Five Pitfalls to Avoid in Running Your Business

More people than ever are starting their own company whether passion, talent or a great idea drives it. People who never would have taken a chance in the past are finding themselves looking to new ways to develop income because they can’t afford to continue living the way they were living due to a less than ideal work environment, a reduction in wages or a loss of a job.

Starting a company empowers one to take charge of their life, but it is scary; customers will be hard to come by, money will be tight and the hours will be long. How to ensure your great idea will be a success depends on avoiding some common pitfalls.

1. Thinking too small. Many people when they start their business focus on making enough to pay them a salary but nothing more. Aim to build something bigger, aim for profit. You’ll never catch the big fish if you only go for guppies.
2. Focusing only on price. Business is about making a profit. It makes more sense to catch less business with a bigger profit margin than to attain more business with no margin. Remember to focus on sales and marketing and differentiate yourself from your competition. Anyone can make a widget, but how is yours better?
3. Doing everything yourself. You think you are saving money by doing everything yourself, but are you really able to do it all? While you are taking care of the operations and back office, who is out there drumming up new business? Outsource the help you need and focus on growing your business. Sell what you love and believe in and let others help you on the mundane tasks.
4. Hiring cheap people rather than good people. You have heard the adage, “You get what you pay for.” You are only as good as the people you hire. Wait until you can afford the right person who will help you see your dreams into fruition.
5. Not testing or measuring your work. You need to measure and quantify what you do. How many prospects do you have, how many prospects turn into sales, how many sales turn into repeat sales or referrals? By gauging what works you can focus your time and efforts on those areas rather than in areas where there are no visible results
6. Not paying attention to the numbers. Pay attention to your revenues, expenses and the timing of them. Are you pricing correctly? Are you taking your time and expertise into account? What does your profit margin look like? It is great to see the money come in, but is it enough to sustain your business?

You may have noticed we gave you 6 pitfalls instead of 5 to look out for. That is because as any good business person knows you need to deliver what is promised, but a great business person knows you need to deliver more than what was promised.