From taking on too much tasks to not make use of available tools, small business owners make a fair share of mistakes. Running a small business requires experimentation. You can develop the perfect business plan, learn from the greatest mentors and have the best product or service, but in the end much of your day to day ends up being a lot of trial and error.
1. Trying to do it all
This is probably the biggest mistake business owners make. Business owners get so involved in day-to-day activities that they forget about critical, longer-term tasks they must do. And as a small business owner, you’ll do most things yourself due to budget reasons, but you also need to know when it’s time to invest in hiring someone else to do it the right way. Real growth will happen when you can focus your time on building your business. Try outsourcing. Offshore workers can help you save more time, space and money so you can focus more on the critical components of your business.
2. Skipping the planning phase
Planning is one of the most important parts of running a business, whether it’s a large multimillion or a small business. Without a plan, it’ll be like you’re operating in the dark. Having a business plan simply cannot be disregarded. Just jotting down concepts and ideas on paper can still be vital and the act of researching and compiling data about your competitors and the market will prove to be very useful in the future.
3. Not fully understanding your audience
Businesses that provide a specific service to a specific clientele have a readily identifiable community to sell to. If you don’t know understand your audience well, you’ll have a hard time building a brand that sells. The more specific you can get, the easier it is to reach those people for less money and find new audiences and grow.
4. Not paying attention to your branding
Your brand is what people first see. From your business logo down to your color scheme, this is what gives the overall impact it makes on your company. Branding gets recognition, increases business value, creates trust, and reels in potential clients. You also must make sure that there’s consistency in your branding. Just having a good design is not enough to please consumers. You have to take note of aesthetics as well.
5. Being scared of social media
Let’s face it, almost everyone’s on social media. Social media is a disruptor for digital marketing. But just having an account or page on social media doesn’t necessarily mean you’re already ON social media. You must be there, sharing, engaging, and communication with your audience. Social Media is a fantastic addition to any company’s marketing and branding strategy. If you’re not using it to your advantage, then you need to think twice.
6. Not having a website
We get it, you’re trying to reduce costs and you think having a website can be skipped. Well, you’re not alone. According to a survey about Small Business Websites nearly half of small business owners don’t have a website. That’s basically equivalent to starting a business, but not bothering to tell people about it our not putting up a sign. A website is your number one marketing asset because we live in the digital age. According to Local Search Association’s 2017 report titled “The Digital Consumer Study”, 63 percent of consumers primarily use a company’s website to find and engage with businesses. If that doesn’t convince you to get your business a website, then I don’t know what will.
7. Being all business, all the time
Many business owners put their personal lives on hold to focus on their businesses. Not to mention the fact that most business owners treat their business like it’s their own child that’s why it can be so challenging to get away from work, even for a little while. What they don’t know is that can cause a burnout. A burnout is a physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress. We all need to walk away sometimes in order to stay at the top of our game.
Running a business is tough. Whether you’re just starting a business, or you’ve already been in the game for years, there will always be mistakes that’ll come your way. It doesn’t matter if you’re a newbie or an expert in your industry. You’ll probably run into these mistakes along your way or maybe you’ve probably encountered them already. What matters is that you should recognize them and make sure to prevent them from happening again. If you need help in solving these problems, reach out to Your Virtual People so our Outsourced professionals could help with your business and drive business growth.
