Guest Article
Starting a business is a do or die game. Sometimes, no matter how you try to become a good business person, there will be a time where you make a big mistake. But, mistakes can be corrected, especially if you learn from them. Here are the Top 11 mistakes that could affect how you run your business.
Mistake #1: Never improve your marketing strategy
There will always be changes when it comes to business. You need to upgrade your marketing strategies from time to time to gain or maintain your market share. You can easily make a shift if you pay attention to industry trends. Also if you have a good team, look to them to help you brainstorm new ways to promote your product or service to the market.
Mistake #2: Not paying attention to the competition
You have competitors, and you better pay attention to them. Get in the habit of checking their website, set up Google alerts, and follow them in social media. You need to always be looking for ways to upgrade your business, too. By the way, competition is healthy, it means there is demand in the marketplace.
Mistake #3: Not delegating
-As a business owner when you start you tend to do everything, but over time you need a team. You can’t spend your time doing administrative tasks, when you should be closing business. Just learn how take note document routine tasks so you know what you can farm out. Start with a virtual assistant before investing in full-time employees.
Mistake #4: Doesn’t have a specific target audience
Business owners should focus on a specific target audience because it’s the key to effective marketing is picking a target you can actually hit. Too often people chase anyone that they think has money. Understanding your target audience also allows you to decide what your value proposition is going to be–which that specific audience Why should they buy your products? In the research and planning stage your target audience is one of the first things you need to determine before even starting the business.
Mistake #5: Forgetting to engage exsiting customers
Do many business owner waste time chasing new customers, instead of keeping in touch with people who have been your client over the past couple of years or months. Do not take customers for granted. Thank them for their business, invite them back into to your store, develop an email marketing campaign to sell them more stuff. Listen to their suggestions and recommendations. Earning repeat business will help you build a sustainable business.
Mistake #6: Not taking risk
George Addair said, “Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” If you are afraid of change, then you shouldn’t be in business. Change is constant in business, and you will need to engage it to be successful long-term. You may need a better marketing strategy, to add more products or you need to change your staff. You can never let fear get in the way of a hard decision. Do your homework, get advice, and then move forward.
Mistake #7: Ignoring the basics of running a business
The basics of business success, come down to knowing your numbers. You can’t let your fear of math be the reason why you don’t know how much profit is in every sale. Have your bookkeeper develop financial statements each month and learn to read them. You’ll gain the knowledge necessary to acquire the support and money you need for your business but understanding all of your costs. Just remember, profit is how we keep score in business. If you are not making money, you need to know so you can do something about it.
Mistake #8: Choosing the wrong products to sell
You have a great website, the right team and a good business partner. You even have a great business location. Yet, no one is buying from you. Maybe the reason is the product itself? How do you know if you have the right products? ‘Do you research. Talk to potential customers, sample your product to get feedback, and check out the competition. The right product is one that gives the customer what he or she needs at the price they can afford and allows you to make a fair profit.
Mistake #9: Choosing the wrong business partner
Finding the best business partner is like looking for a good husband or wife. You need to make sure that you need a partner, know your strengths and weaknesses and get someone who will compliment your weaknesses. You should choose your business partner wisely, dissolving a partnership can be costly and potentially destroy the business. Work on a project or a contract together first to see if you can work together. Develop a partner agreement that will spell out how the business will operate and how the partnership will end in every scenario, including death. . You definitely want to make sure they will survive the partnership ending.
Mistake #10: Skipping the research and planning stage
When you don’t plan, you are basically planning for failure. Developing a business plan is key to business success. Doing research on the market opportunity and the customer is crucial to building a long term strategy for a business. If you skipped this stage, it will be difficult for you to find a solution to your problem. your business.
Mistakes shouldn’t be taken negatively; instead, it should serve as the lessons for people and remind them that there will always be a success after every failure. There’s no perfect business. In the world where everything is constantly changing, you need to be committed to following a plan and make changes as you go along and get better information. Be on the lookout for new techniques and marketing strategies. The things about mistakes is that it’s ok to make a mistake, you just don’t want to make the same mistake. Just keep learning and your business will be fine.
About the author:
Donna Estrada is an editor for Scoopfed.com and a graduate of Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. She spends her time reading books, blogs.
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