3 Biggest Business Startup Mistakes

What are the three biggest mistakes people make trying to get into business?  Knowing these, you will be able to avoid making the time, work, and money losing mistakes.

Mistake #1:  Are you guilty of Hope Marketing?

You have an idea for a product or service that is the next thing better than sliced bread.  There is no way the world can live without your offering.  You are on your way to buy inventory and rent a store front and make gobs of money.

The challenge you face with this mind set is that you are only a market of one, and you are selling what you have, not buying it. For you to succeed, you cannot rely on hope marketing, and hope the market is there, and hope the market will buy your offering.

You need to validate that the market is as enthusiastic and passionate about your offering as you are. You need to verify that enough consumers will open their wallets and spend their hard earned money with you often enough, and in quantities enough, to provide you a long term, successful business.

Mistake #2:  Beware! You are not your customer.

People generally have a consumer’s idea of business, not a business person’s idea of business. They get smitten with their business name, advertising message, sign design, packaging and everything else in their business that is a reflection of them, and their ego.  However, does their target market consumer feel the same as they do?  Maybe not!

Put yourself in the consumer’s place, and ask yourself what message they will respond to.  What name will engender a feel-good-feeling in the client?  What signage will move the prospect to enter your store?  What packaging will catch the eye of the target market and cause them to pick it up and buy it? 

Get the picture?  No one cares what you like.  Your customer only cares what they like.


Mistake #3:  What you do is not a business.

People assume that because they have some technical skill that they can turn this into a business.  By way of example, an electrician may want to start an electrical contracting business. A cleaner may want to start a janitorial service.  A Doctor may want to have a medical practice.

While these may be a good idea, consider that the “technician” is busy doing it, doing it, and doing it.  While services are being provided, this does not make a business. 

A business needs to function independent of the services or products being provided.  If you are providing your service or product, who is available to answer the phone, make appointments, schedule bids, pay bills, collect payments, and so on?  Likewise, office skills are not the same as management skills.  Office skills imply administrative functions, while management skills imply managing people, processes, and systems.

We have examined the three biggest mistakes people make trying to get into business.  Knowing these mistakes, you can now avoid them.