Being an entrepreneur is very stressful. You have to find new clients, manage the financial statements, develop new strategies, sometimes you have to do HR work and even Marketing work. All of these can be overwhelming on their own so it is better to not create unnecessary stress for you and your partners and employees and to avoid these 4 mistakes small business owners usually make.
Don’t forget your purpose
When you first decided you want to open up a business you have an idea to do something that will contribute to the society, will make you earn a decent living and has a lot of potential. That idea should be the center of your business and no matter how many things happen during your first years as an entrepreneur you don’t have to forget it. It is easy to get discouraged when you see your competitors succeed, when you are tired and busy all the time, but remember that without these hard times you won’t be willing to fully appreciate the results and your accomplishments.
Don’t do everything yourself
Ok, you cannot afford to hire an Assistant Manager or an HR Manager, but try not to do everything on your own. Ask your partner to help you if you have one. Ask your employees to help you with certain tasks and help them with theirs if necessary. They will appreciate you trust them and you will be able to have a second opinion on something you did or want to do. Being part of a team is always better than to work on your own so don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it!
Never stop learning
You may be an expert in your industry but constant education and an open mind are the keys to run a successful business. If you have time go to industry events to familiarize yourself with the new technologies or techniques, go to entrepreneurship events to learn how to successfully run a business. You may think that you already know how to run a business since you own one but you can never have too much knowledge. Also, these events are great for networking. You’ll never know when the guy sitting next to you at an event will become your next client.
Don’t get discouraged if things are not like you anticipated
You thought you’ll have 10 clients by now but you only have 5? You thought you have a great product or service but people are not buying what you sell? Don’t get discouraged! Look at your competitors and create a target audience profile based on their clients if possible. Do some market research to determine what your target market wants in terms of the products/service you provide. Start-Up and small business owners have a tendency of selling their products/services with lower prices than their competitors in order to create a database of clients. While this can be a successful technique for some type of businesses a better approach is to find what makes you different and to sell your products alongside your business ideas. Telling people why you are special and different is always a good thing when it comes to business.