Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make In The Beginning Of Their Business Journey

Common mistakes by entrepreneurs: What if you could avoid those mistakes, wouldn't it save your time, effort and the investment that you would put into it?

By Suresh Mansharamani

Being an entrepreneur means you have to make decisions which can sometimes be fruitful for your business and sometimes they can be your gravest mistakes. What if you could avoid those mistakes, wouldn't it save your time, effort and the investment that you would put into it? Coming from my own experiences and the challenges faced by my clients, here I am highlighting some of the common mistakes that entrepreneurs make at the beginning of the business and will provide some useful tips that will help you deal with them.

Ignoring Market Research

Many entrepreneurs stress over raising capital but ignore putting time and effort into market research. This is one of the common reasons, why a good idea fails to express results.

Therefore, understanding your target market is necessary for building a strong foundation for your business. For this, I suggest you conduct surveys, take feedback, aggressively study your competitors’ strategies and revisit your pricing policy.

Failing to Strategise

In the pursuit of success, many entrepreneurs focus on revenue generation as their main agenda is to increase the numbers. They are so engrossed in it, that they fail to realise the importance of building strategies, which can not only help in planning and predicting the future of the business but also in streamlining their operations.

Make sure, that you pay importance to financial planning from the start. This will help you to keep a tab on your unwanted expenses and will encourage you to invest in areas that promise profitable returns. 

Poor Team Building 

One of the key reasons for the failure of startups is that they do not evaluate their hiring process. Many startups employ their friends and family in order to build a trustworthy network.

However, the possibility of them having the relevant skills and goal achievement is extremely low. Due to this, the company struggles to achieve their desired objectives in business. Avoid this mistake by hiring candidates that have the relevant skills and invest in training them. 

Not Investing in Marketing and Brand Building

In today's ever-evolving business landscape, there is cut-throat competition and everybody is aggressively working towards building their brand. In the initial phase of launching their business, many entrepreneurs don’t take brand building and marketing seriously. Due to this, they are unable to build a strong brand presence and retain customers in the long run.

Therefore, spending a dime on marketing, and seeking professional help from public relations companies would ensure that your business will gain visibility. If you do not have enough funds for it, then you can also build a separate team dedicated to leveraging your social media presence.

Inadequate Focus on Customer Needs

Sometimes, entrepreneurs focus too much on their product, that they ignore what the customer actually wants. A product that is based on assumptions rather than the customers’ needs and the market demand, will fail miserably.

With regular customer feedback, you can improvise and refine your product according to the taste of the customers. This will enable you to develop a unique product that generates demand from customers.

Lack of Financial Knowledge

Many entrepreneurs make one of these biggest mistakes that eventually put their business into loss. They only rely on banks for securing loans, which creates an insurmountable amount of debt. This not only becomes a significant source of stress for the entrepreneur, but also puts the business into ventilator mode.

With smart financial management, the business cannot only secure funds on low interest rates and use equity funding but also, create cash flow that helps in maintaining the business's stability.

Lack of Adaptability

Change is an inevitable part of life which even entrepreneurs cannot ignore. Those who do not wish to reinvent their business according to the change in the trends, situation and market preference, fail to keep their foot strong in the market. This is the reason why many businesses were shut down during the pandemic, as they were unable to offer home deliveries.

So, pivot when necessary and be flexible with your approach, because the one who will embrace adaptability will become the dark horse of the market.

The author is the co-founder of Tajurba Business Network

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