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1. Picking the wrong partner: Having business partners is common and also advisable in the world of business. But it is quite tricky to pick the business partner who is a good fit for you and your business. Just because someone is your friend or someone is a family member, doesn’t mean they are necessarily the right business partner for you.
How do you even know that you picked the right business partner?
The primary step in choosing the right business partner is to understand that business partnership is like a marriage. That means that there will be misunderstandings and fights, but they are necessary. However, you need to realize that misunderstandings should be met logically. Therefore, it is essential that you set the right expectations on Day 1, so that both of you know what to do.
2. Not thinking about marketing: “If you build it, they will come.” This is a common belief (sometimes conscious, sometimes not) among new entrepreneurs. They think that their products are so revolutionary that they can just rely on free PR and word of mouth. In reality, the vast majority of startups will need to invest heavily in marketing. This may include SEO, content marketing, PR and paid advertising. Take a look at where your competitors are spending their marketing dollars, and ask yourself how you can compete and differentiate yourself.
3. Not knowing who your ideal customer is: One vital part of any successful marketing campaign is understanding who your ideal customer is. It’s not enough to create a marketing budget and try a little bit of everything. You need to do market research to identify who you are trying to reach, where you can find them and how they will react to your marketing activities.
4. Not spending enough money or spending too much money: As a new entrepreneur, money is likely to be one of your biggest concerns. Pre-launch cash flow is likely to be close to nil, so making and saving money will usually take priority over everything else. There are two mindsets I tend to see among new entrepreneurs: Either “You have to spend money to make money” or “I’ll spend the bare minimum until I have some decent cash flow.” Both of these attitudes, when taken to the extreme, can be harmful. Spend your startup cash wisely, but don’t be afraid to invest in good people and quality products. This will bode well for you in the long term.
5. Apply short-term thinking when a business is a long-term commitment: You cannot make decisions only thinking at the moment when they will affect your business in the long-term. It is very important to think about your long-term vision before making any business decision. You are always literally one decision away from leading your business towards failure.
6. Focus on social media forgetting about the importance of email marketing: Social media platforms are a great tool to use to build your following and let people know about your business. But, it is not the tool that we should be depended on to turn followers into customers. Social media is only the gateway to bringing people into your sales funnel. Email marketing is how you convert interest into actual customers. Social media should only be relied upon for building your traffic. Email marketing is how you generate money through your online marketing activities. If you are not utilizing email marketing, then your business is not bringing in the money it could actually be generating from being online. Here is a secret you should know. All the six-figure and millionaire online entrepreneurs rely on email marketing to make their money.