Top Mistakes to Avoid When Starting a Business
As an entrepreneur for over a dozen years, founding, running, and selling Bump Club and Beyond AND now Lindsay Pinchuk Marketing + Consulting, I will tell you: I've made my fair share of mistakes. But I'm here to save you from making the same ones.
Here are the top mistakes that you should watch out for as a business owner:
DOING EVERYTHING YOURSELF: You just can't and until you recognize this and figure out where you can delegate and outsource, you will not move your business forward. Keep in mind---delegating and outsourcing apply to personal AND business related tasks. When I realized that some things were meant to be done by other people, it changed my entire business and bottom line.
Start slow and keep in mind that you don’t need to pay a full five or six figure salary and benefits in order to get assistance. You can hire a contractor, trade services, or find someone who is looking for part-time work. Here are some creative ways that you can find help with your business.
NEGLECTING YOUR FINANCES: When you own a business, you must know your numbers. I learned this the hard way when I started my first business. I relied on someone else, but didn’t pay close enough attention. It’s important that if you have someone helping out, you are involved. As for help and learn what the numbers mean. Which goes back to the first mistake listed here---ask for help. Outsourcing the bookkeeping and eventually the financial tasks of my business was a game changer. Not only did it help me see the big financial picture, it allowed me to concentrate on the areas where I know I can make the greatest impact.
DON'T BE A SLAVE TO PERFECTION: Whatever it is---your website, your product, your marketing materials---they don't have to be perfect. When you get caught up in a wheel of perfection, nothing gets done. Just put it out there, and make changes along the way.
PRIORITIZING YOUR PRODUCT OVER YOUR COMMUNITY: Throw out the old saying: Always be selling. This is a hard no. Too many companies focus solely on their product and putting it out into the world. But when you start to focus on the community you are reaching, what they want, what they need and how you can solve their biggest problems, THEN you start seeing more movement on your product.
When I started my first company, Bump Club and Beyond, I showed up as an expectant mom and engaged with my community of other expectant moms. This was always my top priority. It wasn’t until I was having a two way conversation with the community that I began to develop the products that they needed. And how did I do this? My community told me what they needed from my company.
When you remove the importance of your community from the equation, your customers will stop buying your product(s).
NOT CREATING A BUDGET: One of the first steps you should take when starting your company is to create what I call a “Flexible Blueprint.” While a business plan may be a bit too in-depth, this document allows you to write out your revenue streams, your costs and your projected income (if you have this!)
Once you figure this out, you can create a budget. Even if it is basic at first: what you need money for, how much, and how much money you have access to in order to cover the expenses. Making sure you know what you have, what you need, what you want and what you can actually afford is incredibly important when you are getting started. Sticking to the budget is imperative as you’re getting your business off the ground.
NOT FINDING A MENTOR: Owning a business can be incredibly lonely. One of the biggest mistakes so many founders make is trying to go at it alone. You can have more than one mentor, but make sure that you find people you can surround yourself with, ask questions and turn to when you need the support. A mentor is different than outsourcing as a mentor is an experienced and trusted adviser. Having at least one mentor is important when starting a business as you will find more support in a trusted mentor than almost anywhere else.
You don't have to go through all the trial and error I did. Take it from me: watch out for these common mistakes and save yourself some time getting to where you want to be with your business. Need more tips on starting a business? Here are some of my top tips and tools to consider when you are getting started. Have questions? Feel free to drop me a line.
