Deadly Start-up Mistakes to Avoid: (Learn how to avoid costly mistake in business and live your dream)

Countless start-ups fail every year. But there are not countless reasons that they fail. 

 

People are not aware of the most deadly pits that swallow up their effort year in year out. They keep on falling into the same traps over and over. If they could just avoid these common mistakes, the chances of their business being successful would significantly increase.

Not prepping your life

No one would show up to run Marathon without training first. The same should be true of start-ups. You need to warm up with some prelaunch training; you have to be rigorous about making sure you’re ready. Start-up will take a toll on your life, guaranteed. You need to make sure some areas of your life are buckled up, because entrepreneurship will shine a light on whatever parts of your personal life that is weak.”

Confusing a product with a business

Eric Holtzclaw says people don’t always know how to build upon their success. “A product solves an individual need,” he says, “but a real business has something customers will come back for again and again.” Here’s how to make the distinction: Do you have potential revenue streams beyond the customer’s initial purchase of a product? That’s a key factor for prospective investors, who “want to see what the next thing is and want to make sure that there’s some longevity beyond what you’re offering today. What will the business look like in three or five years? That’s a big concern from an investor perspective, and that will help you determine if you even have a business at all.”

Not paying for expertise

You’re not good at everything. You can’t be. And yet, every part of a business should be done expertly -- particularly the tricky stuff like taxes and legal issues. Says serial entrepreneur Greg Rau “Structuring not only the company but also potential investments in the wrong way can come back to haunt you,” So where it really matters, don’t download some free online guide or think you can handle it yourself. Find an expert whose job is to know exactly what you need to do.

Ignoring data

“Magical thinking can kill any business,” says Lisa Stone,  You can’t just believe you’ll succeed, you need to actually crunch some numbers and figure out if you will succeed. There has to be data that validates that your big idea is real, or at least provides a leading indicator that it could be. Once you collect that data, use it to create key performance indicators or milestones to show your idea or business has a leg to walk that is progressing. 

Clinging to the wrong idea

“You have to realize that sometimes you’re pushing up the wrong hill or you’re pushing into a brick wall you’re never going to break through,” Rannala says. This mistake is especially prevalent among first-time entrepreneurs and people entering an unfamiliar market. Don’t be blind by your love for an ideal; evaluate it very well to see if it can bring desire success. Some people are in love with their original idea and can’t recognize how much it’s failing. Don’t go on gut. Go on evidence. Evaluate how your product fits in the market, it benefit to your consumer and you need determine it profitability known well that profit is the blood of every business. 

Failing to delegate

It’s perhaps the most classic problem in management: Rather than give up control and trust others to take the reins, you try to do everything yourself and fail. So, what to do? Delegate, obviously. Start by drawing up processes, almost like a guidebook for how to do things the way they should be done. That way you’ll feel calmer, and your employees will have the direction they need. If you’re overwhelmed and no one can take anything off your shoulder, you’re never going to get out of that state. You have to delegate.

Thinking money solves everything

Struggling entrepreneurs often think that if they get certain amount of money, their problems will be solved. But money can’t solve a fundamental issue with a business model. “If your business model isn’t sound, throwing money at it is not going to work,” Cast says. “You have to fix the problem first, and then raise the money. Doing it the other way around will only get you in more trouble.”

Underestimating how long sales take

Let’s get this out of the way: Sales take time. Many startups even think they can close a big enterprise account in three to six months, but in reality, a deal like that can take more than a year. And if your business plan doesn’t account for that, you’re going to be in trouble. Many companies run out of money because they have been too aggressive in estimating their timelines.”

Fearing failure

No matter how much entrepreneurs may glorify failure, there’s still that scary word: fail. And nobody wants to be the opposite of success. Change the mindset. You didn’t fail; you ran an experiment that will improve your next business.  Although it hurts a little bit each time, but believe me you’ve learned something, and you can apply that lesson to move forward and make your business better.”

Success is inward

Warren Buffett said “I always knew I was going to be rich. I don't think I ever doubted it for a minute.” What you need for your lifting is internal not external. Preston Bradley said “I have not met a person, I don’t care what his condition, in whom I could not see possibilities. I don’t care how much a man may consider himself a failure, I believe in him, for he can change the thing that is wrong in his life anytime he is ready and prepare to do it. Whenever he develops the desire, he can take away from his life the things that are defeating it. The capacity for reformation and change lies within.”

You have the capability to make yourself what you desire. There is greatness in every man, all you need is to look inward. Maybe this story may inspire you, I received it via email from a friend. The story touched my life greatly and I wish to share it with you. Who knows? It may be designed for your own miracle.

A business executive was in great debt and couldn’t imagine a way out. Banks were threatening to sell his business and other creditors were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment and were not willing to give him more credit. One day he sat on a park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.

Suddenly an old man appeared before him. "I can see that something is troubling you," the old man said. After listening to the executive's woes, the old man said, "I believe I can help you." He asked the man his name, wrote out a cheque, and pushed it into his hand saying, "take this money, meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time." Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come. The business executive saw in his hand a cheque of $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world! "I can erase my money worries in an instant!" he realized. Nonetheless, the executive decided to put the cheque in his safe first. Just knowing it was there, would give him the strength to work out a way to save his business, he thought. With renewed optimism, he negotiated better deals with his banker and got extended terms of payment from other creditors. Soon he could close some big sales. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again. Exactly a year later, he returned to the park with that un-cashed cheque. The old man did not appear for some time yet the business executive decided to wait for a while more. Some minute later the old man came along the same way but seemed to be unmindful of the business executive. The business executive stopped the old man and was about to hand over the cheque with a few words of gratification as well as to share his success story. At the same time, he saw a nurse come running up and grabbed the old man. "I'm so glad I caught him!" she cried. "I hope he hasn't been bothering you. He's always escaping from the rest home and telling people he's John D. Rockefeller." And she led the old man away by the arm. The astonished executive just stood there, stunned. All year long he'd been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, convinced he had half a million dollars behind him. Suddenly, he realized that it wasn't the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his new found self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve everything he went after. He understood that confidence comes from one's own belief, commitment and dedication and all these are entirely internal.  The truth is that when he was losing, he was lost in his mind and it reflected externally.