Top 10 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make

Being an entrepreneur is an exciting time when one is chasing a dream that they believe in . However it is also a time that many entrepreneurs make mistakes which alter and cost them from truly becoming the success that they want to be. The top 10 mistakes that entrepreneurs make are as follows

1. Lack of Business Standard

A business is the sum of its processes and the ability to deliver on its promises. In accounting principles a business takes on a personality as an entity and is therefore recognized according to this. If the personality of the business is untrustworthy, lacks integrity and never delivers, and is just a business that makes promises but never delivers.

2. No particular target market

Any great business is only as great as its market. You cannot serve everyone as an entrepreneur; you need to pick the right market that you can concentrate on so that you can be more focused. Always know your market and have a plan on how to approach the market.

Also read If it is raining, sell an umbrella

3. Expanding before greatness

Most people dream of becoming a big corporate, owning being offices, huge number of employees and being recognized by everyone. Expanding before you are ready will cost you the business. Business should only expand when they have the necessary capital and market share to survive the competition and demand. Sometimes it is best to be good at being small before becoming god at being big.

4. Going all out for Profit

Business is about making profit and every business needs to make profit. However as much as making profit is important being greedy about making profit can result in the loss of market and business objectives. Entrepreneurs can make a mistake of going all out for profit and charging exorbitant prices which might just result in future clients or current clients being scared off.

5. Forgetting the Client’s value

The value of a client is the value of the business. A business is measured according to its cash flow and revenues, which will eventually reflect in its ability to give a satisfactory rate of return on investment. The client value must always be remembered as it determines the success of the business. The client is the king and queen of any business; the business owner is just the custodian bringing service to the king and queen.

6. Selecting the wrong employees

A business is an entity that has a culture and a personality. In order for the business to become what it needs to be it is driven by the people that are in it. One of the worst employment techniques is relying on qualifications only in order to find the right employees. There is need for particular considerations to see if the candidate will fit the culture and the objectives of the business. Companies like Google or Microsoft are good examples of companies that are particular on who works for them.

7. Lacking the right systems

In order to keep the company going there are particular systems that every entrepreneur must have at the minimum. There is need to have an accounting system, marketing system and culture system. A system simply means how you do things to get them done successful, and can include its processes, policies and procedures. Failure to account and failure to market can be a disaster for any company.

8. Forgetting your Cost Structure

Every business is dependent on what it spends in order to be a business. It is very important that a business knows its costs as these are very important to the success of the business. Not knowing the cost structure of the business can result in the entrepreneur spending on anything and everything.  Knowing the cost structure helps to know the cost trend and have a level of control on what the business is going to do.

9. Lack of Real Targets

Once in business most entrepreneurs forget that they need to stay in business. A business can only stay profitable if it stays within a certain target which it must know. Knowing your income statement and balance sheet is critical in order to be able to measure your business performance. An entrepreneur must therefore know its targets in order to know the level of performance needed to meet those targets.

Also read 5 Tips to Assessing your Business through the income statement

10. Not innovating enough

Every entrepreneur needs to know that business happens in time and in an environment. There is always need to be wary of your stakeholders, competition, and client expectations. Innovation is therefore required in any strategy to be able to succeed in business and to remain relevant. This can be innovative in marketing, service provision, business standards product presentation.