics over mindset.
23. They don’t pay attention to the human component of business.
25. They spend too much time talking on Social Media platforms and not focused on serving their customers.
28. They listen to the wrong people.
Again, these are my favorites from the list Alli provided. There are more on her list. [read them] And, yes, there are tons more to be added. We’d love to hear what your favorites are or if you have more to add. Tell us in the comments below.
photo credit: opensourceway via photopin cc