So you decided to take the plunge and start your own business. I bet you are really excited and cannot wait to get it off the ground. You will need all the excitement and enthusiasm you can gather, because you are going to encounter a lot of challenges. Some of the challenges will not be that hard to work your way around. But you want to make sure that the challenges you encounter are not made more difficult because of your your own actions. The mistakes you make could cost you a lot of money and even cause your business to fail. Here are some mistakes that are common for a new business owner:
1. Do not open a new business expecting it to be profitable overnight. Outside of a few fluke businesses that hit the business lottery and become a media darling on day one, do not expect to see profits in the first weeks, months or even the first year. There are even businesses that take several years to go from having their books in the red to gaining a solid black. By knowing this when entering the business world, you will not be setting yourself up for disappointment and potentially throwing in the towel before your business hits its real stride and starts to take off. Make sure that you have made cash-flow plans to stay afloat until your revenues start showing up as profits.
2. Make sure that you have done your due diligence. Not doing it could cost you everything. When you are choosing a name, logo, domain name or even a slogan for your business, be sure to do some research and make sure that someone does not already own the copyright or you are not infringing on a protected trademark. Beyond trademarks and copyrights, you want to make sure that not only is your desired domain available (using various extensions .com, .net .ca, etc.), but you want to make sure that your desired username on social media is also available. You also want to make sure that there are not similar domains and social media profiles that people could confuse with you – and therefore not be able to find you.
3. Don’t sit back and assume that sales will roll in. The old myth that “if you build a better mouse trap, the world will come knocking” is just that – a myth! Regardless of what amazing things your product can do or how awesome of a service you have, if no one knows that you or your product exists then you will not succeed. You need to market and sell your business constantly. This means finding your target audience and putting your products and services in front of them – not only so they know you exist, but can help them with a problem they are having.
4. Not having a long-term plan can have negative effects on your business survival. Your business might seem like one that does not need a plan and can be run by the seat of your pants on the fly. But will you be prepared for potential bumps in the road? This is why entrepreneur Benjamin Franklin said: “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” This is so true in business.
No, you cannot predict or prevent all potential problems, but you can plan by having contingencies already set up. You might have great suppliers of your materials. But what if they cannot deliver when you need them? You need to know that you have a back-up supplier that will keep you going until you can find a new permanent supplier. Telsec offer disaster recovery for businesses who are displaced by a disaster, and need to keep their offices open. Telsec offers short term office space and team space rentals that can be fully functional within an hour or two, to allow a business some continuity for their staff and customers.
5. Calling yourself an entrepreneur sounds cool, but you need to make it a lifestyle. Those who just call themselves and entrepreneur and start a business that they are not prepared to put the work into, are destined to fail. As a business owner, you need to embrace the idea that you are no longer working a 9-5 job with weekends off. This usually means long hours, constant problem-solving and plenty of stress, among other things.
Telsec’s office space tenants and virtual office clients are primarily entrepreneurs. Some work countless hours in their offices. This is why office tenants have 24 hour access 7 days a week to their office space. This type of office access not only allows them to work when they need to work, but also allows them to work when their overseas customers are working.