Today's topic is small business mistakes. A couple of days ago I started to wonder, what are the most common mistakes we make? I mean us, small entrepreneurs. What are our most common mistakes? I thought, honestly, for two days. Well, at least after two days I came up with a list of typical mistakes made by small businesses.
The 10 most common mistakes in small and micro businesses
1. No business plan
It's not about creating a formal and official business plan, as I call it (which is usually done for submission to various institutions or an investor for a loan or investment), but when there is no plan at all, how do you know where to start your business and what to do in general? And that's something many people don't do. Once again, I am not a proponent of big "official" business plans, most of which, by the way, is only done for a tick. But it should be understood simply, as a manual on how to open and run your own business.
2. No market research
Same thing - I'm not saying that you have to order research, but do not know anything about your niche - nonsense! Well, at least look at 20 competitors' sites and call 10 suppliers. Such mistakes in small businesses are usually not forgiven.
3. Technology is evil
And why, may I ask? Do you still write everything down in a notebook, too? And then when you need to find something, you spend four hours. No, guys, so many people are still sitting out there somewhere. They are used to it ... We are living in the information age, whether we wanted to or not - we were not asked. So, you have to learn or stay behind - it's up to you or not. If you can quickly solve the legal troubles of an electronic paystub, why not use special services?
4. Making decisions based on assumptions
This is a consequence of the two factors above. You have not researched anything, you have not planned anything, and based on some assumptions you make very serious decisions. And in business, decisions are never frivolous, by the way. Let's say you think so, you think you know it. And you make this or that decision. And why do you think that another 100 (well, not a hundred, it's an abstract figure, of course) of potential customers think the same? Did you ask them? Or decided that if you think so, so it is ... And how it would not have turned out that you will buy from yourself. After all, in business, it's more important what seems right to the buyer, not the entrepreneur.
5. Insufficient work with the client base
So busy looking for new clients that you don't pay attention to the old ones. And they, by the way, are always more willing to buy from you than the ones you are trying to recruit. Because they're buying from their salespeople while you're losing your customers. Pay attention to them selling twice to one is better than selling twice to two. That's the biggest mistake a small business can make.
