After starting 4 successful businesses in the last 11 years, I would like to share some advice on 5 major pitfalls common to entrepreneurs who start an internet business, or a home-based business, and how to avoid them. Perhaps you have already encountered some of them and don’t understand what you could have (should have) done to avoid them. Maybe you have experienced hesitation and inability to make well-founded decisions. Or maybe, you have experienced the failure of assessing risk and lost a lot of precious time and money in the process. In either case, you are not the only one and I believe you will find the following points thought provoking and helpful.
photo credit: Craig Metrowich
1. Lack of a Sound Business Plan
Your business start-up must have 2 things in play before you can even think about becoming a success. They are a great idea, and its development.
Let’s assume you have a terrific idea for an online or offline business. How you develop that idea into a viable business model takes a great deal of thought and work. This means analyzing your idea;
- What are its weaknesses?
- What are its strengths?
- How can you profit from it? (Can you really profit from it?)
The answers to these questions will form the basics of your business. Develop them into a business plan which explains the execution of your idea, defines the growth potential with a timeline, explains the expertise needed to run your business, a cost analysis and a risk analysis.
2. Inability to Overcome Self-Doubt and Fear
You must understand that obstacles are challenges which can be conquered, not mistakes which have ruined your business. A bit of fear is understandable (even healthy) but you cannot let it retard your ability to move ahead.
Self -doubt is especially prone to induce fear and even more so for younger entrepreneurs just getting started. Convince yourself you are the belle of the ball, not a wallflower then swallow your fear and go for it!
3. You Don’t Have the Right Mentors
Having the right mentors around you (experienced people who enhance and complement your business) can make all the difference. Without them, you are like the Captain of the ship without any crew. Or with the wrong mentors, you are an accident waiting to happen. The proper ones will give the right advice at the right time, be there to support you when you are indecisive, and fill in the gaps where your weaknesses are.
Proper mentors can include experts in negotiation, marketing, strategy, law, tax and finance among others. Whether by a reciprocal business alliance or direct hire, these people will play a major role in ensuring the success of your business.
4. Over-commitment of Time and Resources
It is important to recognize from the outset that just because you have decided to start a business, there will never be any more than 24 hours in a day. You already have a life, perhaps a family, friends, a job, etc. These have consumed your time thus far, and they are not going away. So rather than over-commit your time and resources, decide in advance how many hours a day you will be able to spend on the business and still have a life.
Since you have defined your areas of expertise, concentrate your time in those areas and hire help for the others; otherwise you will either burn out and fail, or your business might succeed but you will fail in your responsibilities to those who make up your life.
5. Being Taken Advantage of
There is always an abundance of scam artists and untrustworthy persons just waiting for some unsuspecting victim to take advantage of. As a first time entrepreneur, there is a good chance these persons will assume you are a novice at business negotiation and try to ply their trade on you and your business.
You can avoid being lured into any unsavory deal by paying close attention to your business plan, to the persons, businesses and companies you have placed your trust in. This is a crucial point so take some time each week to review these entities to make sure your trust is well placed. You might enlist a trusted friend to help you with this; evaluate each facet of your business which is entrusted to another in order to ensure all is as it appears on the surface. No need to be paranoid, but due diligence must be practiced; you must weigh the risk when dealing with any company (or person).
Now it’s your turn! What do you see as being the number one pitfall when starting a business? Share your thoughts and how you can overcome?
Alex Papa is an experienced web-preneur dedicated to starting new internet-based businesses. Alex enjoys teaching young entrepreneurs how to start a successful business from home. In Business Opportunities Expo he gives you the chance to get the latest Symantec coupon code. Alex also recommends the new Go to Meeting promo code if you want to cut costs on your next online conference.