What Not to Do Running a Business
There is no denying that running a small business is tough and one of the keys to running a successful small business is learning from your mistakes to avoid making them again. We see a variety of business owners making the same mistakes, which have yielded five valuable lessons we teach every new business owner we meet.
- Don’t rush into partnerships
Choosing a business partner is tough. While it may seem like a good idea to go into business with you significant other, family member or friend, more often than not it will end it tears. Just because someone is your best-friend, long-time coworker and/or significant other hardly qualifies them as the perfect candidate for maintaining a business.
The best partner is typically someone whose skills and approach are the polar opposite of yours. The first ensures that you are able to cover a lot more ground without additional employees. The second, while it may create conflict, will force you both to defend your business instincts and weed out the lesser ideas because you waste resources.
- Don’t be discouraged
Running a company is a long, winding road and if you want a long term entrepreneurial career, it’s time you started enjoying the process. You will have your ups, and you will have your downs, you’ll plateau and be clouded with stress and doubt. Instead of discouraging yourself, become more resilient, learn how to handle the stress productively and celebrate every truly deserved success.
- Don’t try and do everything yourself
One of the biggest and most common mistakes we see amongst business owners is the addiction to doing everything themselves. Instead of working on growing, expanding and bettering their business, they’re stuck behind a desk working on menial admin tasks, getting the business nowhere.
Resist the urge to cover all the ground alone, devote you time to business development and grow your company.
- Don’t forget why you wanted to start a business in the first place
Whether it’s following a passion or having more control over your time to devote to family, always remember why you started down this road in the first place. It’s easy to get carried away and forget what it was you wanted from your business. At times, temporary sacrifice may be truly necessary, but it pays to be conscious of when you’re in danger of permanently shelving the very thing you wanted most.
- Don’t stop evolving
Your strategy, your marketing plan, your target market- nothing is set in stone. The world is changing more and more rapidly each day. Your industry will likely experience a shift, whether it be slight or monumental, at some point. As a small business, you are at a disadvantage, because your resources are a lot more limited. But you have a priceless advantage in the ability to change course and adapt.
